‘I’m still on that cloud.’ Mom of LI Olympian beams with pride after son’s gold medal win
Her co-workers and students surprised her with it when she returned Thursday after watching her son, Charlie, play for the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team in Italy.
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Jennifer McAvoy is a long-time hockey mom. Now, she's also a "gold medal mom."
That's what the sign says above her classroom door at Kramer Lane Elementary School in Bethpage. Her co-workers and students surprised her with it when she returned Thursday after watching her son, Charlie, play for the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team in Italy.
"Him winning...it's the most unbelievable thing I could ever imagine," said McAvoy. "I had this feeling the whole time, somehow, some way they're going to find a way to do it. I can't even describe it. I'm still on that cloud right now."
Charlie is a defenseman on Team USA. This was his first Olympic appearance. McAvoy said watching Charlie and his teammates celebrate was "pure joy." She said everyone in the family who was in Milan cried. McAvoy said the best part was when Charlie came over to them to celebrate and spotted her husband, also named Charlie, in the crowd.
"He jumped up onto the thing and pulled himself up to grab my husband. You know everything that you've done, all the years to get them where they are right now, that's what it's all about," said McAvoy, who was proudly wearing a USA sweatshirt and red, white and blue sneakers for News 12’s interview.
While the family celebrated the gold medal in Milan, McAvoy said she kept seeing videos and pictures of people on Long Island watching and cheering for her son as well.
"So, everybody was able to feel the joy from this, whether they were there or not," she said.
She also shared a video of Charlie putting the gold medal around her neck.
"He just came right over to me, and he put the gold medal around my neck and said, ‘We did it, we did it.’ He just kept repeating that. ‘We did it,’" she said proudly.
And so, it was a win for the nation, Team USA and the McAvoys. It's also a win that will make McAvoy a "gold medal mom" for the rest of her life.
