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Olympian Dominique Dawes offers creative ways to stay fit during pandemic

Gold medalist and Marylander Dominique Dawes producing workout videos with her kids while staying home.

WASHINGTON — Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes has been finding creative ways to connect with the community and her family during social distancing. 

She started posting videos on her social media accounts of her doing relatively simple, but effective, workouts with her kids. The videos are fun and remind all of us to make the most out of even the most difficult situation.

“This is a hard time for everyone, everyone is kind of struggling and we’re all in this together," Dawes said. "But this is an opportunity where we can bond with our spouses, we can bond with our kids, we can do healthy positive things that can build lasting memories.”

It’s been nearly 30 years since the world was first introduced to Dawes. The spunky gymnast from Silver Spring, Maryland, quickly became a fan favorite – leading Team USA in three Olympics. She was most notably part of the Magnificent 7 in the ‘96 Summer games, winning a team gold, and also earning a bronze.

While making history and being an Olympic athlete, Dawes says, was “phenomenal,” she says the most fruitful and fulfilling things in her life are being what she is today: a wife and mother.

Dominique has four young kids, and like most of us, is trying to stay in shape while living the quarantine life. Needless to say, social distancing and being kept out of gyms can have its challenges – even for an Olympic great.

So, to keep herself and others inspired, Dawes has been sharing her quarantine workout routines online.

Dominique shares creative bonding methods and children infused workouts on her YouTube channel and social media pages nearly every day. They are exercises people can do in their homes or yards and invite their children to join them in.

“It’s just something fun to do with my kids. They have a lot of fun and a lot of energy," Dawes said. "They usually change it up to add some flips and twists to it, which I think is a lot of fun.”

Dawes is trying to make the most out of a challenging situation even as she's working to open her own gym, the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics Academy in Clarksburg, Maryland. She hopes to open her gym this summer and is accepting summer camp signups now.

But until the gym commands her full attention after this pandemic subsides, she will be at home, working out with her family and helping us to do the same.

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