As the Rio games approach, athletes from all over the world
get ready for the trip of a lifetime. Much news comes from Brazil warning
everyone about the disorganization and dangers surrounding these games. In 2008
I had the opportunity to coach at the Beijing games and before the games began
the world scrutinized the Chinese for the low quality of the air and the many
delays in the readiness of the venues.
The Chinese came through and the games
were a huge success. I believe the same will happen in Brazil. In the Olympics,
the athletes will forget the distractions and when the whistle blows the games
will again provide the arena for some of the most memorable moments in sports.
The great thing about the Olympics is that when we watch our favorite athletes
compete we become athletes ourselves and we feel the pain of the defeat and we
cry with joy with the triumphs. When you watch an athlete with whom you
identify you might find yourself singing along with them as they sing their
national anthem and for that single moment you also feel like a champion. When
I watched Fernando Gonzalez receive his third Olympic medal after losing to
Nadal in the Beijing finals, I looked back at the two weeks we spent in China
and I then understood that he was playing for an entire country. The Chilean
flag was twice the size of his name on
the scoreboard and when later on I asked him what he felt when standing on the
podium he said that he was so proud to give the people of Chile something to
smile about. I then understood what it meant to be an Olympian.