meet · kyoot
/mit · kjut/
In which a former Navy Seal / current American Ninja Warrior and a Naval Aviator run into each other on the beach and create a bond neither thought they wanted but both knew they needed.
Natasha "Phoenix" Trace x OC
Top Gu...
"Hi, I'm Liam Knight and I'm competing for the United States in Surfing."
The camera flashes at him, signaling to keep going. The trails committee wanted little bios for their potential Olympians.
"Surfing was something I had always thought was cool but never really tried. It wasn't until I was probably about 13 that I finally decided to get on a board.
Growing up in California, I had a lot of options to get lessons, just never had the drive to go through with it.
But when my brother, Emmett, enlisted in the Navy, it showed me that you could do anything but you needed to follow through with it. He really inspired me to chase the things I wanted to do.
Our mom got sick when I was about 16 and Emmett had to come home and take care of me when she got really bad.
I'll be honest, I went to a bad place but Emmett set me straight. He saw my potential when he came by my surfing competition one day. Told me I could make something of myself if only I could get my head out of my ass."
Liam let out a light laugh, remembering the moment clear as day.
"I had so much support from my mom, brother and niece that I knew I couldn't let them down. Genevieve, my niece, she loves the ocean. Once she was old enough, I would take her out on my board, just sitting and enjoying the waves. I swear she's like half fish some days, never wanting to get out of the water.
And then Emmett met his now fiancé. Natasha came into our family like a bullet and never left. She became the sister I never had, always encouraging me to continue even when it was hard.
She barely even knew me but she believed in me so much, I knew I had to do it."
He smiled lightly, thinking of it all.
"I'm proud to say my brother and sister-in-law served this country with everything they had, Natasha is actually still in the Navy.
And now I get to represent them, their brothers and sisters in arms, and the rest of our country on the world stage as an Olympian."
He finished up, the people behind the camera giving him the all clear. They shook his hand, feeling good about this man and his influence on the future after his games.
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Word count: 406
Here's a glimpse at Liam's interview and story before he officially became an Olympic Athlete.
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