"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss
London 2012 is indeed a historical Olympic Games. As of this week, I am proud to say that America is now the official home of the most decorated and greatest Olympian in history, Michael Phelps. In case you didn’t know, Phelps surpassed Russian Gymnast Larisa Latynina by receiving his 19th Olympic medal in swimming. He didn’t just stop there. Phelps went on to win three more gold medals, bringing his total count to 22, 18 of them goldies. His most recent race, the Men’s 4x100m Medley, to which Team USA struck gold, was his final competitive swim, bringing an end to his amazing athletic career. He is three years older than me and is retiring a true hero in the world of sports with a record unlikely to be surpassed by any future athlete. I broke the school, district and Presidential records for the Sit and Reach event in sixth grade gym class’ Presidential test, so I do know the feelings that must be going through Phelps’ mind.
The point is, what drives me to feel so proud about someone, something or some event that I have no connection to or will possibly ever have an understanding of? I know it may sound crazy because I do not know this guy nor am I a passionate swimmer or professional athlete. I have a few trophies from sports I have participated in when I was younger, but it is safe for all of you to assume that I do not have any Olympic medals to my name and it is very likely I will never win one; unless Sit and Reach is introduced. But, I am truly proud of Michael Phelps and what he has done for swimming, sports and our generation.
The best way I can answer this is to talk about a truly amazing moment I witnessed while working for London 2012. The start of the games didn’t look too promising for Phelps. He wasn’t ranking high in his heats and even missed the podium entirely... Phelps, much to the displeasure of many proud Yankees rooting for their champ to win gold, took silver in the 200m Butterfly while Chad le Clos, a 20-year-old from South Africa, took gold. I admit, I was one of the disappointed. It is a shame because it was a very close race and many of us complainers could train for years and never even finish a heat let alone get a silver medal at the Olympics. However, disappointment quickly turned to admiration as spectators witnessed Phelps, Le Clos’ childhood hero, happily mentoring the fresh-faced and ‘beautiful’ Olympian, guiding him through the victory ceremony as if he was passing the torch on to the next generation of athletes. Fitting as the theme of the London 2012 Olympic Games is ‘Inspire a Generation,’ so it was a very noble gesture of him to do such a thing. Impact of Michael Phelps on le Clos
Of course, in classic Phelps style, he stepped up his game and rightfully earned himself the gold medals he truly does deserve. But it is his humble and clam nature around winning competitions that makes him so very much admired and watchable. You can be great at something but disliked if you show attitude or sheer lack of respect towards anything that isn't your ego. Kanye West is coming to mind.
So, here we are on the night marking the end of a true Olympians career. In a way, I have to thank Michael Phelps. He is well known for being humble and charitable, setting up foundations to encourage athleticism in youth. For a long time, though, I tried not to associate athletes as heroes. For me, I assumed they were all jocks looking to profit off million dollar contracts and hilarious endorsement deals. Well, to be fair, plenty of them probably are that type. I would guess many people wouldn’t turn down a large sum of money because running or swimming all day is fulfilling enough. Take away the sporting uniforms, medals, endorsements, and piles of money and you'd find teenagers, young adults, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends who are doing what they love and work so very hard for to get a chance at glory and being a hero to someone or even a country. If we had royalty in America, Phelps would most certainly be Knighted. However, since we do not have royalty in America, we can settle with him being our Olympian.
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| Phelps and 1 out of 22 Olympic medals. Matt Slocum/AP |
