Olympic lesson #3

This lesson is one of my favorites from the Winter Games.

I was scanning through some highlight clips of the speed skating events when I came across a picture of a German skater sprawled on her belly, arms and legs flailing a little, sliding across the finish line.

With my curiosity piqued, I clicked to watch the full video. The race was Womens Team Pursuit. It is a distance relay where three skaters on the same team skate in line and switch leads every so often. The race had been long, and I'm sure the skaters thighs and buns were burning with fatigue.

At the very end, coming down to the finish line, Anna Friesinger-Postma faltered and fell a little behind her teammates. She fought to catch up, but just before the finish line, she lost her balance and went down. Since it is the last skater's skate to cross the line that stops the clock, Anna nearly did the splits to get her foot across the line.

She put her head in her arms in defeat and pounded the ice with her fist as she continued to slide. Her body language screamed frustration at letting her team down. They had the lead, and she thought she had lost it.

When she finally lifted her head to look at the results, her anguish turned to surprise, then to relief, and finally triumph. Even though she had made a terrible error, she still managed to win.

The trials we face in life will wear us down. Our muscles -- physical or mental or spiritual-- may burn with the exertion. We may lose our balance and fall down. However, even when we are flailing on the ground, we can still be moving forward. We can still finish the race. And, maybe -- just maybe -- we might even win.

I love the motto from the movie Galaxy Quest - NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!

Thank you Anna for fighting to the end! Congratulations on your accomplishments!

CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS!!!