In 1924, The "Flying Finns" dominated the long distance running, whilst the British and Americans dominated the shorter events. Paavo Nurmi won the 1500 m and 5000 m (which were held with only an hour between them) and the cross country run. Ville Ritola won the 10000 m and the 3000 m steeplechase, while finishing second to Nurmi on the 5000 m and cross country. Albin Stenroos won the marathon, while the Finnish team (with Nurmi and Ritola) was victorious in the 3000 m and cross country team events.
How things have changed - today we have the Kenyans, Ethiopians and Jamaican’s who seem to be the medal holders. How will our athletes fare in the 2012 London Olympics? Will we stand any chance of some medals?
Well - the answer is yes. We have the same chance as everyone else. The first thing about winning in any Olympics or anything else in life, is to have a tough mental attitude. The athletes at the 2012 Olympics must have a belief that they can win. They will have to have an unwavering conviction that wining is as much their right as anyone else’s. They will have to have a burning desire in London to get the gold medals. Last on the list is the training. I think, at times we put so much effort into training, we forget to put in the most important ingredient - self-belief.
We can win many medals at the 2012 Olympics if we back our athletes and help them to have the self-belief and desire to win.
Comments