“There is something in the Olympics, indefinable, springing from the soul, that must be preserved.”
– Chris Brasher
Every Olympiad there is a handful of people that seem to come from nowhere to capture our hearts and minds with a stunning performance that leads to an explosion of joy.
Team Schuster winning the Gold in Curling for the USA, looking like a bunch of dads that got detoured on the way to the grill.
Jordan Chiles bursting into tears after taking the Bronze in individual floor gymnastics.
Eddie the Eagle or The Jamaican Bobsled Team.
Pommel Horse specialist and Rubik’s Cube Master Stephen Nedoroscik earning the US Men Bronze in all around. Nerds everywhere rejoiced when the bespectacled mathlete earned accolades as an athlete!
51 year old Yusuf Dikec taking silver for the Turkish doubles with his Gen X cool hand in pocket, or 58 year old Laura Kraut winning silver in show jumping or 61 year old Luxembourg ping pong player Xia Lian Ni beating competitors half her age inspire those of us who thought our glory days of competition were over.
We all expected to see Simone Biles smiling atop the podium, or to see Katie Ledecky draped in medals at the end. No one expected to see Kristen Faulkner even ride in the women’s bike road race, but when a teammate couldn’t go, she rode and won the gold and stunned the world. Including herself. Not bad for a kid from the fishing village of Homer, Alaska. It is these moments, these flashes of greatness, these underdog and everyman moments that inspire and embody the Olympic spirit.