Tag Archives: Olympics

The very best and the second best

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I haven’t watched a lot of the Olympics, but I’ve enjoyed everything I have seen. I love watching athletes give everything they have, and finding extra reserves or incredible composure in the face of exceptional competition.

For some athletes who dream of gold, the only acceptable place to come in is first. For others, the silver medal is an incredible achievement, that seemed almost impossible before the competition.

To one person second best is amazing and to another it is the first loser. It’s the same medal, but it means so much more or less, depending on what they believed they could achieve. It’s a good reminder of what our expectations do to our experience.

Olympic winners

Today I watched some Olympics after our 7+ hour drive home from Nelson BC. It was as a good way to spend the evening, with low motivation to do much else.

I love watching athletes achieve personal best times in their events. While the cameras focus on the likely medal winners, there are always athletes that, while representing their country as their best in an event, have no chance of getting a medal. If your personal best is several seconds slower than the top 8 or more athletes, chances are you aren’t making the finals, much less the podium. So for these athletes, gold is only a dream, and unlikely a reality. Yet, they’ve made it to the Olympics!

Seeing these athletes achieve personal best times is inspiring. To make it to the Olympics and then do the absolute best you’ve ever done… that’s an outstanding achievement. Many athletes leave the Olympics without a medal, but there will be more winners than medals given out. Making it to the Olympics and doing your absolute best that you can… it’s hard to ask more of an athlete.