More than 3000 years ago, the ancient Olympic Games were staged in Olympia, Greece. The first game with only male heroes, battled for marathon, horse race and wrestling. Throughout the centuries, major progress and milestones have been achieved; the first televised Olympic games, the first female athlete to join the games, or the first winter sports to be matched.
The spirit of Olympics tingled me to these questions. What is the greater meaning of Olympics? What are the values behind those five colorful rings intertwined with one another? Is it only about sports, competition and winning the game? Let's take a deep look of what is beyond the Olympics.
Let me time-travel you to 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Jesse Owens was an African-American track and field athlete. In particular event of long jump, he was competing against Luz Long, a long jumper athlete from Germany, the host nation. You could imagine the heated and intimidated ambiance at that time. Almost all spectators cheered for Luz Long. Adolf Hitler was there, too. Â
Owens failed the first three jump efforts. During the break, his rival, Luz Long, gave a pep talk of advice and motivation. Owens finally nailed it on the last jump, grant him a gold medal and silver for Luz Long.
Hitler was witnessing the soon-to-be one of most historical moments in the Olympic Games. In the middle of victorious scene that unfold before him, he rose and left the stadium.
Quoted from Owens himself, he wrote "That business with Hitler didn't bother me. What I remember most was the friendship I struck up with Luz Long. He was my strongest rival, yet it was he who advised me to adjust my run-up in the qualifying round and thereby helped me to win"
This story sting me back to the current alarming situation. The world's today has been engrossed with conflict, disorder, justice to fight racism and all. It slipped on our memory, a great example of how friendship could surpass the discrimination, notably in the most dark, racial supremacy era in Germany.
Back to 2020, Olympic Games in Tokyo supposedly would be starting today. However, it has been postponed to next year amid the pandemic. Still, to celebrate the spirit of the Olympic month, let us embrace its values for ourselves and pass them on to the next generation. After all, the Olympics not belonged solely to sports. It has profound values of friendship, respect and excellence.
Be excel in your passion, your dream and your hope. Let this mission become another milestone of the Olympics; a life purpose to treat others equally with dignity, a kindness for humanity.Â
