I know, it sounds great! We beat the Australians tonight in order to advance to the gold medal match against the Netherlands. The Dutch were victorious over the Hungarians and will be a great opponent in the last game. It is such a great feeling, knowing that regardless of the outcome we will be standing on the podium with medals around our necks. Obviously, we're going for the top of the podium - one last victory and an opportunity to sing our national anthem. It is also great to have a sense of accomplishment with your training and preparation - we weren't wasting our time.

 

My family was ecstatic - Eric, Zack (younger brother) and Mary (Zack's friend) all painted their faces with the stars and stripes. I had blue and red paint all over my face. My mother was crying, and my father was proud. I've been getting a ton of e-mails from friends and relatives telling me how proud they are of our team.

 

I also had a friend from high school, Reyna Hernandez, drop by the stadium. I couldn't miss her. She was yelling "Golda!!! Golda!!!" before the game began, and afterward, she jumped on me and was so excited that I had to peel her off me. She told me, "I'm coming to EVERY Olympics you're playing in!!!"

 

Another cool story - I didn't want to post it yesterday, call me superstitious. Moriah van Norman was in the dining hall yesterday eating with Lauren Wenger when a man approached her and said, "You have done or are about to do something great." Moriah responded with, "Wow, we are in the semifinals tomorrow." The man nodded, smiled and left. Moriah noticed that the man was from Oman, which sounds like omen, and she told the entire team her story last night. I told her I would write about her in my blog, so make sure you tell her that you read her story.