I was 58 years old when I completed my first London Triathlon.\u00a0 And it really was the \u2018taking part\u2019 that inspired me rather than the expectation that I might win, primarily because at 58 the likely hood of winning was \u2026well let\u2019s be generous and say improbable:-) Nevertheless I wanted to be competitive!<\/p>\n
This article was written by Piers Morgan, journalist and television presenter and like Piers I am old enough to remember the 1972 Olympics vividly and share much of what he has to say \u2026..<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n So said Pierre de Coubertin, the French educator partly responsible for the revival of the Olympics in 1894.<\/em><\/p>\n And that attitude probably explains why the French have never done that well at the Olympics.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m all for the \u2018it matters not if you won or lost but how you played the game\u2019 school of sporting ethos.<\/em><\/p>\n But in the end, as Thierry Henry once said: \u2018Sometimes in football you have to score goals.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n Winning isn\u2019t, and should never be, a dirty word.<\/em><\/p>\n Everyone should strive to win every single day of their life. At whatever they do.<\/em><\/p>\n Otherwise, what\u2019s the point?<\/em><\/p>\n I have an in-built abhorrence of anyone who settles for mediocrity at anything.<\/em><\/p>\n I don\u2019t care if any of my three sons fails to win a sporting event. But if I think they haven\u2019t TRIED to win there\u2019s hell to pay. (Fortunately, they\u2019re just as barbarically competitive as me, so this rarely happens).<\/em><\/p>\n My first real introduction to the Olympics couldn\u2019t have been more dramatic, newsworthy or sensational \u2013 on and off the track.<\/em><\/p>\n I was seven years old in 1972 when Munich hosted the Games, an event that became infamous for the slaughter of nine Israeli athletes and coaches by Palestinian gunmen.<\/em><\/p>\n It was an atrocity so monstrous that it shook the very foundations of the world\u2019s greatest sporting event. And opened my young, innocent eyes to the brutal, harsh reality of terrorism.<\/em><\/p>\n A blight that, thanks to the activities of the IRA, Al Qaeda and others, has dominated my personal and professional life ever since. But there was also some extraordinary sporting magic in Munich.<\/em><\/p>\n Tiny Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut lighting up the stage, the lithe bearded Finnish runner Lasse Viren fending off a pack of huge black-vested Kiwis to win the 5,000m and 10,000m.<\/em><\/p>\n Another Soviet, Valeri Borzov, storming to victory in the 100m and 200m after the two top American sprinters, incredibly, missed the start time for the quarter finals.<\/em><\/p>\n And most memorably of all, the great Mark Spitz becoming the first person in history to win seven gold medals at a single games.<\/em><\/p>\n With his handlebar moustache, big grin, ready charm and supreme confidence, Spitz was a true all-American poster-boy action hero even before he got in the pool.<\/em><\/p>\n Once he touched the water, he became an unstoppable, unbeatable machine. I loved his attitude \u2013 \u2018Swimming isn\u2019t everything,\u2019 he said.<\/em><\/p>\n The Olympics enthused me for months afterwards \u2013 I wanted to swim like Spitz and run like Borzov.<\/em><\/p>\n Just as millions of children this time round will want to swim like Phelps, and run like Usain Bolt.<\/em><\/p>\n The Olympics are, self-evidently, primarily about great athletes performing to the best of their ability.<\/em><\/p>\n But more than that, they are about a special kind of Churchillian spirit, often born from adversity.<\/em><\/p>\n Paula Radcliffe is a great runner but when she quit the Athens marathon three miles from the finish, sobbing on the grass by the side of the road, I wasn\u2019t quite as enamoured with her \u2018amazing courage\u2019 as everyone else seemed to be.<\/em><\/p>\n For me, true courage comes in the form of a man like Derek Redmond.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Who could forget him being helped over the 400m line by his dad after pulling a hamstring \u2013 weeping in emotional anguish and physical pain but determined to finish?<\/em><\/p>\n Or Tanzania\u2019s John Stephen Akhwari, who dislocated his knee after falling in the Mexico Olympics marathon, but kept going, bandaged and in agony, also determined to finish.<\/em><\/p>\n A whole hour after the race was decided, Akhwari entered the stadium to sparse applause from the few remaining spectators.<\/em><\/p>\n Nothing has ever illustrated the supreme self-sacrifice and drive of an Olympic athlete more than this man.<\/em><\/p>\n Afterwards, he explained simply: \u2018My country didn\u2019t send me 5,000 miles to start the race, they sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n The same kind of burning, almost inexplicable, desire and pride lies in many athletes.<\/em><\/p>\n I sat opposite our own cycling champion Victoria Pendleton at a dinner after she won gold in Beijing.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018You must be feeling fantastic,\u2019 I said.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Not really,\u2019 she replied, unsmiling.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s been such an anti-climax.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n I was astonished. \u2018Really? Why?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Because it should have been the happiest moment of my life but it wasn\u2019t. I want more. And I don\u2019t know what else I can do.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n She then began calmly regaling the details of her extraordinary, high-intensity training regime.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018I do six hours a day, six days a week and I love every second,\u2019 she said.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m only happy when I\u2019m training.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I looked at this beautiful, intelligent, charming lady and laughed.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018I know what you\u2019re thinking, Piers \u2013 yes, I\u2019m a sick woman!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n As for what else she could do, she\u2019s answered that herself \u2013 go for more gold medals in London, of course.<\/em><\/p>\n What does it take to be a GREAT Olympian \u2013 one who goes beyond even the extraordinary standards of an average Olympian?<\/em><\/p>\n In the past few weeks, I\u2019ve interviewed many of the American athletes and legends for CNN, as I will be anchoring my nightly show from London during the Games.<\/em><\/p>\n The list included Michael Phelps and my boyhood hero, Mark Spitz.<\/em><\/p>\n I asked Spitz what he thought made him different.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018I hated the idea of losing.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n But it was more complex than that, as he explained.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018I liked breaking records more than winning medals. I swam 75 races in 50m pools, and broke 33 world records.