London 2012: Analyzing Gold Medal Chances for Holley Mangold

Athletics have always been a part of the Mangold family.

While Nick was a star in college and a first-round draft choice of the New York Jets, sister Holley followed right in his footsteps. That’s right; Holley played football in high school.

Now, while Nick is chasing his professional dreams and hopefully a Super Bowl ring in New York, Holley is following her passion—trying to capture a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Could the younger sibling, 22, achieve greater success? It is a possibility. The younger Mangold comes into the Olympic Games with a great attitude and a chance to "feel-good" story over the next two weeks.

"I'm a big girl and I'm comfortable with who I am," said Mangold, in a story on abcactionnews.com. "I hope when people see that, when they see me, it will give them the self-confidence to follow their dreams, to keep going when others say they cannot do something."

With that kind if confidence and plenty of attitude she hopes she can inspire other females to pursue their dreams.

But make no mistake, Mangold is in London and has gold medals on her mind. She's not just setting a good example for bigger women in sports.

Mangold, who stands 5'8" and weighs 350 pounds, according to the article on line, shows her surprising agility by doing a cartwheel before each competition.

Sarah Robles is the only other American woman to qualify in the 75-lilo competition. Can Mangold put  everything together and being home another trophy for not only for herself, but for her country and her family?

Standing in the background for support is big brother Nick, who watched her train and qualify for the games, but will not attend them because he is in New York at the Jets training camp. Still, big brother is watching and lending as much support as possible.

"To do what she's done in her sport in such a short amount of time is incredible," said Nick in the abcactionnews.com article. "I think it's just a testament to what Holley can do when she puts her mind to it. She's always been that type of person. When she makes her mind up about something, there's not a whole lot of stopping her."

And as the August 5 competition date draws closer, it should only increase Mangold's desire for greatness and continue the athletic drive that burns deep within the family.