We recently had the privilege of witnessing some of the greatest sporting competition that we get to see. Rio put on a beautiful experience especially in the light of Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, the Rugby 7’s and two of my personal favourites, the mens 400m & 10000m events. Each one of these 5 events resulted in something that had never been seen before in sporting history and for that I was truly amazed. I wanted to take a moment today to illustrate that although 4 out of these 5 events are individual sports, none would be possible without their team around them.
Usain Bolt has done what nobody ever thought possible- winning the 100m sprint at three consecutive Olympics! A phenomenal achievement and one that has taken 
years of hard work and dedication. His coach, massage therapist, Chiropractor and family have all put a huge amount of time and energy in helping him become the fastest man in the world- again. Not only does he have the weight of Jamaica on his back, he deals with a massive scoliosis, drug cheats, competition from every angle and the eagle eye of the whole athletic community. A genuine legend of the game who can share the weight of these challenges with those closest to him. He is never out there on the track alone and I think that this goes in our life too. Every experience we go through either has been experienced by others or can be shared- don’t stress too much in thinking that you have to do it all on your own…
As for Michael Phelps, well if he were English he would be Knighted by now. At the ripe old age of 31 he has won 23 gold medals. We first saw him as a 15 year old in Sydney and now he is a proud father and still completely dedicated to his task. There was a great picture going around Facebook and it showed Michael & the guy in the lane next to him. As Michael was looking straight at the wall in front of him, the competitor was looking at Michael with the quote “Losers focus on what the winner is doing, Winners focus on winning!” This is not a sport quote- this is a life quote. We spend too much time thinking that the grass is greener instead of being comfortable and happy where we are. Think of what you are grateful for today and what amazing thing you can focus on right now- it’s much more satisfying than thinking about what others are doing…
The Australian women rugby 7’s was a beautiful performance. However, what made that even better was the fact there was not even a team 4 years ago until it was announced that women’s Rugby 7’s would be part of the games. The Australian selectors hand picked these talented women from across different sports, some from rugby and some from track and field and taught them the game. From never playing to being olympic champions shows us that given the right coaching and time, we are truly adaptable. Never say you can’t because even a gold medal has been proven to be possible!!!
In the mens 400m final the winner started in lane 9!!!! What is absolutely incredible about
that is on a curved track he couldn’t see anyone for the entire race so he had no idea how to pace himself. On the way to setting a world record, he went out hard and smashed the field in the most unusual way. Normally we think we have to chase someone down or the dog has to chase to hare to run the fastest. Wade Van Niekerk proved that self belief and dancing to the beat of his own drum mattered so much more!
Finally, Mo Farrah proved in the mens 10000m that it does not matter if you get
knocked down, what really matters is if you pick yourself back up Farrah was a hot favourite to win but he was also defending his title in against a ridiculously red hot field. Early in the race he was tripped and he fell to the floor of the track. Regardless of how much that hurt he picked himself back up, jined the rest of the field and kept running. He finished with a blistering final lap, crossed the line in a tick over 27 minutes and was a resounding & deserved winner. He put everything on the line- looking at him sprawled on the track post race, sobbing in emotion, was a beautiful illustration of how much he hurt, but he got his desired result.
There are 5 amazing lessons that got reinforced to me over the beautiful brilliant that was Rio Olympics. So thank you to these athletes that proved yet again what happens on the sporting field can absolutely be married into everyday life. So in keeping with the olympic dream, we are here to help you find your own version of Higher, Faster, stronger!!!