We Talk Friday
(WTF)
This is a semi-regular series that I will run on Fridays to hold discussions on a current topic from the week gone. The aim is to keep them light and conversational, though some might be heavier - regardless of the content topic itself though, just have some fun engaging and discussing with whoever happens to put in the effort in the comments section below.
We Talk Friday Ep. 24: Performance Anxiety
As I have said before, I really enjoy watching the Olympics, as it gives me a chance to see the best in the world perform in a lot of sports I wouldn't normally watch, at the highest level. There are always amazing stories that come out of the games, with unexpected wins, acts of sportsmanship, and a whole lot of pain, and still they push through. Watching many of these people compete returns some of my faith in the abilities and resilience of humans.
What I don*t like about it though, is the way the media and many of the online spectators behave, especially when they are kicking athletes for their performance. The vast majority of the comments come from people whose largest life achievements pale in comparison to a fraction of what these athletes have put themselves through to represent their sport, their country.
And I was reminded of it this week while watching the Athletics World Championships in Tokyo, when an Australian athlete was ridiculed online because he "failed" to make the 200 metre finals, dropping out in the semis. He was talked up big before the competition, with a lot of hype, and then when he missed out on the final, the cutting of the "tall poppy" started.
The problem is, the runner, Gout Gout, is a seventeen year old kid who was appearing at his first world championships and running against the best in the world. Yet, somehow, not making it into the final while up against the most experienced sprinters in the world, became a failure, instead of what can only be described as an amazing feat that very, very, very few sprinters have ever been able to achieve.
The eventual winner of the race, Noah Lyles, described Gout Gout, as having more talent than he had at that age. But for all those people sitting in their armchairs watching from home, never having likely competed in a local championship, let alone at the world's, feel it necessary to kick this kid and label him a failure. Who knows, perhaps he will never amount to a great sprinter, but from what I have seen of him so far over the last year, is that he seems to be a pretty decent guy, who is training hard, and finishing his schooling.
I hope he is a sprinting success.
But it is a very hard discipline with so few able to compete at the very top of the sport, and the difference between winning and losing is a tiny, tiny margin. Normally, there are less than a handful of runners who can consistently take out the title, and to do so, they have to train and train and train to ensure they are on their best edge for the race. The discipline required is extreme.
Most people don't have the discipline to say no to dessert.
Hopefully, Gout Gout has some good people around him and the resilience required to keep doing his thing, keep training, keep studying, keep improving, without paying attention to any of the negativity. Seventeen is so young for a runner to be running so well, and he has the potential to push the limits of what we have seen prior. But there are no guarantees.
All of this aside though, I am enjoying watching the athletics across the various disciplines, and it makes me want to get up and do something, despite me sitting here with my legs wrapped up in bandages. These people are inspiring at a physical level to watch, but also inspiring at a work ethic level, as they have all had to train so hard and repetitively in order to get to that level. If we as "normal" individuals put half the energy they do into making a positive difference in our lives, the world would be an incredible place.
I wonder though, while I am watching to see people succeed, I wonder if others are watching to see people fail. I know for me, while I have favourites, I don't hope that the best on the day falls over so my favourite could win. I want it to be a race where they push each other to their limits, to see who is the best on the day.
Were you at your best today?
I wasn't.
Taraz
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