The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are now history. As we all know, the Gold medal is awarded for 1st place, the Silver medal for 2nd place and the Bronze medal for 3rd place in each of the contested events across all disciplines.
Together, these three medals create a trifecta of manifested excellence and a seemingly ubiquitous celebratory declaration from those athletes who earned a medal. Over and over again, from one competitor to another, from one discipline to another, from one gender to another, the most common phrase heard time and time again in post event interviews was, I worked so hard for this!
And who is there who could possibly argue with such a statement? These valiant souls indeed had to work hard, enduring a life style for five years of determination (where have we seen this word before?) that few people, except the best and the driven, could tolerate?
Just think of it. Sprinters’ events were concluded in basically seconds. The 100 meter dash lasted for a measly 10 seconds or less. And each of the competitors practiced nearly every day for the last five years, training hard just to get the opportunity to compete with no promise of a medal. Five years of hard training for an event lasting 10 seconds or less! Talk about effort and determination!
Other events were longer, of course, but every competitor had to practice for years just to compete. Few individuals would win a medal. The 2020 Olympics featured 11,260 athletes, 33 sports and 339 events ( https://bolavip.com/en/sports/tokyo-2020). 339 events times 3 medals per event equates to only 1,017 medal winners, which further equates to roughly 10% of the Olympic field that would win a medal. So it is justifiably appropriate and understandable when those who placed and won an Olympic medal would say, I worked so hard for this!
Let the work ethic and inspirational determination of all Olympic contenders be a bench mark for anyone desiring to succeed in life. Success takes massive work and dedication for years. Olympic medalists know this because they’ve lived it, which is why they so honestly can proclaim, I worked so hard for this!