Single mother of Olympian attends Rio thanks to GoFundMe effort
A single mother is on her way to the Olympics to watch her daughter compete, thanks to some generous strangers.
Ariana Washington is a Team USA sprinter who qualified for the U.S. Olympic team a matter of weeks ago. Coming off a foot injury, Washington was unlikely to make it to the Olympics, but she managed to qualify, much to the surprise of her family. According to KTLA, her mother, Euna, is single and has a son with cerebral palsy, thus making it very difficult to get to Rio to watch her daughter compete.
Enter GoFundMe, set up by a friend to ensure that Euna and son Gabe could get to Rio to see Ariana compete.
The page had a stated goal of $8,000, and it took just 26 days to go above and beyond, raising nearly $10,000 to get the Washingtons to Brazil.
“We just didn’t expect her to make it this year, so it’s come as a surprise,” Euna Washington told Mike Guardabascio of the Press-Telegram recently. “Everyone has been so generous, we’re really overwhelmed by it.”
The Washingtons aren’t unique. There are 147 GoFundMe pages set up for Rio Olympians and their families, and over $780,000 has been raised for them thus far.
H/T Buzzfeed
