MIAMI, AZ — Brady Ellison is set to compete for a gold medal in archery in the Tokyo Olympics but his parents are dealing with their own pressure-filled situation following massive flooding in the Town of Miami Thursday.
“We had a party planned this afternoon, and we were gonna meet at Copper Bistro and have our friends and family and watch the event together,” said Brady’s stepmother Aimee.
Aimee runs an insurance company on the main strip through town, an area that saw flooding as high as three feet in a span of just a few hours.
“We knew that with all the wildfires that we were going to see a lot more water and debris coming down our creeks when hard rains arrived,” said Aimee. “We were surprised at how much this time.”
She says she watched the water begin to rise and quickly jumped into action.
“I put a few sandbags in front of the door and by the time I went back to get some more, it was already a foot in front of the door,” said Aimee.
She eventually waded out into the knee-deep water, got in her truck, left, and prayed.
As the sun rose Friday morning the damage was devastating.
“I was kind of emotional when I pulled up this morning and I’m just like, the whole town shows up, and that’s the best thing about living in a small town is that no one lets you just deal with your problem alone,” said Aimee.
Knowing what was on the line, friends, family, and strangers showed up this morning ready to make sure Aimee didn’t miss a moment of Brady’s action.
“We would be nowhere if it wasn’t for the community that just, I pulled up in the parking lot and there was seven pickups from a contracting company here in town waiting for instruction on what they wanted to get done for us,” said Aimee. “We’ve had equipment donated and BHP has brought employees here to pull my floor out of my office.”
In the end, the extra help made all the difference allowing them to cheer on Brady to an Olympic medal. An ode to the unrelenting spirit of this small Arizona town.
Brady is a four-time Olympian and a three-time Olympic medalist. He has competed in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and now 2020 games.