As the Rio Olympics go on, I could not help but to reach into the drawer to remove my father's track suit top. Red in colour, with the Kenya hockey team 1968 Olympic badge stitched on the upper left area, it always is a proud moment to look at it again and realise his great achievement.
For all sportsmen and women, the Olympics is where the focus is on to fulfil dreams. All the years, days, hours and minutes of training that it involves. It is more like an obsession. There is this special thing about the four yearly competition that draws competitors of all sports to take part.
This to me was clearly shown when a player like Novac Djokovic, the number one tennis player in the world, who has won everything, the Grand Slams, fame and its rewards and also being called one of the great players of tennis, BUT he was in tears when he lost his match at the Olympics. He has lost Grand Slam finals before but I have never seen him this despondent as he did when he lost his match in Rio.
There is no financial reward for him, neither does it affect his ranking, but it is that specialness about winning an Olympic medal that cannot be described.
Mark Cavandish is another great champion of British cycling who decided to skip the Tour de France in order to prepare for winning a medal at the Rio Olympics in pursuit of a medal! He did win the Silver medal this week in Rio after missing out a medal at the London 2012 Olympics and managed to fulfil his dream of winning an Olympic medal.
Another huge honor for such athletes is the chance to represent their country. For those two weeks , they are not top ranked individuals in tennis, but athletes fighting for their country's honour in their individual sports.
The Olympics are truly unique.
For all sportsmen and women, the Olympics is where the focus is on to fulfil dreams. All the years, days, hours and minutes of training that it involves. It is more like an obsession. There is this special thing about the four yearly competition that draws competitors of all sports to take part.
This to me was clearly shown when a player like Novac Djokovic, the number one tennis player in the world, who has won everything, the Grand Slams, fame and its rewards and also being called one of the great players of tennis, BUT he was in tears when he lost his match at the Olympics. He has lost Grand Slam finals before but I have never seen him this despondent as he did when he lost his match in Rio.
There is no financial reward for him, neither does it affect his ranking, but it is that specialness about winning an Olympic medal that cannot be described.
Mark Cavandish is another great champion of British cycling who decided to skip the Tour de France in order to prepare for winning a medal at the Rio Olympics in pursuit of a medal! He did win the Silver medal this week in Rio after missing out a medal at the London 2012 Olympics and managed to fulfil his dream of winning an Olympic medal.
Another huge honor for such athletes is the chance to represent their country. For those two weeks , they are not top ranked individuals in tennis, but athletes fighting for their country's honour in their individual sports.
The Olympics are truly unique.