Jesse Owens, athlete, Olympian.
Within an hour she had us pay the fee and with the help of one of our phones and airplay, (magic) we were watching Olympics.
It seemed like world conflicts had disappeared. Where did the middle east crisis go? Was it on hold? Or was it because for three days, we didn’t watch the news.
I am convinced being a top athlete is not that easy. I know that most athletes experience a sense of anticlimax after the games. For some this leads to depression. Thankfully most of them get through this. I note that Olympians on average live five years longer than the general population. Clearly, the physical strength they build up is of a lifelong benefit.
I watched some women athletes talk about their life as world class competitors. They spoke candidly about travelling from country to country following the championship trail. I had always assumed that they would be treated with the best in everything – maybe not five-star, but certainly superior accommodation, food, and facilities. These women talked about living in spartan accommodation and needing to sleep in corners on uncomfortable beds.
I know there has been talk of complaints I think) of the beds in the Olympic Village. To my eyes they seem a bit narrow. Recently in a friend’s house, I saw an old single bed – a bed just like the bed on which I used to sleep. It looked so narrow. I think the truth is that prosperity has us sleeping on bigger and bigger beds.
I am amazed at the number of bed adverts on TV. The persons on the bed are standard size but the beds are bigger and bigger. I gather that many of us are hankering for a good night’s sleep. These super beds seem to promise just that. It occurs to me that the bed and/or the mattresses may not be the cause of our wakefulness.
What is obvious is that the athletes in the Olympic Village are not being offered TV-style super beds. I assume that someone (perhaps a committee) whose members know about these things, have ascertained that the single beds in the village are fit for purpose for the world’s best athletes.
Being a person who has had plenty of ups and downs in my life, I notice not only the winners, but also the losers. Many pole vaulters dislodged the bar they were trying to clear. Obviously, this is disappointing for them and their supporters and their country. I watched (the world watched) one pole vaulter who went under the bar – that is, never even reached the bar. How did that person feel? His coach was watching. His family was watching. His hometown was watching. Everyone saw that his vault didn’t even reach the bar. I think he must have been devastated.
I saw another man sitting on a stool beside the athletic track. His head was wrapped in a towel. For a second his image filled the screen. Did he have a migraine? Was he weeping? Who knows? The capacity crowd of 76,000 was excited. The winners were mounting a podium, and he was sitting beside the track with his head wrapped in a towel.
The Olympics reminds me of something I’ve had a lot to do with – weddings. I’m thinking especially of the bride. Nowadays, it’s different but it used to be a big deal, a huge deal – the hair, the makeup, the shoes, the flowers and above all the dress. For many brides and their supporters (most often mothers), the preparation for that day took months.
And afterwards – married bliss obviously. Hmm! Once you have been on this mountain peak, with the acclaim of everyone in the room, in the arena, where do you go from there? Down? Hopefully not. The photos are framed. A slice of the cake is kept. But you have had your moment in the spotlight. From this point on the task is making the most of everyday life. Top athletes can go on, work for more dazzling moments, more steps onto a podium. However, what the athletes and the brides have in common is that their greatest challenge will be making the most of everyday life.
For me the most inspiring quotes to come from the Olympic Games come from Jesse Owens. In the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where Hitler planned to show the world the superiority of the Germanic race, Jesse Owens, a black athlete from the USA blitzed the field and won four gold medals.
Jesse Owens
“Friendship born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition.”
“Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.”
