The unsung hero of the Olympic-champion US women’s gymnastics team is a very good boy

Beacon, a golden retriever therapy dog, was a crucial part of the Americans’ preparations for the Olympics as he helped soothe athletes’ nerves

The US women’s gymnastics team is back on top of the world. Three years after the Americans settled for a team silver at the Tokyo Olympics, a five-woman squad of Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera regained the title and finished with eight medals overall. Not bad for the oldest US Olympic squad in 72 years, which played no small part in their nickname: the Golden Girls.

Their rock-star showing over the past week in Paris might have had something to do with the sugar rush from the French pastries that Biles has been raving about on social media. Or one could look to another hack: their time spent with Beacon, the four-year-old golden retriever who has been trotting around with America’s best and brightest gymnasts for the past year with the aim of helping keep their serotonin and stress levels in check.

Read More at: the guardian.com