COLORADO SPRINGS — The year was 1984, the team of gymnasts was young and considered themselves a sisterhood. But they gave it their all when competing in the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Michelle was known as the “tablesetter” on the team. She would go first and set the pace and expectations for Team USA’s performance. She was also the youngest on the team by a month, but the entire team was young. Still, that didn’t stop them from bringing home the silver medal for the U.S. Michelle says representing her country filled her with great pride, and the feeling of seeing the American flag waving filled her heart with happiness. She says she still gets that feeling to this day because being a part of something so special has impacted her entire life.
“Watching as a spectator, it resonates with me personally, having had my own experience and now seeing others representing Team USA, competing, having success. The pride continues and it’s an amazing feeling,” said Michelle Dusserre, 1984 silver medalist.
“To this day, we still keep in touch pretty frequently. We were there as teammates during competition but we’re now there for each other as friends, sisters, and supporters in whatever we do so that bond continues to this day,” said Michelle.
Michelle is happy to now call Colorado Springs home. She says the fact that this town is Olympic City USA holds meaning to her and she spends much of her time working at the Olympic and Paralympic Museum.
As for her former teammates, she plans on getting together with them for a reunion in the hopes that they can watch the Tokyo Olympics together this summer.
