- Utah Olympians visited Primary Children's Hospital for Olympic Day, inspiring young patients.
- Gold medalist Erin Jackson and others played games, sharing joy and hope.
- Athletes emphasized hard work and resilience, seeing the children as heroes too.
LEHI — It's not every day you get to hang out with Olympians.
But for young patients at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi, Monday wasn't about medals but inspiration, joy and simply getting to be kids.
In celebration of Olympic Day, a global event recognized by the International Olympic Committee to promote physical activity and healthy living, several Utah-based Olympic and Paralympic athletes visited kids receiving treatment at the hospital.
The idea was that, since the kids couldn't leave the hospital, the athletes came to them.
"That has been amazing," said Gold medalist speedskater Erin Jackson. "We were able to play some games with them and answer some questions from them. It has been really awesome."
Jackson was among several athletes who spoke with children, as well as played some games such as "Guess What Sport" while acting out a sport, as well as trying to keep a balloon from touching the ground.
Even a little bit of movement is part of what Olympic Day is all about.
"I am not running a mile anytime soon," said Olympian Tristan Gale. "Olympic Day is about so much more than the athletic event. The Olympics are really one of the only times we get to bring the whole world together. I love the Olympics. I love the joy of it. I want to share it with everybody, and seeing these kids, it is everything."
Gale won a Gold medal in skeleton racing during Salt Lake City's 2002 Olympics.
"Now that I'm a mom, it feels different coming here to talk to these kids. It means a lot more and I'm happy we are able to do this," she said.
The athletes also spoke to kids about the importance of hard work, not giving up and doing whatever they could to make their dreams come true.
"Some of them said they didn't see themselves becoming an Olympic athlete," said Baelie Pace, a 16-year-old patient from Lehi. "But if you just do things in life, you can end up in places you don't think you will."
For the athletes, the visit was just as powerful.
"To see these kids with these smiles on their faces, to get visits from people they see as heroes, but what they don't realize is, we see them as heroes. Right? They are equally as inspiring to us as we are to them," said Kaysha Love, a World Champion bobsled athlete from Herriman who competed in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
"It really is a meaningful thing to me that I can use my platform as an athlete to be able to do that and hopefully (be) an inspiration," said Sam Watson, the world record holder in speed climbing and 2024 Paris Olympics Bronze Medalist.
While Olympic Day is officially about promoting movement through the IOC's Let's Move initiative, the message at Primary Children's Hospital was one of connection, encouragement, and joy.
It is something these kids and their families will carry with them long after the athletes go home.
"I'm happy they came here, and it meant a lot to see them," Pace said. "It shows the importance of you can go somewhere, even when you don't really feel like you can or even if you had a rough spot, you can get back up and they're here to show you that you can make it far in life."
