Quote:
Originally Posted by Rerun
Exactly my point. Usually the difference between finishing 4th or 5th as compared to medaling... is in your head. Performing when the pressure is on or cracking and finishing out of the medals
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Or is that just the nature of many of these sports? Even the best in the world don't podium every single race. And someone who is predicted to get a bronze is on the podium less than half the time in most of these sports
At the end of the day, the public makes a huge deal of the Olympics because it's the only time most of these sports get major media coverage. But for the athletes, the race or event is no different than any other race or event they compete in during the year. Winning it is surely a much different feeling, but just because it's the Olympics doesn't change the fact that in most of these sports there's about 10 people who could win on any given day. The typical response to that they have to step it up on the biggest stage, but there's so many other factors at play (weather/track conditions, style of track, etc.) that it's not that simple.
If we want the right to call our athletes chokers for finishing 4th or 5th then we should be celebrating when they win World Cup events too.