Sport At Its Best

“You know, winning a world title is not that important in life.”

Kelly Slater, 9 Time World Champion Surfer

Lauryn Williams, an American sprinter, finished 2^nd in the 100 meters at the Athens Olympics in 2004.  She followed that up with a gold in the same event at the World Championships the following year and a silver medal in 2007.  As one could imagine, expectations were high going into the Beijing Olympics in the summer of ‘08 but as fate would have it, Lauryn finished 4^th.

First, I should point out that it’s almost universally agreed upon amongst athletes that 4^th is the worst place to finish in any major competition – to be the top finishing competitor not to win a medal is a tough spot to be in.  It’s almost better to do worse so as not to have to play back all of the mistakes that could have made what is often a tiny difference between winning a medal and not.

I saw an interview with the sprinter last summer and in it she described the funk she was in after the race.  I don’t remember the interview well enough to quote her word for word but the point was essentially this: she was reliving the race and wallowing in the result over and over again for a long period of time…  and then her father died.

It was really powerful to hear her describe how immediately the race became nothing more than an 11 second segment of her life.  “It’s just 11 seconds.”

It was an extremely harsh reminder of the role sport plays in our world.  It’s exciting, it’s challenging, huge amounts of time, money, blood, sweat and tears are invested and yet at the end of the day – it is just sport.  Ultimately, I believe people at both ends of the spectrum come to the same realization.  Those who fail to meet their expectations, as high as they may be like Lauryn Williams in Beijing, suffer a terrible heartbreak but ultimately realize it’s just sport and life goes on.

Perhaps what’s less obvious is that those who are lucky enough to achieve their dream performance also reach the same conclusion.  Whether an Olympic medal actually translates into fame and fortune or does not (and in the vast majority of cases it does not), you quickly realize that you’re no different.  The things that were really important to you in your life prior to the achievement are still the same things after.

“It’s just 11 seconds.”

And for me here’s the crux of the argument – because it is just sport, ultimately the result is less important than how you make it happen.  Whatever it takes to make your dream a reality, do it in a manner in which you can be proud of.  Do you think Lauren Williams’ Dad is proud of her even though she finished 4^th in Beijing?  Yes!  Maybe the race didn’t go exactly how she hoped it would but if she gave it her best shot – that in itself is more significant than a result, especially in an event as highly contested as the 100 meters.