Got Records?

I know, I know...everyone is tired of me writing about sprorts. What's a girl to do though when she has just witnessed history? I've mentioned before that I started swimming competetively when I was six years old. I also tried diving, gymnastics, track and field, softball, and basketball before I fell in love with swimming. It was not an uninformed decision for me. So, as an informed lover of the sport let me count the ways that this has been an unbelievable experience for me as a fan.

(1) Clearly Michael Phelps has held the news media attention this year. There has even been talk about how his presence this year has been bad for the sport, but come on people...he just won eight gold medals. Eight! I was two months old when Mark Spitz won his seven gold medals in Munich in 1972. As a ten year old, I had the opportunity to swim in the same pool that the Spitz did when he won seven gold and set seven world records. In fact, I got to swim there with my mom. It gave us both goose bumps. This evening I got to see Phelps break that long standing record.

(2) I do recall watching Janet Evans set a world record at the Olympics some nineteen years ago (the longest standing swimming world record) and last night I got to see that record fall in the 800 freestyle. It was a little sad for me to see that record fall since I did get to see it set, but records are meant to be broken.

(3) I grew up watching Dara Torres and tonight I got to watch a 41-year old heroine of mine win silver in the 50 freestyle (damn that 0.01 second out-touch...I thought she had it). And did you see the joy on Dara's face with that silver? It was so utterly joyous. Then she came right back in about twenty minutes for the women's 4 x 100 medley relay to win silver again. And every member of that team had the grace to say how Australia simply was the better team. Dara's comment after all of that was that she would want to tell her two year old daughter who probably wont remember the evening that you shouldn't put an age limit on your dreams.

(4) On top of it all, Natalie Coughlin just won six medals in one Olympics and that was also a record for a woman.

For me, it has been an amazing Olympics!

Got Olympics?

I have to admit, it never occurred to me that anyone might hate the Olympics. Nor has it ever occurred to me that anyone might question the benefits of intense sporting competition. Allow me to define whom I see myself to be. I am a daughter, sibling, partner, friend, woman, feminist, scientist, depressive, athlete. None of that defines me any more than the other, but they are all part of who I am. I write this particular piece as an athlete.

It truly saddens me to hear that people hate the Olympics. It actually saddens me to the core because it seems to extend beyond the Olympic games into sports in general.

First, the Olympics. I understand how there can be issues with the Olympics. Certainly I did not and still do not necessarily think that Beijing should have received this summer's Olympics. I understand the human rights issues that swirl around it. That is why I think that the U.S. choice for flag bearer was undeniably brave. Lebanon has women on its team. In the grand scheme of things, how amazing is that?! In my mind, there can be no doubt that the Olympics brings about change like nothing out there ever has managed to do. Despite all else, it brings together the world for the briefest of times.

I understand that there may be issues with the commercial aspect of what is supposed to be an amateur event. However, whether we like it or not, the Olympics is a business just like everything else. Film, the arts of any fashion, the corporate world. There may be issues with the money that comes along with being an Olympic athlete. Be it endorsements or money given for a medal in certain countries...I see how that can be hard to swallow. Focusing on those issues, however, fails to acknowledge that an athlete chooses to give their life for a short period of time to all the training that goes into it. In many countries, there is nothing to gain from this. In fact, in many countries athletes live below the poverty line while they are training.

Finally, I understand that there might be questions about how this may or may not be healthy for the children who choose to follow the path of an Olympic athlete. Is it in the child's best interest? I think if the child is talented enough to be an elite athlete, it is. How is it any different from an intellectual child prodigy? How is it any different from a piano or violin child prodigy? If someone has the talent to excel, is it not in their best interest to strive towards excellence?

The concept of competition as a zero sum scenario misses the point for me. I started competing as a swimmer when I was six years old. I tried all sports out there before finding that swimming was it for me. Never was I destined to make it to the Olympics. I think I realized that fairly early on. However, I always had the goal of being the best I could be in the venue that I loved. How is that any different from what anyone ever does in whatever endeavor they choose? It isn't always win, lose, or go home. For me, and for most athletes I know, it was do your very best. When I fell short, I was disappointed, but I learned from that disappointment. I learned that you can't always be the best there is, but you can always be the best you can be.

I know for a fact five things. (1) All the times in my life when I suffered from a major depressive episode coincided with when I was not swimming. (2) All the times in my life when my grades suffered was when I was not swimming. (3) Swimming taught me discipline, focus, and grace in victory or defeat. (4) Swimming gave me a sense of community...with my teammates, with my school, with my family and friends. (5) Swimming gave me a way to express myself. I don't see how that is any different than anything else anyone else identifies with at a deep level.

To the very core of my being I believe that the athletes at the Olympics are there to have the chance to be the best in the world and if not that then to be a heroine/hero for their nation just by competing. Does the media make more out of it than they should? Probably. When do they not? But like it or not, the world identifies with sport. In the end, I honestly believe that, medal or not / money or not, an athlete competes because it is the ultimate acceptance of the gifts that they have been given. Regardless of how one feels about all the hype that surrounds it, to not accept the talent would be far worse a fate.