I n the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney an unlikely hero emerged. I’m talking about Eric Moussambani, a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea. Eric began the sport just nine months before the games, and he trained in a small hotel swimming pool. In fact, his biggest concern during a television interview seemed to be whether he could finish his race, which would be the longest distance he had ever swum.
When the time came for him to swim in his assigned qualifying heat, the two other swimmers in the heat were disqualified for false starts. So he swam the whole race alone in the pool to the wild cheers of hundreds of appreciative spectators.
What great performance brought out the excitement, enthusiastic support, and even a standing ovation from the international crowd? His time was nearly twice that of the fastest qualifying time of the day. He was even slower than the record for the event that is twice as long as his. There is no question that he failed to win the event and to be quite frank, failed badly. But there was also no question that he was a large success in trying , and the fans let him know this in loud supportive cheers. These cheers, he believed, enabled him to hang in there, endure, and finish the longest and most grueling swimming race of his life, the 100-meter freestyle (a mere two lengths of the pool).
Fear of failure is one of the biggest obstacles to living a full and rewarding life. Avoiding mistakes or doing a poor job in performing a new activity can cause us to not even try.
Even the best in the world in a given endeavor made many, many, many mistakes on their way to becoming the best. The finest musicians in the world hit many sour notes in their hours and hours of practice. Babe Ruth did hit more home runs than anyone else in his generation, but his strikeouts far outnumbered his homers.
The Olympic Games are one of the greatest symbols of excellence. The best athletes from around the world gather every four years to compete. Much attention and acclaim are bestowed on those who prove to be the best in competition and walk away with the gold medal in their sport. However, in our admiration of these champions we sometimes lose sight of the real purpose and meaning of the Olympics.
It is sad when we see Olympians who have trained to their limit for four or more years, fall during their race, incur a sidelining injury during their final warm-ups, or simply discover that they may be good but they are not quite good enough to beat the best. At those times it’s important to remember that the real victory is in the trying and the participation in the challenge. Many have probably never read the Olympic Creed. It captures well the idea that we can succeed at trying even when we seem to fail.
The Olympic Creed
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well —Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games
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