RIO DE JANEIRO -- Not an hour had gone by since a big chunk of this particular planet had just watched Eleanor Logan, Emily Regan and the rest of the U.S. women's eight crew take Olympic gold on a spectacularly sunny Saturday morning amid the backdrop of Lake Rodrigo de Freitas' gorgeous, mountainous surroundings.
But heck, now it was time to grab a bite to eat, maybe shop a bit.
So off they went, the two of them, down the cobblestone side street, away from official security, away from the handful of reporters who'd just interviewed them inside Lagoa Stadium, away from everything that had just happened. This would just be two girls going out for the day. Not a soul would recognize them, much less congratulate or bother them.
On the sidewalk just outside the stadium, Amanda Polk's family waited for her to emerge. She was part of that winning crew, too, and her mom and dad and siblings and cousins, all draped in red, white and blue from headbands to stockings, a couple of them bearing 'TEAM POLK' across their backs ... all of them couldn't wait to give her one final cheer for her achievement of a lifetime.
And once she did make it out, this was the welcome ...
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Amanda Polk and the U.S. women row to gold. - GETTY____________________
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