Black Olympic Athletes Reveal What Brings Them Joy, and It's Not Always a Gold Medal

POPSUGAR: What brings you joy?

Naya Tapper: Being around my family and friends back home brings me joy. There is something special about being around people who love you dearly and make you comfortable. I can be 100 percent myself around them. It's very liberating. They all are also a ball of fun and so entertaining to be around. A house full of laughter and love. It doesn't get more joyful than that.

PS: What was the happiest moment of your athletic career?

NT: The happiest moment of my athletic career was winning player of the final and scoring nine tries at the Sydney 7s tournament in 2017. I felt like I earned my right from my coaches and teammates to be on the team that tournament. I proved myself after a hard first year and made my stamp in international rugby. It was the start of my legacy. I've been working to be unstoppable ever since in everything I do on and off the pitch.

PS: What is your happiest memory outside of your athletic achievements?

NT: The happiest memory outside of my athletic achievements was graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill. It's a really good school, so I was very proud of myself for not only being accepted there but also graduating in a good place! My family and friends were able to be there, which I was very happy and proud about. I also had big plans set up for after graduation, so life was great in that moment!

POPSUGAR: What brings you joy?

Keni Harrison: There are a lot of things in life that being me joy. I think you have to surround yourself with joy to be the best self you can, so I try to make the best out of any situation.

For me, some of the top things that bring me joy are my faith, my family, my friends, and my career. My faith, family, and friends are there for me in the good times and in the bad. They know me, love me, and always help to bring out the best in me. There's true joy in knowing that you have people you can turn to no matter what. And with that support, it allows me to get joy out of my career.

I love working hard at my craft and challenging myself with the goals that my coach and I set for myself. The fact that I can also inspire people while doing what I love is what makes my career worthwhile.

PS: What was the happiest moment of your athletic career?

KH: The happiest moment in my athletic career was when I broke the World Record in the 100m hurdles. I had been having an amazing season, winning races and setting records, and the Olympic trials were supposed to be another opportunity to demonstrate my fitness level.

Instead, I finished sixth and didn't even make the US team. I was devastated and wasn't sure I even wanted to try to race again. But at the encouragement of my coach and friends, I went to London and lined up at the starting line. In the final when I crossed the line first, I was a little disappointed in the time, but I was mostly relieved just to have won the race. Then when I turned around and saw my corrected time and realized I had broken the world record, I was so proud and excited that I just broke down crying right on the track.

To go from one of the worst moments of my career to the high of a world record only two weeks later — that's a level of happiness that's hard to even describe. I proved to myself that I had the courage to persevere and climb up, even when I had hit bottom.

PS: What is your happiest memory outside of your athletic achievements?

KH: One of my happiest moments outside of my athletic achievements was when I bought my first house. I went to school in Kentucky and stayed there to train with my coach after I graduated. When my coach transferred to Texas, I followed him to Austin. By this point, I had started to establish myself in my career. I had grown a lot both personally and professionally, and I was finally ready to put down some roots.

I found the perfect house, and I was able to buy my first home. It's pretty exciting to be able to do that at just 25 years old. I got to decorate and furnish the house to fit me, and getting to come back to my own place every day reminds me of how fortunate and blessed I've been in life.

POPSUGAR: What brings you joy?

Ashleigh Johnson: The things that bring me the most joy in life are spending quality time with my loved ones and being able to set and reach the goals that I set for myself.

PS: What was the happiest moment of your athletic career?

AJ: The happiest moment of my athletic career was looking into the stands after we had won our gold-medal match in Rio de Janeiro, and seeing my whole family there together celebrating our victory. The time and support that all of our families and friends put in this process isn't always recognized, but knowing how rarely my family in particular gets to travel across the world and be there for that actual moment made it very special for me.

PS: What is your happiest memory outside of your athletic achievements?

AJ: The happiest moment for me outside of my athletic career was graduating from Princeton. Yet another moment where I was surrounded by family and friends, but this moment stands out because it was preceded by one of my hardest years. Returning to school after the Olympic Games and trying to refocus my energy and goals having reached one of the biggest goals of my life.

It was really hard for me personally to motivate myself throughout that year in a lot of ways, and having my sister with me at school during that year played a huge role in helping me push through it.