My perspective of the USA is that Winning is everything. I am always intrigued during the Olympic events how only the Gold Medal really counts! So much for Silver or Bronze or being in the running but missing Bronze by a millisecond. Or being among the hundreds of athletes who are part of the Olympics but are lost under the brilliance of the Gold.
I am not opposed to winning. I played a lot of sports in my youth, and we played to win, certainly. And coaches are hired to win and if they don’t win, they are replaced. I get that. (I’m not sure I get that the Head Coach at Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher, earns $9.5 million for coaching a winning college team, but that’s another blog.) I digress.
Apart from competitive events, be they sports, chess, or math contests, etc., I think life is a “both/and” rather than “win/lose”. Ideally, I like everyone to be in the winner’s circle, no exclusions.
Recently I attended the annual USA Track & Field event. This is an annual amateur sporting event where individuals and/or teams participate in many events, such as pole vaulting, discus throw, javelin throw, and the many running events; 400 meters, 800 meters, 100-yard dash, hurdles, and more. Each year it is held at a different university campus that has an adequate track and field facility. This year the event was held in Greensboro, NC. Beautiful country.
Our #1 son is a hurdler, so we attend along with his two kids and we cheer on “Pai” (Portuguese for “Dad”). Francis has been running hurdles since high school and college. Some people play golf or pickleball or tennis. Francis does hurdles. He loves it. As his 9-year-old daughter remarked, “Pai is in dreamland.” And of course, he has his two adoring cheerleaders! Plus, his Dad (aka “Perr”) who knows every hurdle stat Francis has for the last almost 30 years!
Photo: Steve D. from St. Louis
The age range at USA Track & Field is 25 onward… no cut off. A few years back at LSU (Baton Rouge, LA), we saw a 102-year-old woman run and win the 100-yard dash. This year we saw a 95-year-old woman win the 100-yard dash. Athletes participate in age-appropriate categories. It was while watching various athletes in hurdling, the 100-yard dash, and the javelin throw that led me to begin thinking, what is winning, really? I watched a number of runners, mostly over 70 or 80 reach the finish line simply by walking the last stretch. But they did finish. And we cheered them on. I watched some younger athletes “freeze” as they got to the hurdle. Again, everyone is cheering them on. They didn’t leap but they did get over the hurdles.
My very favorite “what is winning, really” moment was at the javelin throw. A 95-year-old gentleman who in his younger years was an excellent javelin thrower is now in a wheelchair. Did that stop him from showing up and throwing his javelin? No. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of his son and family, his son walked him up to the throw line each time. You get six throws and the gentleman threw his javelin. Did it go very far, No. Did he win, No.
The winning was in the entire experience. His family willing to get him to Greensboro, NC. Get him to the javelin throw site in his wheelchair. The javelin throw site is usually a little away from the main entrance and more difficult to navigate in a wheelchair, and the gentleman’s willingness to risk throwing with a fairly limited arm. He showed up and he did his best. His family and all of us cheered him on. His courage and perseverance was an inspiration to the other javelin throwers and to all of us. That’s winning, really!
The Annunciation Blog 
It is inspirational to know that some former athletes can still compete at a very advanced age.
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