If you are like my family, I am sure that you have been watching at least some of the 2008 Summer Olympics. I love the Olympics because the athletes must stay focused and overcome all adversity. Their mind has to stay focused on the prize—the gold medal. If the athletes show up in Beijing and do not keep their mind focused on the gold medal, then they will have already lost the prestigious prize in their mind, therefore no gold will be hung around their necks. The Olympic motto is made up of three Latin words: “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which means “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” These three words encourage the athlete to give his or her best during competition.
One of my favorite parts of watching the Olympics is hearing the stories of the athletes and what they have gone through each day and year after year to prepare themselves for this moment in time.
Dara Torres became the oldest Olympic swimming medalist during these Olympics in Beijing. She is proof and inspiration that your body can be rock-hard at forty-one; a baby doesn’t have to slow you down or mean you cannot aspire to your dream; and when it comes to any goal, it’s all about how bad you want it! She was the first athlete to pose alongside models in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, but she is more famous for her comebacks. After she won four medals in three Olympic games, she retired from competitive swimming in 1992 because she thought (and probably the sports world too) that she was too old at the age of twenty-five! In 1999 she resumed training, went to Sydney Games, and took home three bronze medals and two gold medals! She is the first U.S. swimmer to compete at five Olympic Games and the oldest woman ever to make the U.S. Olympic swim team. She has become a testament of dedication, passion, and willpower. You go girl! Dara is a mom, she has battled bulimia, been divorced twice, and recovered from five knee surgeries. However, she is right there in Beijing with her eye on the prize once more! That is what I love about the Olympics! Endurance, perseverance, dedication, and a never give up attitude!
That is what we have to do! We may not be training for an Olympic game, however most of us do overcome amazing odds and adversity to walk on in this thing we call life. No matter what we are facing or what our dream is—we can achieve it no matter the circumstances, no matter our age, no matter what! We have to set our eye on the prize!
