Wow. I don’t think there are words to describe the men’s triathlon last night at the Olympics. I love sports and moments like that are so rare. When an athlete you admire so greatly pulls out an unbelievable athletic perfomance you can’t help but have chills. I was shaking afterwards I was so pumped.
Make no mistake, even though Simon came up short of the gold, what he did was not just a great physical feat but an even greater mental feat. To fall off the leading group’s pace twice during the race and have the fortitude to pull yourself back to the group (and eventually past them as was the case at the finish) is so beyond the realm of “mental toughness” that Simon’s ability to be classified as a mere mortal has to be brought into question.
That is what sport is about. It’s something that no amount of corporate money, doping, or special speedsuits can buy. An athlete simply staring deep inside himself to find out what they are truly made of and being fearless enough to lay out there for everyone to see.
And finally, what an unbelievable advertisement for triathlon in this country. CBC stuck with the race the entire way and it was perfectly placed in prime time so I can only imagine how many people were watching. The story for it on cbc.ca has at least 5 times more comments on it than any other story this morning and the comments section on Simon’s blog has been turn off I’m guessing simply because it got to be a little too much.
A sport that was already on the rise, triathlon can only be helped by such an amazing race (whether or not it was a Canadian who provided some of the greatest drama). That combined with the ITU on the verge of announcing their new multi-million dollar sponsor means a bright future for the sport.
A race report from Kelowna is on the way.
