The Olympics, a triumph of human spirit

There is a gathering in London.

It’s a gathering of young athletes from nearly everywhere on the planet, a gathering of teams, of rivals, and even the most bitter of national enemies. They all come together to compete in sport. They come together in peace in one of the best traditions the ancient Greeks ever bequeathed to the world. This is the time of the Olympics.

The Olympic flame burns bright and full in England as these young people pursue their dreams. With sweat, endurance, skill and the drive to win one of three medals — gold, silver or bronze. The strive to become the very best and represent their nations. They are the hopes and dreams of the countries that sent them. Not all will come away with a medal. Actually, a lot will come home empty-handed.

The Olympics isn’t about medals. It is about the human spirit. Some call it the Olympic spirit. It means to compete to the best one can give, to endure the rigors of the race, to go all out despite the odds against them and cross that finish line. It’s achieving that high score or a personal best, all in the name of sport.

Some of the best examples of the spirit are of those who stood no chance of winning, but gave it their absolute all. They dig in deep and never give up. Like that swimmer in the Sydney Olympic games in 2000 who was from a tiny African country most people have never heard of. He had never seen, let alone trained in, an Olympic-sized pool before. Yet he dove in, and nearly drowned in the attempt. Somehow as he slowly flailed his way on, he dug down deep inside, to the depths of his very soul, and gained the strength to make it to the end. He never gave up. He finished to the cheers and the tears of everyone there to witness it, from fellow athletes to the spectators in the stands and the billions or more watching the drama unfold live on their televisions.

Eric Moussambani of the tiny nation of Equatorial Guinea did not win a medal. He did set a record for the slowest time in the 100-meter freestyle of 1 minute, 52 seconds. Nevertheless, he is an Olympic hero because he never gave in.

He gave it his all against the odds stacked against him. That is a triumph of the human spirit. It also the true heart of the Olympic spirit. Instead of winning a medal, he earned the respect of the entire world.

Don’t get me wrong. I love watching our team win gold. I love to watch them win silver and bronze, too. But it is the drama that unfolds before us all that really gets my attention. I guess this is why I love the Olympics so much. It’s a proud revival of a tradition started in the 8th century BC. It lasted until sometime in the 4th century AD. Then revived from the sleep of the ages in 1896. It has been going on ever since.

I hope it never goes back into the slumber of history. I hope it carries on to show the world we can get together in peace, even if it is for only 17 days. If we can do this, perhaps someday we can put to a final rest that which threatens all who live and breathe on this good earth. Put it to rest forever. Let it slumber for ages never to rise up ever again — the evil specter of war.

Those ancient Greeks gave us many fine ideas, like democracy and the first attempts of scientific thought, philosophy and medicine. The very best was a celebration of the human spirit, the first Olympics. Through sport, achieved in peace, we can go a long way as long as the flame burns in our collective hearts long after the final day when the Olympic flame is extinguished in London to be revived again in another country four years later.

This is far more than just a get-together of very talented athletes. This is a gathering of the entire world, a lesson in peace and hope for the future of the human race. That is the real triumph of the Olympics.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.