Smile Medal Winners!

Often at the Olympic Games, it is interesting to see the difference in the attitudes of some athletes when they win silver or bronze rather than gold. Sure, the ultimate goal is to be on top of the podium, but becoming a silver or bronze medallist is a pretty significant feat too I would think. But some of the glum expressions on the lower steps of the podium certainly do not attest to such a narrative. 

With that said, it is therefore extremely uplifting when we see second and third place finishers celebrate with pure joy, honouring the hard work that have been put in and sacrifices that have been made in preparation to be amongst the best in the world. Be it tears brought on by emotion or massive hugs with team-mates, the smiles on the faces of these athletes truly exemplify the spirit of sportsmanship, that having earned a medal is just the icing on the cake, and that the act of participation with one's fellow athletes is what matters more. 

Although no successful sportsman myself, I do believe that the joy of participation is under-rated and should be the focus, rather than just aiming for that Olympic gold medal. For the many who participate and who will never win a medal, I think this certainly holds true. 

Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow celebrate winning bronze for Great Britain in the men's platform synchronised diving at Rio 2016. 

Back Stories

The London 2012 Olympics are over. I am now trying to catch up on the events that I missed via the YouTube Olympic channel. There are so many back stories to the events, the sportsmen and sportswomen. Like the first time women athletes from some of the Middle Eastern countries. Like Michael Phelps being crowned the greatest Olympian of all time. Like the enthusiasm of the British public. Like the superb efforts of Lee Chong Wei and Pandalela Rinong. Like the blade runner Oscar Pistorius.

One of the back stories which I could relate to of course was that of teenage British diver Tom Daley's. I had seen the BBC documentary about him, his late father and family. Anyone who has had a family member suffer from cancer I am sure would relate to the circumstances depicted in the documentary. So it was indeed a pleasure to see him win a bronze in the 10m platform diving competition. There must have hardly been a dry eye amongst the British fans at the aquatics centre when he responded to a reporter's question by saying, 'I wish my dad could have been here'.

It is back stories like this that make the Olympics so inspiring and at times even intriguing. Every athlete would have had their own tale to tell, that of hard work and sacrifice, being at the right place at the right time, of their natural talent. Only a few make it to mainstream media, but even these are enough to make us sit up and take notice, inspiring us in their own little way.

Tom Daley wins bronze at London 2012.

Compelling London 2012

I've been trying to catch as much of the Olympics action as I can. Was happy to see Ryan Lochte victorious in the 400m Individual Medley, the first London 2012 race I watched. There are so many stories to witness - success after much hard work, failure despite being tagged as favourite, hiccups that cost a podium finish, sheer determination just to complete a race, how the home crowd supports their countrymen and women. That's what makes the Olympics so compelling. If only the time difference wasn't that vast, it would be much easier to catch all the action.

I was watching the Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Diving last night and was looking forward  to see Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield of the Great Britain team medal. Sadly, a disappointing fourth dive wrecked their chances of getting onto the podium. Still they recovered with two good final dives to finish fourth, just a few points shy of a bronze. Which brings me to my point. Sometimes we make a bad mistake in life and take a tumble. Yes, we can wallow in self pity, but only for awhile. Then it's time to get up and move one. Little steps lead to bigger strides and before you know it, we're back on track.

Fortune favours the brave.

Peter Waterfield and Tom Daley.

London 2012

The London Olympics are here. With the time difference, I am antici-pating some crazy sleep patterns in the next few weeks. I typically only follow a few sports during the Olympics - swimming, diving, gymnastics, track and field.

Swimming of course is the sport I am best at, so naturally I am an avid fan. I hope Ryan Lochte (USA) will win at least either the 200m or 400m individual medley and enroute to the gold beat Michael Phelps (USA). I wish Leisel Jones (AUS) well and hope that she proves her critics wrong when she races in the 100m breastroke. I look forward to seeing James Magnussen (AUS) smash the 100m freestyle world record. Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) will perhaps create history by taking the 100m and 200m breastroke double for the third Olympics in a row. I'd also like to see the English swimmers do well in their home Olympics. As for diving, I hope the Malaysian divers will at least make the finals of their events. Who knows, they may spring a surprise or two. It would be great if divers representing different countries can prevent a Chinese clean sweep. Matthew Mitcham (AUS) defending his 10m platform title would be awesome or perhaps Tom Daley may win the event for the home team.

So much to follow, so little time to do so. I ought to come up with a game plan on how to catch as much of the sporting action as I can. Each Olympic Games has its own inspiring stories to tell. Here's to a great London Games.

Ryan Lochte in the pool.