"When my faith and others were shaken I looked inward," Raisman said in her toast.
+ READ ARTICLEOlympic gold medalist Aly Raisman urged the audience to look inward in a toast at TIME 100 Next.
“Justice matters and so does today and so does tomorrow,” Raisman said. “We can’t change the world through justice alone we need to change at a more individual level.”
Raisman is one of 100 honorees on TIME’s 100 Next list, which recognizes leaders shaping their respective fields.
Raisman, who competed in the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics, has won six medals at the games — three golds, two silvers and one bronze. She began gymnastics as a toddler.
It’s been almost two years since Raisman confronted former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar face-to-face in court with a powerful victim impact statement about the sexual abuse she and dozens of other young women endured. Since then, Raisman has been vocal in holding USA Gymnastics to account for its failure to stop Nassar’s abuse of female athletes. She has also been vocal about promoting body positivity.
“When my faith and others were shaken I looked inward,” Raisman said in her toast, noting that it was “difficult” and “scary” but once she “pushed past the self-judgment and fear,” she “rediscovered a deeper goodness.”