The Standard for Olympic Excellence

The Standard for Olympic Excellence
The Olympics remains the most pure example of competition for the sake of competition itself. Athletes sacrifice their careers and bodies risking injury, defeat and complete failure to compete for nothing more than honor for their country and themselves. To achieve such honor, one must both perform at his or her event’s highest level and act as a role model on the world’s biggest stage. And so, while it must be admitted that performance-enhancing drugs are exploited to offer advantage to some Olympic athletes, those who do so never receive the only true reward the Olympics has to offer: honor. And, they never experience the glory of winning through the virtues of hard work and determination.
The greatest track and field Olympian of all time, Carl Lewis, exemplified the Olympic spirit. He did so, not simply through his gold medal performances—Lewis won nine gold medals in four different events and held world records in the 100-meter dash and the long jump—but also through his competitive nature and his ability to win and compete in every Olympics from 1984 to 1996; he would have also competed in 1980 if the United States had not refused to take part. With speed, consistency, integrity and above all desire, Lewis defied not only the stopwatch but also the march of time. He demanded nothing less than the best from himself and achieved the best, not with drugs, but with unmatched discipline and commitment to training.
Surprisingly, young Carl Lewis was encouraged to pursue music lessons rather than track by his parents. But, he would not hear of it, and stuck a strip of tape on the ground to mark the distance for the world record and began to jump toward it with singular
determination.His father commented, “Some kids want to be a fireman one day, a movie star the next. Carl set his mind on track and that was it. He said he wanted to be the best, period.” His years of practice and quiet self-confidence set the stage for a phenomenal Olympic track and field career.
In 1985, however, a cloud appeared on Carl Lewis’ horizons: Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who began to beat Lewis consistently in the 100-meter dash. Lewis arrived at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul confident, but even observers who knew very little about the race expected Johnson would win. The world watched and waited anxiously to find out who was “the fastest man on Earth”. All of the cameras focused on Lewis and Johnson as the runners took their marks in the final heat. The crack of the starter’s pistol sounded and the racers burst from the line. The crowd was used to Lewis trailing for the first half of the race—he just had a different style— and then finishing strong with his long stride to win. So, they held their breath as they watched Johnson build an early lead with his explosive start wondering if Lewis’ strong finish would be enough to overcome him. As the runners approached the finish line, Lewis was gai