When picking my original music, Tina Turner was someone I wanted

“When picking my original music, Tina Turner was someone I wanted in my routine because of the strong impact she has had on my life. I admire her courage and resilience.” Thus spoke Katelyn Ohashi, a gymnast whose radiant performances captured not only medals but hearts. In her words lies more than admiration—it is a tribute from one warrior spirit to another, a recognition of shared struggle and triumph. For this is not merely about a choice of music, but about the inheritance of strength, the passing of courage from one soul to another across time. Through Tina Turner, Ohashi found not just rhythm, but revelation: that art and power are born from the same fire, and that the rhythm of survival beats within every act of creation.

To understand the depth of this quote, one must know the lives behind it. Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock, rose from hardship that might have broken lesser spirits. She endured abuse, betrayal, and the crushing weight of expectation, yet she emerged not as a victim, but as a phoenix reborn—her voice forged in flame, her will unyielding. She did not simply sing; she roared, she conquered, she transformed pain into power. Her story is not only of fame but of resilience—the divine strength to rebuild the self after destruction.

Katelyn Ohashi, too, knew the shadows. Once a rising star in elite gymnastics, she was broken by the weight of perfection, crushed beneath the cruelty of judgment and the constant demand to be flawless. Yet when the world expected her to fall silent, she, like Tina, found her song again. Her viral floor routine in 2019—joyous, fearless, radiant—was not merely athletic brilliance; it was liberation made visible. It was a woman reclaiming her joy, her identity, her artistry. And in choosing Tina Turner’s music, Ohashi invoked the spirit of one who had done the same in her own life: turned suffering into celebration, and struggle into song.

Thus, this quote is not about performance alone—it is about legacy, the sacred connection between those who rise and those who inspire. Just as the ancient poets drew courage from the heroes of their myths, so does Ohashi draw hers from Turner. Every great soul, when it conquers adversity, leaves a torch behind for others to carry. Turner’s courage was not confined to the stage; it became a living force, a melody of defiance that echoes through generations. In Ohashi’s words and movements, we see that torch relit—the unbroken chain of resilience that binds women of spirit across time.

History, too, bears witness to this rhythm of inspiration. Consider Harriet Tubman, who led her people from bondage through darkness into light, armed with nothing but faith and unyielding will. Her courage did not end with her own freedom—it became the anthem of those who followed. So it is with Tina Turner, and so it is with Ohashi. Each generation finds its guide in the courage of the last, proving that resilience is the most enduring of legacies.

The lesson, then, is this: greatness does not spring from comfort, but from transformation. When life tests you, remember those who walked through fire before you. Let their strength awaken your own. Admire not only their triumphs, but their perseverance, their refusal to be undone by despair. When you face your own trials—whether in art, in work, or in spirit—ask yourself, “How would courage dance? How would resilience sing?” For courage is not a single act; it is a way of being, an inner music that plays even when the world falls silent.

So let Katelyn Ohashi’s words remind us that we, too, may choose our music of courage—the voices, stories, and spirits that lift us when our own strength falters. In honoring her idol, she honors all who have endured, all who have turned pain into beauty. And as Tina Turner once sang, “You’re simply the best”—not because you never fall, but because you rise again, stronger and freer each time. Thus, may every heart learn to rise, to move, to shine—until its rhythm, too, becomes a song of resilience passed down to those yet to come.