Twelve years ago at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, a 17-year-old speedskating prodigy named Kirstin Holum was tapped for future greatness.When Holum placed sixth in the 3,000 meters - one of the most grueling disciplines in the women's program, a lung-scraping four-minute bust of lactic acid torture - speedskating insiders predicted a golden future and speculated she may not even reach her peak for another decade.
***
There is no television and no internet at St. Joseph's Convent in Leeds, England, meaning Holum won't get to watch the Winter Olympics where she was supposed to become a star.
The peaceful surrounds of the convent is where Holum, now known as Sister Catherine, devotes her life to religious service as a Franciscan nun. That calling had begun on a trip to Our Lady of Fatima, a holy site in Portugal famed for a series of religious visions that appeared nearly a century ago. It was outside the Fatima basilica where Holum decided that a path of religious dedication, not frozen skating lanes, would be her destiny.
(Holum is far left)
story here
1 comments:
Heartwarming. Wouldn't it be nice if th Olympics did a Where Are They Now segment and featured her?
Post a Comment