Olympic History

I don't know about anyone else, but I love to watch the Olympics.  One of my favorite things is to learn the personal stories of the athletes: what have they overcome? is this the first medal for their country? what does it mean to them?

Most of us think that if it were us, we would want the gold medal, and only the gold medal, but many athletes are just happy to be there.  The gold medal may be beyond their reach, but just the fact that they qualified to compete fulfills their dream of being an Olympian.  Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee, had as many fans as Usain Bolt, "The Fastest Man on Earth."  The women from Saudi Arabia, the first to ever compete for that country, made a statement just by their presence.  Then there were those who won when they shouldn't have, Like David Boudia.  He barely made it into the qualifying round, and then squeaked by again into the finals.  Then something seemed to change, and he dived perfectly-every time.  Then there was Jamie-Lynn Gray, the American who won the women's 50m rifle competition, while the commentators repeatedly said that she had shot terribly all year and was even lucky to be there.  

What did we learn from all of these competitors?  That anything is possible if you really try.  If Boudia had given up after placing 18th in the qualifying round, he never would have reached gold.  Instead, he continued to try his best.  Perhaps it was because the pressure was off of him that allowed him to dive to beautifully, time after time.  Pistorius could have scrapped the Olympics and waited for the Paralympics where he excels, but he didn't.  He beat seven other able-bodied athletes in his quarterfinal round.  The winner of the finals was so impressed that he traded bibs with Pistorius.  He paved the way for other athletes who might not have the same advantages.  Who knows what we might see in the future?  

The 2012 Olympics was about setting records and creating history. If the U.S. women were their own country, they would have placed third in the medal count.  For the first time ever, every country sent a female competitor.  For the first time, there was a physically disabled athlete.  Not since Jesse Owens in the Berlin games in 1936 has an Olympic games carried so much meaning.  I hope that others can appreciate what they were witnessing: an Olympics that will be talked about for decades to come.