Meet the 2024 Paris Olympics’ MVP: Most Valuable Puppy.
Beacon, a 4-year-old golden retriever, has played an important role in this year’s Olympics as a therapy dog for Team USA’s Gymnastics team.
The pup has accompanied the team made up of Olympic su-paw-stars, including Simon Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, and with Beacon by their side, the weight of mental health comes a little easier.
During trials, the team’s “Goodest Boy” was always on-call — sometimes even putting in 15-hour days, ESPN reported.
USA Gymnastics’ first-ever therapy dog “senses people’s stress and knows how to soothe them,” his owner, Tracey Callahan Molnar, told USA Today.
As a former gymnast herself, Molnar, 65, has a pretty good sense of which team member could use some puppy love.
“I watch the women and if they’re animated when they see him, I’ll walk toward them,” Molnar told ESPN, adding that she is mindful that interacting with Beacon might not come naturally or be as soothing for those who didn’t grow up with dogs.
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The organization’s only part-time, four-legged staff member knows to respond to any team member in need whether or not he’s called by. name.
“He will turn on a dime without seeing who it is,” Molnar said. “He picks up on the stress and will pull to that person immediately.”
“They absorb the stress of the people they’re relieving the stress off of,” she said. “So even though he might be lying still for two hours, he’s wiped out afterwards.”
This is Beacon. He's a therapy dog and one of USA Gymnastics' busiest volunteers. He attended the Olympic Trials with a badge that literally says he's the "Goodest Boy." His job is to comfort athletes and coaches, giving them a belly to rub whenever they need it. 14/10 pic.twitter.com/jIPCaw7iya
— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) July 2, 2024
According to Molnar, “Petting a dog, or even watching someone pet a dog, can lower blood pressure and anxiety, help increase the feel-good hormones serotonin and dopamine and lower cortisol levels.”
“We all need a certain amount [of cortisol],” she said of the notorious stress hormone. “But too much isn’t healthy.”
In fact, a study by researchers at the University of Washington found that “petting an animal for ten minutes can help reduce levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, as well as focus on the present moment.”
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— Dogs Dogs More Dogs (@DogsDogsMoreDog) July 2, 2024Meet Beacon! He is a 4-year-old golden retriever & therapy dog.
He travels to important meets such as the Olympic trials & holds the title of USAG's "Goodest Boy."
He spends his days comforting athletes & coaches, calming members of the women's national team before their first… pic.twitter.com/afMaFGulpE
Beacon has become one of the many internet sensations of the Olympics, though he’s not the only dog that has provided mental health care to the athletes.
“Beacon is not the only dog,” Jill Geer, chief communications and marketing officer at USA Gymnasts, told USA TODAY. “There are several other dogs, but Beacon is 100% the star of the show. He is literally the Beacon of this program.”
“I joke that Beacon needs an agent, because there are more requests for Beacon than just about any other athlete out there,” she added.
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One gymnast even said that Beacon deserves a promotion.
“One of the gymnasts suggested [Beacon] should be the CHO,” Molnar toldNEXSTAR. “That would be the Chief Happiness Officer.”
Unfortunately, despite efforts made to get Beacon to Paris, it ultimately fell through due to logistic issues, Molnar shared.
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“I was made aware that due to the challenges with logistics, Beacon & I will not be heading to Paris to support the USA Gymnastics team at the Olympics. Of course, I’m disappointed but I have been reminding myself that forging new trails does not come without challenges. it’s never a reason to stop trying,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Beacon and I will be cheering our Olympians on from California and hope that @usagym and @teamusa hear us loud and clear all the way in Paris!”
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Mental health has been a top priority for the women’s gymnastics team and is just as integral to them as physical training.
“Even this morning at 7 a.m., I saw my therapist, and there’s a time change, so she is so amazing for allowing me to do that these couple of days here in Paris,” Biles said after her Olympic all-around win, “so just making sure I’m mentally well. I think you see that on the competition floor.”
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The USA gymnastics team wrapped up their run at the Olympics today, ending with a total of 10 medals — and their furry friend is paw-sitively sure to be proud.
“So many feels here. it is a great privilege for Beacon and I to spend time with, and support these amazing gymnasts and their coaches—each and every one of them. We have a front row seat to witnessing their commitment to excellence and collaborative efforts to get there,” Molnar wrote on Instagram.
“I am proud that USA Gymnastics has brought pet therapy to the sport, and not just brought it — but truly embraced and supported it. My gratitude is big! and Beacon? Proud doesn’t even scratch the surface of how I feel. Whether these gymnasts made/make the 2024 US Olympic team or not – this is TEAM USA and we are honored to be a part.”
