Bonnie St. John remembers, after she returned from the Olympics, sitting on the side of the Charles River crying, realizing that she had to make a choice. Ultimately she chose to focus on school and not train for the next Olympic games. Being thrown right back into school, and not doing well at it, she didn't have that much time to worry about the games though. She found that taking on new dreams and goals helped her most to adjust.
As an athlete Jim Herberich learned the ability to schedule and challenge himself, both of which were helpful skills in adjusting back to normal life. He was already in a unique situation among his fellow Olympians though, since throughout he had had a full time job as an environmental consultant. Still, he was never able to find a similar competitive outlet and still misses being in a sled and now that he has a family isn't sure he'll ever be able to be again.
Four days after she competed at the Olympics, Samantha Harvey started teaching at the University of Colorado. A month later she was pregnant, leaving her with no chance to "brood ". Back at the Olympic training center she had been warned that some people didn't readjust well and upon returning she had found that everything seemed a little dim and boring. Still, entering teaching, her other passion, helped to ease the transition and she was able to translate her athletic skills into her new focus.
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