The Rio 2016 Olympics has been a blend of greatness and beautiful stories, athletes coming from different walks of life giving their best and redefining the status quo. I would like to talk about a few who have given us new inspiration and raised our spirits.
Usain Bolt the Jamaican sprinter who has redefined speed and is the first man to hold both the 100 meter and 200 meter world records. With a total of seven Olympic gold field track metals, he is indeed deserving of his alias, “the lightning bolt.”
Then we have Simone Biles, the teenage American artistic gymnast who bests all the records in the vault and floor routines. With a total of five Olympic gold medals, Biles even has a routine named after her. She is quoted as saying, “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles.” Way to go girl.
Talking about Michael Phelps, he is the most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. He has broken all the swimming records in history and even when his critics did not believe his skills were natural, he submitted himself for drug tests and tested negative to all nine.
My favourite of all the Olympians of 2016 still remains Chierika Ukogu. She finished second at the women's rowing semi-finals but even though she didn’t make it at the finals, her story is still an inspiration to many. She put medical school on pause to train and also had to fund herself to get to the Olympics. Setting up a GoFundMe account, she raised $12,000 to make it to the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. She has gone on to prove to people that success is not only about medals, it is about putting in your best and about showing up too, no matter the odds against you.
