WE CAN'T ALL BE MEDAL WINNERS!

I’m sure that everyone would agree that the success of all our medal winners at Rio 2016 is fabulous and I congratulate them all on their achievements but I just wondered what about all of those who went to Rio but were not successful.

There were many who took part but did not make it through to the next round, or  reach a final or who had a problem somewhere along the way and were unable to compete or didn’t do as well as they had expected.

They too must have trained hard and long over the past four years just like the winners. They too must have made sacrifices to achieve an Olympic dream. I wonder how they feel about their Olympic experience.

Not everyone can be that stand out person or stand out team of the Games but everyone who went over there must have a story to tell. It is great to find out about the training regimes, the obstacles overcome by the medal winners and they all say that it was all worth it for that moment when they stand on the podium to receive their medal and yes their stories and final achievements are inspiring.

But what about those who didn’t manage to win a medal. I just wondered what they think.  Was it worth all the hard work, time and dedication to come away empty handed?

I am sure that all of them would say that yes it was; that the experience was fantastic and to compete on that kind of stage was an incredible rush.

But I wonder is the thrill of being selected and travelling to Rio as a member of the GB team and spending time in the village enough of a buzz to motivate them again for the next four years or will they need more?

I think that it would be interesting to interview some of these people, who did not make it, but tried very hard to do so. These members of the GB team should  also be applauded for their contributions. I think their tales and stories should be shared with us as well, so that they can be inspiring too.
I saw an interview with Emily Diamond who had food poisoning before her 400m race.
She said, “There was no way I was not getting on that start line, even if I had to walk round!”

Now that is what I call inspiring!

​Thought for the day: Believe in possibilities!

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