With the XXX Olympiad underway, I am reminded of the words of Blessed Pope John Paul II - "Sport trains body and spirit for perseverance, effort, courage, balance, sacrifice, honesty, friendship and collaboration".

The Olympics provide us with many moments of inspiration and exultation and here are a few favorites which exemplify these words:

PERSEVERANCE - Derek Redmond, 1992 Barcelona
It is hard to know how we would respond if a dream we had spent countless hours and numerous sacrifices to achieve withered away in front of our eyes.  This is the circumstance he was in when his hamstring tore just moments into his 400m race.

EFFORT - Billy Mills, 1964 Tokyo

This "unknown" runner overcame the favorites, in-race adversity - including being pushed and boxed in - and beat his own personal best by an unbelievable 46 seconds to achieve the unexpected gold medal in the grueling 10,000 meters.

COURAGE - Kerri Strug, 1996 Atlanta

She overcame serious injury suffered in her first vault when her team needed her to come up clutch - she went on to post a score in her second vault that secured the team gold - on an ankle that would later require a soft cast and for her to be carried to the medal stand.

BALANCE - Eric Liddel, 1924 Paris

A man of religious conviction, he saw his running fast as pleasing to God.  At the same time, he chose not to race on Sundays so as to honor the Christian Sabbath.  This meant he would not be able to qualify for his best race (100m).  He instead raced in the 400m in which he set world and Olympic records and won the gold medal.

SACRIFICE - Al Oerter, 1960 Rome

This 4-time gold medalist in the discus benefited by the selfless action and attention to detail of a teammate, who was in first place at the time; his advice enabled Oerter to pass him and earn his 2nd gold medal. 

HONESTY - Tommie Smith and John Carlos, 1968 Montreal
They raised their fists on the medal stand to stand up for human rights and captured the attention of the entire world - at great personal cost.  Both were sent home early from the games and treated as outcasts.  However, their statement still stands today as a powerful moment influential in the Civil Rights Movement.

COLLABORATION - US Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay Team, 2008 Beijing

Exciting team effort to comeback in the last leg to win the gold medal - a result that commentator Roddy Gaines thought could only happen if each member of the relay team swam their "perfect race", which they did.

FRIENDSHIP - Jesse Owens and Luz Long, 1936 Berlin

The 40th anniversary of the Munich tragedy where 11 Israeli athletes were held as hostages and eventually killed perhaps underscores one of the most critical benefits of sports - the element of friendship.  It is ironic that one of the greatest examples of this also took place in Germany. 
"It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler... You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment."
-Jesse Owens, after being advised by a chief competitor which assisted him in qualifying and eventually winning the gold medal in the long jump.
 

May we echo his prayer in our own and in our actions so that peace and reconciliation may be present in the lives of our young people and that they might strive, in both body and spirit, to be champions in every sense of the word and in particular in their lives as disciples where their victory is one that is everlasting.
 

Blessings,

~Tauno Latvala

Director of CYO Athletics