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Editor's column: Olympic athletes leave me in awe

By Heather Meier/of The Herald

I could never be in the Olympics.

It has nothing to do with being short (which includes stubby, little arms and legs) or being pleasantly plump.

It’s the sheer tenacity the athletes possess.

I was involved in a number of sports when I was younger but never felt the same kind of drive they have. I found the activities fun and enjoyed the social element, but I had no fight, no desire to taste first place. My mother once asked what I thought about during swimming meets, when I made my way from one end of the pool to the other.

Nothing, I casually explained, I simply found the water relaxing (deeper investigation could show this as the root to my typically weak performance).

While there are certainly segments of the population who share my thought process when it comes to sports, I’m constantly awed by those who don’t. I read Herald sports editor Shaun Scott’s stories each week about our high school athletes who push further than they thought possible in their quest to win.

Second best isn’t enough, so they start training months before the season even starts. They show up early, they stay late. They overcome rough family lives and debilitating injuries to prove their strength.

I’m drawn to the Olympics because this same determination is seen over and over again.

They put in years of training for events that last only seconds. And then they go back to the gym to train for another chance in four more years.

Already this year, Nikola Sudova, suffering from a torn ACL, strapped on her skis and competed in the mogul event. She didn’t win but endured the pain to have her chance at gold.

Nearly two decades ago, Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto broke his knee during a floor exercise. Even with a broken leg, he continued competing in two more events. His team won gold.

And then there are the stories of overcoming the odds just to get to the Olympics.

One of my favorites has always been figure skater Scott Hamilton, who got sick as a child and stopped growing. He went through a battery of tests but the disease seemed to miraculously reverse itself. He went on to take gold in the 1984 Olympics. And the 1981 World Figure Skating Championships and 1982 and 1983 U.S. and World Championships.

Despite these hardships and obstacles, Olympic athletes keep trying. It never seems fair that after so much hard work and sacrifice, their hopes and dreams can so quickly and easily be shattered.

Wicked weather conditions made it tough for those competing in this year’s biathlon and the athletes who started later in the day, when the snow conditions turned unfavorable, were crossing the finish line in tears.

What’s tremendous, though, is that for most of us, these adverse conditions would stop most of us in our tracks. For Olympians, it’s just another challenge to overcome.

Reach Editor Heather Meier at 253-841-2481 Ext. 310 or by e-mail at heather.meier@puyallupherald.com.