Friendship is worth gold

These Olympic Games in Paris are no different. Whether it be Jess Fox and her C1 and K1 gold medals, Grace Brown in the Women’s Cycling Time Trial or Saya Sakakibara and her BMX gold winning title, seeing the green and gold triumph is a thrill.

But the Olympic Games are much more than that. Or they should be. While taking home the ultimate prize is what all athletes aspire to, and fair enough too, winning is not the be all and end all.

What about friendship, generosity of spirit, camaraderie and fair play?

The fourteen-year-old skateboarder Chloe Covell competing at her first Olympics was on the money when she said she was proud of her efforts despite not winning a medal. So she should be. All Australians should be proud of her achievement at such a young age.

The ideals behind the modern Olympics first mooted by Pierre de Coubertin in the late 19^th century indeed had merit, with athletes from around the globe coming together in the one city every four years.

In Coubertin’s mind, the Olympics were about promoting peace and understanding among cultures and a belief that the struggle to overcome an opponent was more important than winning.

‘The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.’

Coubertin’s words of wisdom don’t carry as much gravitas as they did more than one hundred years ago, because in the quest to be number one, for some, those principles have become somewhat hazy and a little blurred.

Coubertin placed the character of each individual above all else. If those sentiments were as valued today as they were in his time, they would be worth gold.

Feature image. Jess Fox going for gold. Courtesy Jess Fox Facebook.

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