The Olympics: Where the Spirit Runs

The Summer Olympics is here; it is the greatest multi-sport competition in the world. An Olympic Gold, in most cases, is the ultimate prize in sports, which the best in the world fight for. Even then, we are lucky to witness moments that tell us clearly that there is something more to sports than just the first place finish. The Olympic Movement holds aloft values like fair play, inclusiveness and winning the right way, and there are athletes who had shone brightly in this regard at the quadrennial spectacle, each one of them becoming a living epitome of these qualities.?The examples I am covering here were ones that struck an instant chord with me as I watched them on TV, except for the first one that happened way back in time, about which I read first and watched later in a biopic. In life we come across such situations, and taking calls similar to the ones these athletes took, is easier said than done.

Luz Long & Jesse Owens: Friendship trumps racism

Jesse Owens of USA came to the 1936 Berlin Games as the World Record Holder in long jump; he was up against German Luz Long who was the leading European contender in the event. Long’s victory over the African American Owens would lend more credence to Hitler’s Aryan supremacy theory and naturally, the tension in the air was palpable. While the qualifying rounds were taking place, Owens was disturbed and fouled two of his three qualifying jumps, even though the cut-off length of 7.15m was no challenge for him. The story goes that Luz Long, seeing the predicament, walked up to Jesse Owens and advised him to take the third jump a foot behind the foul line, with the obvious understanding that the distance won’t be a problem at all for the American, to qualify for the final. Owens seemed to have acted on the tip; he took off in the third jump with a safe margin and qualified for the final. Later, Owens won the Gold with an Olympic Record leap of 8.06m and Luz Long won the silver at 7.87 m. It was an act of sportsmanship of the highest order and Luz displayed tremendous courage to extend the hand of friendship at that moment in front of the Berlin crowd that included the Fuhrer himself. On that day, he was a true winner. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the two, an inspirational story that took place long before we were able to see a sporting world that is united against racism.

Derek Redmond: Never give up

Great Britain’s Derek Redmond came in to the 1992 Barcelona Games with lots of hopes. He had recorded impressive timings in his heats and quarterfinals on his way to the semifinals, the race that would eventually make him popular all over the world. ?In the semis, with around 250m to go, Derek tore his hamstring, as he fell to the ground in pain, with his Olympic medal dream coming to a cruel end. He was in excruciating pain but he was determined to get up and complete the race, and he started the limp towards the finish line, for he was anything but a quitter. His father Jim ran up to him and gave him the shoulder he needed, as Derek got closer to the finish. The stretcher bearers were on the track to help him, but the braveheart refused it. With his dad’s support, Derek hobbled past the finish line to a standing ovation from the crowd. Technically, he did not finish the race since he took external help, but to everyone who watched it live in the stadium and on TV, Derek Redmond was a champion.

Kerri Strug: Team above self

The Women’s Gymnastics Team event at the Olympics used to be a Soviet territory. In the 1996 Atlanta Games, the hosts held a lead against their arch-rivals as they went into the final rotation, with US team doing the vault, and the Russians, the floor exercise. The first four US gymnasts didn’t perform as expected and the gold was not a certainty. That was when Kerri Strug took her first vault; when she under-rotated her landing, injuring her ankle in the process. She was in considerable pain and in no shape to make her second attempt. But, with the coveted team gold at stake, she was requested by the coach, the legendary Bela Karolyi, to go one more time for the team. What followed is now part of Olympic folklore. Strug limped across to the run way, made her second attempt on the vault, landed on both legs successfully before saluting the judges with a one-legged hop, and then collapsed on to the mat. It was a successful vault that fetched a score of 9.712 which put the Gold Medal beyond reach of the rivals. It was sports at its best!

Nikki Hamblin & Abby D’Agostino: Kindness and respect

This incident from the Rio 2016 Games should be fresh in our memories. In the Women’s 5000m heat, with 4 laps to go, New Zealander Hamblin stumbled and fell face forward on the track, bringing down D’Agostino of USA with her. The American, though, was the first to get back on her feet, and as she jumped up, the first thing she did was to get Hamblin back on her feet. The duo continued running again before the injury from the fall started affecting D’Agostino. She fell down, on all fours, and was in great distress. At that point Hamblin stopped, turned back and gave D’Agostino the helping hand and words of encouragement to get her back on her legs. Both of them finished the race, in the last two places (but does it really matter?). Even though they were way behind the qualifying time, both were allowed to run the finals. On that day It wasn’t about beating your rival, it was Olympics spirit at its very best in Rio De Janeiro.

Sports teaches you valuable life lessons. How you behave in tough circumstances really bears testimony to the strength of your character. The athletes discussed here are glittering examples of the true spirit of the Olympics, something which can be imbibed by us and made a part of our personality, as we move forward in our respective ultra-competitive work environments.?