I
n 1896, the United States sent its first Olympic team to Athens, Greece. Thirteen competitors set out by boat - a far cry from the 700 athletes who competed in Atlanta in 1996. The men in the boat were due to arrive the day before the Games began. Their stories are inspirational.
James Connolly, 27, quit Harvard, hoping to return after the games. But the dean told James he couldn’t guarantee readmission. James took that chance. He had a dream to follow.
After a 12-day journey across the Atlantic, the team took a train across Italy. In Athens, they were met by a procession speaking only Greek - naturally, they didn’t understand a word. On the day the games opened, Connolly won the triple jump - making him an instant celebrity.
Robert Garrett, 20, a student at Princeton, had never held a real discus. But he’d seen pictures of an athlete throwing one, and he thought he could be quite good at it. Being unable to locate a discus with which to practice, he paid a blacksmith to make one. The handmade discus weighed over 20 pounds and Garrett could barely lift it. Nevertheless, he practiced faithfully.
When he arrived in Athens, he was pleasantly amazed to find that a discus weighed slightly more than five pounds. As the event started, Garrett went up against the reigning Greek champion. He easily beat the favored contender and won first place. The following day he entered the shot put - with over 100,000 Greeks cheering their national champion. To their dismay, Garrett won again.
American tennis player John Boland traveled to the Olympics intending to be a spectator. On a whim he entered the tennis tournament and won gold medals in singles and doubles.
In those days, athletes competed against one another to win, not for the fame or the money. Competing for the right reasons always lifts our expectations and performance to the highest level possible. Strive to be an Olympian every day, no matter what the reward.