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ne Admissions Tours Call to schedule a tour at your convenience Profile ���Athletes call them ���white moments.��� It���s almost like an out-of-body experience��� it���s like you know you���re going to win before it even happens, and that���s what happened the day of the Olympics.��� it can be tiring to talk about the abuse constantly, she says she���s at peace now and wakes up every morning hoping to make a difference. ���I don���t care how much it sucks or how painful it is for me to relive my past,��� she says. ���If one less kid goes through what I went through, then what I���m doing is worth it.��� Despite having to constantly talk about her experience, Harrison says she���s careful not to ���slip back into that victim mentality.��� When she fights, the word ���victim��� is easily replaced by the word ���champion.��� She struggles to describe the feelings that surge through her mind and body when she���s competing. ���Athletes call them ���white moments,������ she says. ���It���s almost like an out-of-body experience���it���s like you know you���re going to win before it even happens, and that���s what happened the day of the Olympics.��� She relies on music to calm her down and to amp her up on fight days. Before tournaments, she listens to John Mayer, George Strait, and a lot of country to keep ���chill.��� At the tournament, though, it���s a different story. Pumping in her mears rightc o l l eshe hitsn mat? Eminem���s anthem ���Lose e n ��� s before c t i o the Yourself.��� ���I have a whole Eminem playlist that I listen to,��� she says. ���He gets me amped. He gets me ready for war.��� ���War��� hasn���t been on her agenda for months, though. For the first time in a long time, Harrison���s life isn���t revolving around training. ���I lived, ate, breathed, and slept judo,��� she says. ���It was 25 hours a day, eight days a week. It was every time I opened the fridge; it was every time I made a decision to go out or not go out, or what shoes to put on.��� Harrison is now supposed to be ���taking a break and enjoying life.��� But judo has been replaced with a new set of demands, like interviews with reporters, shopping for red carpet dresses, having her hair and makeup done, and showing up for photo shoots (like this one). ���I���m just trying to get used to it and sort of, like, wrap my head around it,��� she says. Her Olympic fame might feel surreal, but she���s savoring the experience. ���The one thing about the Olympics is that it doesn���t last forever; people only have Olympic fever for so long,��� she says. ���The shine has already worn off my gold medal for a lot of people. But not for me���never for me.��� Despite her respite from training, Harrison misses judo tremendously, and says her teammates are her best friends. ���Judo is my best friend,��� she adds, ���and my coaches are my Waring School ��� 35 Standley St. ��� Beverly, MA ��� 01915 (978) 927-8793 ��� www.waringschool.org shaban ��� s Fine Men���s Clothiers C u s t o m Ta i l o r i n g The C olleCTion Zanella Jack Victor G. Manzoni Baroni Alex Cannon St. Croix Saltaire Tommy Bahama Agave Jack Victor 28 Chestnut Street, Andover, MA 01810 Shabans.indd 1 122_REV_NSJanFeb13_Judo.indd 126 978-475-5996 www.shabanscollection.com 11/28/12 5:40 PM 11/29/12 12:55 PM