LAURA ZENG
ZENG: In the aftermath
Every serious athlete will — at the end of their career — experience a unique type of death. The best thing anyone ever said to me after I competed at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games was not “congratulations,” but “I’m sorry for your loss.” It validated the period of mourning that came next, acknowledging an emptiness that seemed otherwise embarrassing to admit and confusing to describe. I didn’t know I needed grief to be named. But in the aftermath of it all, when the Games no longer cast a light but a shadow on my life, realizing that some form of depression was inevitable came as a huge relief.
December 3, 2024
