Win Behind the Gold

If you were like millions of viewers around the world, the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, totally captivated you. Each day our anticipation built to get back and see who would be best among the world’s most talented athletes.

In particular, I found myself on the edge of the sofa during the halfpipe snowboarding competition. The cameras and videography allow viewers to feel like we’re flipping in midair with the athletes, it’s exhilarating!

Watching our American female Chloe Kim, at just 17 years old, score 98.25 on the halfpipe and clinch the gold was nail-biting and extraordinary in every way.

Then, our returning Gold Medalist, Shaun White, scored 97.75 on his final run in the men’s halfpipe snowboarding competition. He walked away with his third Gold Medal, making history as the first snowboarder to accomplish the feat.

Looking back, I can’t help but contemplate all the preparation that is poured into these Gold Medal moments. Just think of the years of training, coaching, and physical development that are required to go for the gold.

Every one of these athletes are tremendously talented and gifted. They do all the necessary strength training to develop themselves physically for the sport, but on a stage this big, that is still not enough to lead to victory. They can push through emotional disappointments, suffer injuries in multiple ways, multiple times, but when it’s all said and done, it’s mental strength under pressure and personal drive that seems to separate the winners from everyone else.

The inner-self that was revealed after Chloe and Shaun’s win, was humility and thankfulness. Their acknowledgement of the support they received to realize the dream of Olympic Gold showed this. Their strong emotion, post-win, seems to be genuine and felt at a soulful level. It’s in these moments of humility and gratitude that people around the world fall in love with the athletes.

What it really takes.

Chloe and Shaun displayed great emotion after their win and immediately reached out to family members for hugs and to share some tears. The embrace represented a strong bond by the people who believed in them, and their dream. As for their family, it was obvious that they were more than willing to make the necessary sacrifices to see their children experience something this significant.

When Chloe and Shaun stood on the podium it lasted just a moment. Those few minutes did not do justice to the hours and years of commitment and dedication poured out by each of them, their families, coaches, and friends to help make it possible.

To win Gold, these young athletes understood it demanded a sacrifice, pain, discomfort, and time along the way. It also required the support of other people who believed in them.

This represents the Win behind the Gold. The win of parents and family that stood with them through setback after setback and never stopped believing the dream. The coaches that pushed them with tough love, the close friends and strangers that supported and prayed for them.

Chloe and Shaun’s triumphant accomplishment was a win of personal Gold, but it was more than that. It was a win for the people who supported them all along the way, too. Congratulations Chloe and Shaun, thank you for the joy of witnessing your performance at the 2018 Winter Snowboarding competition. By your win, all Americans experienced the Gold together!

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