Geena Davis was 41 years old and had no experience in competitive sports when she decided to pick up a bow for the first time.
It was 1997, a year after watching Justin Huish win gold in Atlanta, and something about that image stayed with her. She began training almost every day with her coach Don Rabska, with no guarantee that anything would come of it.
In July 1999, at 43, the actress from “Thelma & & Louise” and “A League of Their Own” competed in the U.S. Olympic team trials, going up against 300 women for a spot heading to Sydney 2000.
She did not make it to the Games: she finished 24th among the semifinalists, one place short of the 16 who advanced. But in just two years, she had gone from not knowing how to hold a bow to competing alongside the country’s best archers.
The Olympic spot eluded her, though she was still invited to compete in the Sydney International Golden Arrow.
Sometimes it’s not about winning, but where daring to try takes you.