Olympic Athletes: Why is a Gold Medal the only thing that seems to matter?

It is interesting to watch the very mixed emotions and reactions to the results at any Olympic event. The focus is always dedicated to the gold medal winners almost exclusively. This is contrary to the founding spirit of the Olympic Games. The amount of dedication, sacrifice, training, involved for every athlete just to meet the qualifying standard for any Olympic event is unimaginable to most people. That in and of itself, is an accomplishment that less than 1% of the athletes in the world will ever achieve. In countries like the US, Australia, Norway, Canada, Japan, etc where the budgets to identify and develop athletes are plentiful, I can’t help but have unbounded respect and admiration for athletes from smaller nations with little to zero public or national funds available to assist them in reaching their potential and dreams. In my mind, the accomplishments of those athletes is far greater than those who compete in world competitions and achieve the ultimate prize of victory. If you want to see examples of the true Olympic spirit, watch how fellow competitors who benefit from countries with resources that help them become elite of the elite when perhaps long after they have crossed the finish line, wait to support, sheer, encourage athletes from smaller nations achieve the biggest win of their lives, finishing an Olympic event. Watch how excited a gold medal winner in one event got for a fellow competitor who won a medal and celebrated that moment joyfully with that competitor. Let’s focus on more acts of sportsmanship like the coach of a competitor from another country giving a piece of equipment to his athlete’s competitor whose equipment broke in the middle of an event to help that athlete remain competitive. Isn’t this what human spirit, decency, and the true competitive nature of sport should stive to achieve? It’s the handshake with a competitor at the end of an event, it’s the words of encouragement from victor to a competitor to keep going, it’s the recognition of the shared sacrifices and friendships that are forged through competition that make the difference in people's lives. Let’s show that, let’s celebrate those, let’s be just as happy for every competitor, regardless of their result.  At the end of the day, we are all members of the human race, and isn’t it better to help someone who may be a competitor or have an opposing viewpoint continue on or understand a different perspective to make the whole a better place to be?

I'm R. Simon Kent, and that is My View from the Cheap Seats.