Congratulations to all the Beijing Olympians and the many amazing performances they have produced so far during these Games. Congratulations to the steadfast support people that have and currently participate in the athletes journey of success. The parents who created the opportunity for an athlete to participate in sport, knowledgeable coaches, nutritionists, sport psychology counselors and consultants, sport medicine docs who continue to develop treatments for faster injury recovery, physical therapists, resistant stretching coaches etc....The athlete becomes the super star on stage for all to watch - the spotlight performance. After years and years, hours and hours of training, competing, developing their physical and mental skills they've won their spot in the "big show." (Opening ceremonies was a decadent beginning).
Noteworthy during the very visible successes of athletes such as Michael Phelps and Dara Torres is that in their success they raise the bar of possiblities for every young or aging athlete who will follow in the years to come. Achieving such success at their level, because of fantastic talent coupled with refinement of expanding knowledge in sport science creates opportunity. At the junior, collegiate, senior and social recreational level, coaches and athletes listen closely to pick up more information about the Olympians process and what they can add to their work-outs to become better performers. The Olympics is the vehicle to display the athletic goods, but the overall athletic process is the ingredient worth taking time to study. Success from the super stars bump up the the level of sport in every bracket of participation, because it expands peoples belief in possibilities for their own athletic accomplishments. As the innovations of sport science expand, the information continues to improve and trickle down into the general sport populace and as a results broadens choices of physical and mental training.
So much gratitude to all the Olympians who continue to raise the bar of athletic development and offer the rest of the world the gift of these amazing performances!
On the other hand are there are problems and issues to address as sport participation advances.
Kids "chosen" for athletic greatness, leaving for academies while still in childhood. (Although most countries do have a system or methodology to gage the probability of a child having the genetic potential to become a great athlete). In some situations sport is the great hope for a family to made ends meet. When the athlete reaches stardom the lives and future of the family change forever. The now have life choices they never would have been offered before.
This occurs in the U.S.A. and in other countries. There are athletes who benefit but others who don't make it through the academy systems. This is a long study in and of itself. Athletes who don't recover from early injuries due to over use, a fall, or other injuries. The taboo of discussing homosexuality in sport continues to scare people. Which is interesting because most athletes know who is and is not homosexual. The subject matter appears to be a bigger issue for administrations than the athletes. Gender and the particular sport makes a difference as to the level of queasiness this topic of discussion produces. The use of steroids and designer drugs will continue to be a hot topic in the years to come. But again the drive for excellence alters athletes and spectators. Sport continues to evolve and with it the athletes who participate, their support systems, and the audience that are drawn to watch.
Keep raising the bar of excellence.
