Last night, Nastia Liukin received a silver medal in the uneven bars. She actually tied for a gold medal, but because of computer scoring and the fact that gymnastics is judged (read, subjective), she had to settle for silver. Nothing wrong with silver. She is ahead of what, 50 million other little girls with gymnastic skills… However, the judges, the referees and a tie breaker process cost her Olympic glory.
It reminded me of a Jimmy V quote that talks about referees.. Enjoy!
“I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust em.”
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Jimmy V, Nastia, Olympics
Jim Valvano is one of my all-time favorite men. He embodied so much about what is good in life – and it was, without a doubt, stolen from him by cancer. Something beyond his control forced his hand. However, he took what God and life gave him and left us with a great message.
“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up!“
Simple, sure. Powerful, absolutely. It is something I will certainly teach my kids – not only about sports, but about life. And this is why this story pains me. I can’t bear to see an Olympic athlete DNF because of an injury. Injuries aren’t always out of the athlete’s control, but nonetheless, it is the most painful reason (mentally and perhaps physically) not to finish a race. When the athlete is favored to win and has so much hope pushing/willing him or her to the finish line, it is even more unbearable.
Liu Xiang will heal and he will race again. He will win again. But, Monday on the world’s biggest stage, his body failed him. He was supposed to bring home a gold medal – and it pains me to know that he couldn’t cross the finish line.
I would like to know what his coach said to him, or, even better, what his father said. I know (hope) that day will come when I will have to talk to my girls about pain and injury and heart and courage. I am not a world class athlete and probably not even the best athlete in my house. I have been blessed with the ability and the drive to set athletic goals and reach most of them. However, I have had one DNF in a marathon and it haunts me every time I think about it – absolutely makes me sick. I wasn’t going to set any records or even place in my age group (but I wasn’t DFL, either!). But I couldn’t finish because my body said, “Not today.” I learned from that experience. Liu Xiang will learn from his. Maybe one day, both of these examples will show PT and Soah that one failure doesn’t have to define you – and never, never give up…
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Jimmy V, Olympics, running
