Welcome to the Moth podcast. I'm Amy Mullins, athlete, actor, moth storyteller, and your host for this episode.

This summer in Paris, thousands of athletes will be running, swimming, throwing javlins, and surfing, skateboarding.

And for the first time in Olympic history, breakdancing, or as the

games call it, breaking. They'll be competing against their fellow Olympians and Paralympians,

trying to win gold, yes. But more than that, they'll test themselves. They'll represent their

countries. They'll make their loved ones proud.

And they'll give it everything they've got on the world's biggest stage. And to celebrate this

collective four weeks of momentous daring, on this episode of The Moth, we're sharing three stories,

either about the games themselves or the feelings they inspire in us and the memories they create. These games

certainly mean a lot to me. I had the honor of being named Chef de Mision, or Chief of the Mission,

the de facto leader of Team USA for the London 2012 Games. And in 1996, I had the privilege to compete

in the Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Let me tell you, there's absolutely nothing like the experience of being an athlete chosen to represent your country.

From the thrill of the opening ceremonies to bonding with the athletes in Olympic Village,

dealing with the nerves right before your event's about to start,

to the bittersweet ache of the

closing ceremonies, the whole event is profoundly meaningful. The great American Olympian, Evelyn

Ashford, once told me that you never put the word former next to the word Olympian. It's a club

you belong to forever. The experience of joining that club completely altered

the trajectory of my life in ways that can feel

almost indescribable.

Sometimes it just comes down to a feeling

...