Stolen Gold Medal Leads To Unlikely Friendship
The Olympic gold medal Joe Jacobi won at the Barcelona Olympics in kayaking has brought him a lot of joy since 1992.
No wonder he was devastated when it was stolen from his car a few weeks ago.
Little did Joe realize, that incident, that loss was about to bring him a wonderful gift and a friendship he never expected.
Six-year-old Chloe Smith thinks the story is pretty special, too.
Another fine story of friendship from CBS News’ Steve Hartman.
Joe knows what it is to overcome obstacles and be a champion.
From his website:
I figured out by age 10 that the sport of kayaking was my path forward. A challenging activity I enjoyed with my friends that transported me to off-the-grid destinations that counter-balanced my suburban Washington, D.C. upbringing.
By 16, I was competing internationally.
By 18, I stood on a World Cup podium.
At 22, with my canoe partner, Scott Strausbaugh, I won America’s first ever Olympic Gold Medal in Whitewater Canoe Slalom.
My trajectory within the sport carried me to more Olympic Games – first, as an athlete in 2004, and next, as NBC televisions’s color commentator for canoeing in 2008. Then I landed my dream job – CEO of USA Canoe/Kayak, the sport’s Olympic and Paralympic governing body that supports America’s best competitive paddlers.
In the process of supporting athletes, coaches, sponsors, committees, events, and volunteers, I forgot how to support myself. My health unraveled. I gained weight, clung to stress, formed poor habits, and disconnected with the very elements that I believed were my “super powers” going into the job.
Five years ago, I started to make some changes – very small and slow at first – with no big goals. My physical health improved. Other parts of my health slowly followed suit.
And if you like stories about friendship, you might like my book,
