Olympic moment

When anyone tells me I can't do anything, I'm just not listening any more.-Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete, 1988 Summer Olympics.

One day to go for the 29th modern summer olympics in Beijing, China. It would be great if I have the time to sit and watch the game although I doubt I willl have time for it. I am what you would call a big sporst event addict. I love to watch it no matter what kind of events it is and Olympics is the biggest of them all.

Among all the events that I've watch in the past, one moment is forever in latch in my memory. It was when Kerri Strug jumped the vault and in doing so she helped USA to win the gold medal in gymnastics in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. I was twelve at the time and living in Jordan...we watch the events at a friends house in Amman. (at that time my family lived in the godforsaken desert of Mafraq which is like 100 km from Amman, I used to climb our rooftop and sat there trying to be wise...or more like figuring where was the jet fighters bunker really is...but all you can see is the endless desert)

Anyway back to Atlanta...what made Kerri Strug different from all the other olympians I've seen in the past. Her courage and determination.(yeah...like all the others don't have that you would say).Well saying that I might want to add...her poise, Kerri Strug participated in the gymnastic events, she represents USA and was the last gymnas to perform. At that moment the USA and Russia both are neck to neck trying to clinch the gold medal.

That last event was the vault jump. Miss Strug failed her first attemp, she fell not only that she injured her ankle and it was quite a bad injury. At that moment most of us would be thinking...OK I quit, let the Russian go home with the gold at least I've got the silver. But she didn't...she calmly walk back the runaway, more like limping there. Take a breath, run..and jump and she did a perfect landing...one one foot!,she raised her injured foot, make a bow the judges and audience on one foot, smiling like she didn't have a care in the world. She try to take a step but then sat down, calmly crawl to the end of the mat..then asking for help. She broke her ankle trying to make that last jump.

What stuck with me was the moment she landed, she didn't show anything else but calm poise, taking a bow at the judges and audience when at the same time her ankle was killing her.She puts that aside in order to show the judges it was the perfect landing they are looking for. She knew that by making the second attempt she would be making her ankle injury worse, but she didn't care.The USA went home with the gold medal.

It's been like 12 years since then but I still remember it as one of those moment when sportsmen showed you a true meaning of being brave.

And then in life, you always have to try, and today, I may not have succeeded, but I am happy to have tried to beat my record.-Noureddine Morceli, Algerian athlete, 1996 Summer Olympics.