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018In my last 20 races alone, I broke the world record 19 times. My competitors knew this, and that helped me.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n Spitz, now 62 and fit as a fiddle, still competes in Masters races from time to time.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Have you lost any of these races?\u2019 I asked.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Not really,\u2019 he smiled.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Never?\u2019 He slowly shook his head.<\/em><\/p>\n As for Phelps, he revealed to me that before achieving Olympic glory, he trained for 365 days a year, eight hours a day, for FIVE YEARS. Without a single day\u2019s break \u2013 not even Christmas Day.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018I knew I had to train harder than anyone else to be the best,\u2019 he said.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018So, I did.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s the difference. That\u2019s what makes a great Olympian. I hope London puts on a fantastic Games, and I\u2019m sure it will.<\/em><\/p>\n We Brits may not be the best in the world at much any more but we do know how to put on an event.<\/em><\/p>\n I also want the Team GB athletes to do us proud, of course I do. But more than that, I want them to win.<\/em><\/p>\n And to never, ever, quit.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n Here here, I say<\/p>\n Allthebest<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Alan B<\/p>\n\u201cWinning is!\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n
To Succeed you need Power, Empower your success<\/a> \u2026\u2026.<\/h3>\n
![<\/a><\/p>\n\u2018Not really,\u2019 she replied, unsmiling.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018It\u2019s been such an anti-climax.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nI was astonished. \u2018Really? Why?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018Because it should have been the happiest moment of my life but it wasn\u2019t. I want more. And I don\u2019t know what else I can do.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nShe then began calmly regaling the details of her extraordinary, high-intensity training regime.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018I do six hours a day, six days a week and I love every second,\u2019 she said.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018I\u2019m only happy when I\u2019m training.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\nI looked at this beautiful, intelligent, charming lady and laughed.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018I know what you\u2019re thinking, Piers \u2013 yes, I\u2019m a sick woman!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nAs for what else she could do, she\u2019s answered that herself \u2013 go for more gold medals in London, of course.<\/em><\/p>\nWhat does it take to be a GREAT Olympian \u2013 one who goes beyond even the extraordinary standards of an average Olympian?<\/em><\/p>\nIn the past few weeks, I\u2019ve interviewed many of the American athletes and legends for CNN, as I will be anchoring my nightly show from London during the Games.<\/em><\/p>\nThe list included Michael Phelps and my boyhood hero, Mark Spitz.<\/em><\/p>\nI asked Spitz what he thought made him different.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018I hated the idea of losing.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nBut it was more complex than that, as he explained.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018I liked breaking records more than winning medals. I swam 75 races in 50m pools, and broke 33 world records.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018In my last 20 races alone, I broke the world record 19 times. My competitors knew this, and that helped me.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nSpitz, now 62 and fit as a fiddle, still competes in Masters races from time to time.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018Have you lost any of these races?\u2019 I asked.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018Not really,\u2019 he smiled.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018Never?\u2019 He slowly shook his head.<\/em><\/p>\nAs for Phelps, he revealed to me that before achieving Olympic glory, he trained for 365 days a year, eight hours a day, for FIVE YEARS. Without a single day\u2019s break \u2013 not even Christmas Day.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018I knew I had to train harder than anyone else to be the best,\u2019 he said.<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018So, I did.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nThat\u2019s the difference. That\u2019s what makes a great Olympian. I hope London puts on a fantastic Games, and I\u2019m sure it will.<\/em><\/p>\nWe Brits may not be the best in the world at much any more but we do know how to put on an event.<\/em><\/p>\nI also want the Team GB athletes to do us proud, of course I do. But more than that, I want them to win.<\/em><\/p>\nAnd to never, ever, quit.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nHere here, I say<\/p>\nAllthebest<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nAlan B<\/p>\nTo Succeed you need Power, Empower your success<\/a> \u2026\u2026.<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part!\u201d I was 58 years old when I completed my first London Triathlon.\u00a0 And it really was the \u2018taking part\u2019 that inspired me rather than the expectation that I might win, primarily because at 58 the likely hood of winning was \u2026well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2505,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4,5,6],"tags":[7,8],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-affiliate-marketing","category-empower-network","category-internet-marketing","category-olympics","category-ten-ten-formula","tag-derek-redmond","tag-victoria-pendleton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2505"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"\/alanbeagley\/files\/2012\/07\/Victoria-Pendleton2.jpg\"){kind=link}
![<\/a><\/p>\nAlan B<\/p>\nTo Succeed you need Power, Empower your success<\/a> \u2026\u2026.<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part!\u201d I was 58 years old when I completed my first London Triathlon.\u00a0 And it really was the \u2018taking part\u2019 that inspired me rather than the expectation that I might win, primarily because at 58 the likely hood of winning was \u2026well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2505,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4,5,6],"tags":[7,8],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-affiliate-marketing","category-empower-network","category-internet-marketing","category-olympics","category-ten-ten-formula","tag-derek-redmond","tag-victoria-pendleton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2505"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/alanbeagley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"\/alanbeagley\/files\/2012\/06\/mysignature2.png\"){kind=link}