Ajoke Odumosu
In sport, winning is everything, but sometimes to win does not require coming First! This is a fundamental lesson, not just in sports, but in all of life. But it takes sport to provide the perfect model for this fundamental truism.
When the International Olympic Committee wanted to celebrate the Centennial Olympics, 100 years of the biggest non-political movement in the world that promotes global friendships, healthy competition amongst the world’s youths, and peace amongst all nations through its four yearly Olympic Games, it needed a simple and very clear demonstration of the authentic spirit and original motivation for the modern games that were resurrected in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin. The IOC searched through its archives for pictures from its rich collection that best illustrate it’s essence and spirit.
It finally came up with the recorded footage of Nigeria’s 4×100 relay quartet of Beatrice Utondu, Faith Idehen, Christy Opara-Thompson and Mary Onyali at the Barcelona Olympics of 1992.
The Nigerian girls ran a great race, coming from 5th position in the last 50 metres of the race to an unclear position at the finish line. Mary Onyali caught up and crossed the line alongside a French competitor. Everyone in the stadium that day had assumed that the French girl had won. Except the Nigerian girls.
The reaction of the two teams, particularly of the Nigerian girls, attracted the attention of the capacity crowd at the Barcelona stadium. The terraces went silent as the Nigerian quartet stood together across the tracks, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, wide-eyed, and staring up at the giant television screen high up in the stands facing the finish-line.
The end of the race was re-run on the screen.
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