My Takeaways From The Olympics So Far

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ho has been watching the Olympics?  I don’t know about you but it seems to me that it gets better and better each time. I mean who knew that the olympics would turn out to be the show stopper, news and record maker that it has become? This year has been no exception and I have to be honest I have found it rather inspiring.  So in no particular order these are my current takeaways

1. Athletes are a breed of their own.

I just happened to come into the room while the women’s 10000 m race was on and I heard the commentator state that every single runner has made a record, that it has been the fastest 5000m in Olympic history and then right before my very eyes I saw Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana break away at speed and win with a world record of 29’17. It was one of those OMG moments that had me standing there mouth agape.   I just had the thought that all these athletes are special, they are the on top of the game, shining before the whole world and they needed to be applauded. The work and preparation was done long before this moment and I could not in that moment even begin to quantify the amount of effort that had gone into this. As  for the race itself  It was the deepest women’s 10,000m competition in history, with four women finishing within 30 minutes.

2. Consistency is King:

I was watching the Semi final Tennis match between Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori , and I saw that Murray broke Kei’s serve to love and then went on to win his serve to love or maybe 15.  The stats turned out to be that  Murray had gotten 83% of his first serves in and Kei was struggling to deal with it.  Watching the match, Kei did put up a little rally to get himself back into the match,  showing that he has the makings of a fabulous player, and I had to wonder why he had not played this way all the way through the match, thereby making Murray to have to work harder.  It was too little too late. Murray had been consistent  and he hadn’t.  This was a trait that I also noticed in basket ball, I caught the trail end of Argentina vs Brazil  and  where Brazil started to drop in consistency Argentina got right in the game and as my husband said stole it right from underneath  Brazil. This is an important lesson, not only in sport but in life and business too.

3. Perseverance is Queen

If consistency is king, then perseverance must be queen. Again from Tennis,  who saw the match between Juan Martin Del-Potro and Rafael Nadal? Oh my what a match that was, neither of them was relinquishing it went to a final set tie breaker.  At one point it looked like  Del Potro was beaten, then in the end it was Nadal that was beaten.  It was an experience to watch.  Perseverance ruled.

4. Armchair Envy.

The better you do,the more some people and indeed even some institutions will not honour you. : Simone Manuel became the first black woman to win a gold medal in a single event in swimming and NBC did not even bother to show her medal ceremony.   It seems ridiculous to me that in 2016 we are still saying the first black this or black anything , but there it is, and significance of this can be read in this BBC article here  I mean race aside, America won gold surely it should be celebrated. One of the reasons I love living in the UK, the BBC show everything that the UK wins and to be honest even when they lose.   I would like to say that this is the only example but then take the case of Simone Biles.  She is the first woman in 2 decades to simultaneously hold the  world and Olympic all round titles and the first American to do it, she is also the first to have won the world championship 3 times in a row.  Instead of celebrating her,  for putting America firmly on the map, they are then putting her down, because of her humble and difficult beginnings.   The criticism is clearly coming from a place of envy, ( armchair envy  I call it) from people who have no purpose in their own life, have not set any goals or taken any action to realise their own aspirations in life, instead make their happiness by trying to tread on other people’s dreams.  I need to point out, this is not a new lesson, you only have to read the comments below any article about Serena Williams its the same.  One thing I am very happy to say is that these people do not let the small mindedness of a few put them off.

5. The big picture can not be ignored. 

Ha, I was watching weight lifting, and I was surprised to learn that now you do not have individual medals for snatch, and clean& jerk.  Its a combination that wins the medals. Therefore you you have to make the mark in both parts.

6. You must do your best

You have to give it your all, because the next event is not guaranteed, and I am not just talking about the fact that you may not qualify,  I am in fact referring to the French Gymnast who broke his leg on the vault. Aït Saïd shattered his left tibia and fibula and  while attempting to land his vault;  and the dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten who one minute had a lead in the race the next minute has two fractures in her spine she is in intensive care.

7. Among the great are The Great.

Its interesting it became quite difficult to concentrate on heats 1-6 once they announced that Usain Bolt was running in heat 7. 

8. The Trump Card

Determination must be the trump card:  Going back to the matter of Simone Biles, with all that has been documented regarding her childhood beginnings, being born to a drug addict mother and a father who abandoned her, Biles was adopted and subsequently raised by a loving family. Nurture, reigned right? Its clear that if you concentrate on your options and not on your conditions you will achieve and fulfil your potential.

The best of the best are in a giant glass bowl and all sorts of lessons are on display. I for one am always piped up more whenever there is a major event like the olympics on.  I find the athletes inspiring and interesting. I am always looking forward to see what record is going to be broken next.

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