Sean Grieshop is among various Olympic hopefuls in the new Lifetime show ‘Gold Medal Families’. The show follows six young Olympic hopefuls as they train towards the Olympic Trials for their sport.
The challenges of training at the most elite level comes to light in ‘Gold Medal Families’ where true grit is tested. The show shadows Grieshop as he trains towards the Olympic Trials, and highlights the good and bad events on his journey. The audience sees how Grieshop must be careful when playing with his friends to not injure himself, to the disbelief the Grieshops are in after their long-time coach retires.
The show also follows Grieshop to the Atlanta Classic, where he finished 4th in the 400 IM despite being seeded first coming into finals. ‘Gold Medal Families’ is an interesting watch for those intrigued as to how the most elite athletes prepare leading up to important events. For swimming fans, Grieshop’s story is particularly interesting, partly because we are able to further understand the successes and failures attached to the sport of swimming.
Grieshop, who is the 2nd ranked recruit in the country and a Junior World Champion, ended up placing 5th in the 400 IM at Olympic Trials. The feat is an incredible one for the 17-year old who has a bright future ahead.
The show premiered June 28, and airs two episodes back-to-back on Tuesday nights, for a total of 8 episodes.
The athletes are 21 years and younger, meaning they are all living with their parents and experiencing struggles that many regular kids are not accustomed to. Among the athletes featured are gymnasts Aly Raisman, the most decorated gymnast from the 2102 Olympics, and Nastasya Generalova, who is only 16 years of age. Also featured is boxer Jajaira Gonzalez, from Glendora, California.
In addition to Grieshop, there are a few divers featured on the show, including Jordan Windle and Steele Johnson. Johnson secured a spot on the Olympic Team with his synchro dive with David Boudia and his own 10m individual dive.
Surely the “long time coach” that “retired” doesn’t refer Tim O’Brien does it? Tim inherited Sean at 15 years of age (2-3 years ago) after Shawn was already a start who won everything at TAGS and aged up to 15. And Tim didn’t “retire”; he received a lifetime ban from USA Swimming about 6 months ago.
Nice article! Saw a spot on the tele about Sean last evening. Supporters of this amazing sport are pushing for the best. Go Sean!