Quote:
Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube
Overall an up and down Olympics. While Oleksiak and de Grasse are the great stories and successes, we also had the typical half-dozen world champions/sure-things who fell flat. Best summer Olympics for Canada in a while, but I think we can do even better.
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Happens every Olympics and is completely normal. In most events, there are typically 6 or 7 people or teams that have a legitimate shot at winning.
Someone will step up, but there's only room for one. Most won't.
And then there are the out-of-nowhere surprises (like Oleksiak) to add to the mix.
Winning Olympic gold is incredibly difficult because you only have one two-week window every four years in which you have to hit it out of the park with a personal best performance.
Again,
someone will. But there is going to be a tremendous amount of heartbreak among the athletes - more heartbreak than elation.
And that is why Olympic medals are so special. Coming up big on that one day, under so much pressure, is a
huge victory and accomplishment.
Also, being 4th best in the world at something is pretty awesome. People who think there is one winner and everyone else are losers, are flat out wrong. Dedicating your life to something, and becoming one of the very best in the world at it, is an incredible accomplishment that is one-in-a-million.
And it should be celebrated, not criticized.
Calling them losers (not speaking to you here) is short-sighted, immature, and, IMO, moronic.