Tamyra Mensah: The Patriotic Gold-Medal Wrestler Who Used Her Prize Money To Make Her Mother’s Dream Come True
Proud American patriot and Olympic gold winner Tamyra Mensah-Stock is using her prize money to purchase a food truck for her mother.
Tamyra, who just won $37,500 as a gold medal Olympian in wrestling said her mother had been struggling since the tragic death of her father when she was still in school. He was driving home from one of her competitions and lost his life in a car accident. And now, at 28 years of age, she wants to fulfill her mother’s “dream” by lifting a big weight from her shoulders.
In an interview with PEOPLE magazine, Tamyra said:
“She’s always doing back-breaking work and … I’ve just seen her struggling ever since my dad died and I don’t like seeing it.”
“I made a promise to her and she loves cooking. It’s just one of her passions. Growing up, we’d be like, ‘Ooh, mommy, you put your back into this food. Like you literally put your foot in it.”
Tamyra wins gold & becomes America’s 2nd ever Women’s Olympic Champion!! 🇺🇸🥇#UWW #WrestleTokyo @wrestling pic.twitter.com/V9xpvLKZvX
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) August 3, 2021
The athlete said her mother was using a portable grill to prepare and sell food off of when Tamyra was still a child, which Tamyra said was “not exactly the best legal method.”
“So how about I buy you a food truck and you can be anywhere you want to be?” Tamyra said she told her mother. “[My mom] was ecstatic. She’s like, ‘Yes, I would love that.’ This is five years ago. And I just keep telling her, ‘Just hold off, mommy, please just hold off.’”
Now, the wrestler can finally make her mom’s “dream come true,” she said.
“It is going to be pleasant. It’s going to be legal. It’s going to be fun,” she added.
And the food truck even has its own name. Tamyra calls it “The Lady Bug.”
The wrestler managed to win the hearts of Americans recently with her reaction to her gold medal win.
In a deeply emotional moment, Tamyra wrapped herself in the U.S. flag, thanked the Lord and expressed her gratitude for being able to represent her country – something that seems to be fading out of fashion for U.S. athletes at the Olympics.
“I surprised myself! It’s by the grace of God I’m able even to move my feet,” she said after her final match. “I just leave it in his hands. And I pray that all the practice, the hell that my freaking coaches put me through, pays off. And every single time it does. And I get better and better. And it’s so weird that there’s no cap to the limit I can do. And I’m excited to see what I have next.”
“I’m so happy I get to represent USA!” pic.twitter.com/Y5CcjaPCbK
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) August 3, 2021
In a recent interview, Tamyra said representing her country was an “amazing” experience.
“I love representing the U.S. I freaking love living there,” she said. “I love it. And I’m so happy I get to represent USA!”
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