“For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth.“
– Mary Lou Retton
For all athletes, there is one defining word: Champion.
Even if you make the Hall of Fame (Charles Barkley), even if you smash records (Dan Marino), even if you completely rewrite the book (Barry Bonds), there is one separator that will always be: did you win The Big One or not?
Brett Gardner was a fun player to watch. He made an All-Star Team. But he will forever be known as a Champion because of that one year the Yankees won it all.
Cecil Griffiths died in poverty and was buried in an unmarked grave. Almost 80 years later he received a headstone, memorializing him and making his name known again: Gold Medalist in the 4×400 at the Antwerp Games of 1920. Olympic Champion.
Brett the Jet made a lot more money than Cecil because of how sports have evolved over a century, and will probably never have to work again but each of these men were Champions, a laurel that they can never lose. Whether it is as a pro winning the title and all the financial rewards, or the pure amateur that struggles to pay their bills and works multiple jobs while training, the moment of having your hand raised makes the decades of sacrifice and suffering worth it as you are for a moment the pinnacle of your craft, the #1.
The glory will eventually fade, the images disappear. Those who witnessed the greatness will move on to other moments and eventually forget all but a handful of these athletic events. But for those that were there, that stood on that podium and raised their hand and held the trophy or medal, that moment is etched in their soul and is carried until the end of days. For on that one day, they were the peak of performance. The best.
The Champion.