Enduring Lessons from the London Olympics

9/7/2012

The London Olympics ended August 12, but even four weeks later, the otherworldly performances of the likes of Michael Phelps, the American basketball teams, our charismatic female gymnasts, and the phenomenally talented and irrepressible Usain Bolt continue to resonate.
As one who loves the Olympics and spent countless hours in the La-Z-Boy flipping channels, I totally understand the excitement and the admiration heaped on the competitors. As one who also searches for lessons in, well, pretty much everything, I submit that other less acclaimed athletes taught us more through their examples than those who earned their rightful places on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

    Here’s a sampling, gleaned – bear with me, if you will – from track and field.

    Timi Garstang, a sprinter from the Marshall Islands, ran 12.81 in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash.
    How fast is that?
    Not very.
    He finished dead last among all competitors by more than a second.
    In fact, his time would have placed him – I’m not making this up – 19th out of 20 runners in last spring’s Prep League championship.
    Yet with the world watching and his countrymen cheering him on from the far reaches of the South Pacific 8,500 miles from London, he donned his orange singlet and challenged himself against the very best.
    Did he think he could outsprint Bolt, who ran 9.63 in the gold medal race?
    Probably not.
    By taking a risk, however, Timi Garstang can call himself an Olympian.

    China’s Liu Xiang (pronounced LeO Shung) won the 110 hurdles in the Athens Olympics (2004) and the world championship three years later.
    He was the hope of his nation in Beijing in 2008, but an Achilles tendon injury scuttled his chance to shine before the home crowd.
    London would be his redemption, but, alas, his right Achilles betrayed him again, and he crashed to the track as he attempted to clear his first hurdle in Heat 6 of the prelims.
    Continuing the race was impossible, but he did the next best thing.
    After struggling to his feet, Liu literally bounced on his good leg toward the finish, then kissed the final hurdle as if to bid farewell to his dream, then crossed the finish line.
    The letters DNF appear beside his name in the official results.
    Doesn’t matter.
    Through uncommon courage and resolve, he achieved the greatest of victories.

    Manteo Mitchell led off the semifinals of the 4x400 relay for the United States.
    At the halfway mark, he heard a pop in his left leg and felt immediate, excruciating pain.
    Slow down? Not a chance.
   Stop? No way.
   He covered the final 200 with a broken fibula.
   The Americans won that qualifying race.
   That’s not all.
   Mitchell was one of three top-of-the-line quarter milers forced to sit out the finals with injuries.
   With what amounted to a B-team, the U.S. placed a close second behind Jamaica.
   Pundits called it a crushing upset.
   The silver medalists offered no excuses. They simply departed the track with their heads high because they had stared adversity in the face and competed with all they had.

    Morgan Uceny won the Olympic Trials 1500 and traveled to London with a legitimate chance to earn a medal for the United States.
    With about a lap to go in the finals, she tumbled to the track after an inadvertent bump from a competitor and watched incredulously as the tight pack sailed past her.
    Her response?
    She slammed her palms on the track and began sobbing.
    Now, I can only imagine her disappointment, frustration and anguish since she had also tripped in the last world championship.
    But I do know this
    You fall. You get up.
    You finish what you start.
    On the track and in life.
    Therein lies the lesson.
    Simple as that.
          -- Weldon Bradshaw

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