Chris_Sleeps Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 When 8 people run a race, does coming second mean you lost quicker than everyone else lost and deserve nothing - or that you nearly won and deserve some praise? Is not winning an achievement, or is gold the only real achievement? I was reading this and it struck me as cruel, but the article is interesting overall. He saves himself at the end: Daily Life (Australia) Not everyone gets a medal In Australia, we reserve our praise and admiration for gold alone. You don’t even get that much acclaim for silver. Sure, you’ve helped your country with its overall tally, but all a silver medal means is that you failed by slightly less than anybody else. [...]Good on Singapore, I thought, for being so proud of the two moments of Olympic glory it has managed to attain. It’s not winning or losing (and if it was, we’d totally smash them), it’s about playing the game. Those are the Olympic ideals right there. It’s about competing, not about whether you win the competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rudeboy Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 He should have a had a word with the two Aussie sportsmen interviewed on Five Live this morning, they were well and truly bigging up the silver medals the Aussies had won in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvey19 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I have the greatest respect for anyone who has reached a level of achievement where they are good enough to compete in the Olympic Games whether they win a medal or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mecky Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I have the greatest respect for anyone who has reached a level of achievement where they are good enough to compete in the Olympic Games whether they win a medal or not. Totally agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_rudeboy Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I have the greatest respect for anyone who has reached a level of achievement where they are good enough to compete in the Olympic Games whether they win a medal or not.Well said.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddybare Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 He should have a had a word with the two Aussie sportsmen interviewed on Five Live this morning, they were well and truly bigging up the silver medals the Aussies had won in London. Since losing to Yorkshire at the highest level, they've lowered their expectations. It's really depressing being Australian now they're no good at sport, all they have left is "best at living with poisonous insects, weak beer and sunburn in a country that's stuck 30 years behind everyone else". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 ...It's really depressing being Australian now they're no good at sport, all they have left is "best at living with poisonous insects, weak beer and sunburn in a country that's stuck 30 years behind everyone else". Indeed. Strange, isn't it? "All they have left is ..." - Yet 1 in 4 Australian residents was born abroad (and those who think the UK has too many immigrants might remember that a mere 1 in 9 British residents was born abroad. And people (from the UK) are still queueing up to go to Australia. It can't be the beer. I doubt it's the insects. Could they be trying to get away from the weather? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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