Whitefish Woman to Represent Team USA at the Olympics

I won't lie - I really didn't think we would actually see the Olympics be held this summer! When they weren't able to hold the 2020 Summer Olympics because of the pandemic - I figured pushing the games to this summer would just be the first step in eventually throwing in the towel. Even as recently as last week there's been hurdles to overcome.....and I don't mean the actual hurdles that runners compete in. I'm talking about the latest obstacle in the plan to still hold the event - announcing that fans won't be allowed to attend the games because of a state of emergency being declared in Japan due to COVID-19.

But against all odds, they've powered through and the belated version of the Olympics is set to begin in less than two weeks. I feel like everybody is kind of in the same boat.....hoping all the safety measures pay off and COVID-19 doesn't disrupt the games.....and also glad that the Olympics weren't canceled because the athletes spend so much of their lives preparing for their moments of glory.

We've had a couple stories from Montana about people that will be representing the USA at the games in Tokyo beginning at the end of the month - including a member of the US Army Marksmanship Unit accomplishing her dream of competing on the world's stage. You can read her story HERE. Another great story is about a Whitefish woman getting ready to represent the red, white, and blue in RUGBY!

Nicole Heavirland's story is exactly what the people that put the vignettes together during the Olympics are looking for. She was left off the active team that competed four years ago.....and all her hard work and dedication paid off as she made the cut for these Olympic Games. Nicole will try to bring home the gold with Team USA as the rugby tournament starts July 29. Check out the NBC MONTANA piece on Nicole in the video above.

It's pretty cool to see the stories of Montanans that will be living out their dreams at the upcoming Olympics!