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The Olympic Ideal
Sports seem to bring out the highest aspirations and the worst
attitudes.
Many of its lessons apply equally well to other aspects of life.
by Graemme Marshall
The Olympic Games are the greatest sporting event in the world. No matter how many championship titles an athlete racks up, to win at the Olympics is often considered to be the ultimate athletic achievement. In the intense pursuit of sporting excellence, stories of true sportsmanship shine.
The good side of the Olympics
One of the greatest examples is Emil Zatopec, the great Czech distance runner who gave away one of his prized gold medals.
Zatopec won gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics on the same day his wife won in the javelin competition. Husband and wife became the first and only married couple ever to win Olympic gold medals on the same day in separate events. He was already the hero of the '52 games, with victories in the 10,000- and 5,000-meter events, when he decided to run the marathon, a race he had never run. During the marathon he asked another runner if the pace were too fast. The reply? It was too slow. So Zatopec upped his speed and won another gold!
Olympic gold had consistently eluded athlete Ron Clarke. Though he had set 18 world records, in his trips to the Olympics he had collected only a single bronze medal. One day while visiting with the Zatopecs, somebody gave Clarke a small box and told him not to open it until he was on his way home.
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When Clarke finally opened the package, he found one of Zatopec's gold medals. Attached was a card that read: "Dear Ron, I have won four gold medals. It is only right that you should have one of them. Your friend, Emil." This exemplifies the spirit of sportsmanship-winning, with a willingness to share.
The dark side
Perhaps the shadowy, manipulative side of sports was worst reflected in the 1936
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