I’m watching a lot of the Olympics. More than usual. Maybe it’s a distraction from all the crappy news going on in the world.
Watching these young athletes just thrills me. Simone Biles inspires. Her comeback is a story that resonates with so many people.
As I watch the male gymnasts, I was struck by the performance of the Ukrainian Oleg Verniaiev.
Can you imagine? Training in a country at war? NBC did a really nice piece with him about it.
Here’s some of what he said: “We don’t think about sport. We don’t think about career because we don’t know if we will be alive tomorrow…It’s not possible to say war is not changing your head…In Ukraine, we know every day is bombed….When you are training, you think I am tired. No, you are not tired. In the place where you defend our country, I think you are tired a little bit more.”
Wow. Just wow. Can you imagine? He’s thirty years old. That’s his perspective on life.
I watch these athletes. The Americans. Celebrities. Endorsements. Stars.
Then, the Chinese. The North Koreans. The Ukrainians. How different their lives must be back home.
It’s one thing to compete. It’s something else to compete and deal with troubles at home. I’m watching a lot of the Olympics. Trying to forget the crappy news. I guess you can’t.