Detroit Lions host watch party to support Olympic hurdle Melissa Gonzalez, wife of QB David Blough

ALLEN PARK, Michigan – Members of the Detroit Lions didn’t just go their separate ways after day three of training camp, they regrouped to support a teammate.

The team hosted a local watch party on Friday night to see Melissa Gonzalez – the wife of quarterback David Blough – advance to the Olympic 400-meter hurdles semi-final in Tokyo. She ran a 55.32, which set a Colombian national record.

It was a birthday present for Blough, who turned 26 on Saturday.

“You don’t always get that type of experience, but to me it embodies the fun of riding because it was pretty cool,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said at the press conference for Saturday. “It was a while, I can tell you that.”

Gonzalez represents Colombia.

Even though she was born and raised in the United States, she has dual citizenship and qualifies for Colombia thanks to her father, Hector, who left the country to play basketball at UTEP for the legendary coach. Don Haskins.

Before leaving training on Friday, the Lions organization also set up a camera for players to leave the pitch to send their congratulations to Gonzalez via social media, including quarterback Jared Goff.

“David never talks about you, we have no idea what’s going on,” Goff joked before seriously encouraging him to “do your thing.”

Blough posted a photo of his wife in his Instagram Story after her performance with the caption “My Heart!” while thanking the Lions “for all that you have done”.

Gonzalez played on the track in Texas and was a teammate with nine-time All-American hurdler Morgan (Snow) Goodwin, also the wife of Chicago Bears wide receiver Marquise Goodwin. Blough and Gonzalez were childhood sweethearts who both attended Creekview High School in Carrollton, Texas.

In May, she set the Colombian national record for the event (55.68) at the South American Championships.