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Meet Molly

Faces of Rio 2016

By Rachel Tobias

August 20^th, 2016

Meet Molly.

Molly is a fellow volunteer at USA House. Molly has become one of my closest friends here in Rio, and I know without any doubt that this will remain a lifelong friendship. There’s something very special about meeting people who share a love and passion, however nerdy it may be, for the Olympic Movement, and it’s a rare passion to come across. Molly is one of those people; this was her second time as a volunteer at the Olympic Games (she had previously worked at the London 2012 Summer Games).

Molly and I spent a lot of time together exploring Rio and working behind the registration desk at USA House together, which thankfully gave us a lot of time to get to know each other and swap stories, laughs and experiences. She is Australian, and like myself, shares a love of sport: she competed in athletics in her youth and now works for Australia hockey while getting her masters degree in sports marketing and management. Together, we hunted for the best acai, taste-tested burgers at Airbnb House, marveled at the gallery exhibit of a Brazilian cartoonist, and took in the mind-blowing view atop Sugarloaf.

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Enjoying a morning acai before heading to the art museum

I made Molly pose next to my new favorite tree, which had this incredible bright orange bark!

Molly is one of those people who is unapologetically herself. She never tries to prove anything, is always being completely genuine, and always says it like it is (with the most endearing touch of sarcasm), which doesn’t stop anyone from being drawn to her. Spending time with Molly made me realize how important self-confidence is and how much more I need to focus on embracing and accepting who I am and who I want to be. She is also extremely sharp, and quickly became the most competent, no-bullshit volunteer on the team; if I ever start a sports-related business (or any kind of business, for that matter), I want Molly as my business partner.

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A sunset view of Rio de Janeiro from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.

The sunset just kept getting better and better, as the Cristo lit up in the distance.

Leaving Rio was much more difficult than I had anticipated, and in particular, it makes me sad that I won’t be able to see Molly every day. I think she knew that I might have some Olympics withdrawals coming on, because she handed me an envelope at the end my last shift at USA House, to be opened only when I was in the air. Hours later I opened it: “So we do this crazy thing in my family where we write plane letters so that we have at least one activity to do on the plane. So I thought I’d do one for you.” Of course, when I opened it and read Molly’s kind words, I burst into tears next to my rather confused seat mate.

Molly, you’re a gold-medal friend and I can’t wait until the next time our paths cross, be it in Australia, California, Tokyo 2020, or some other magical place!