Great Moments in Sportsmanship from the Olympics
Posted on 08. Aug, 2012 by Adrian in Blog, Orange
I don’t get misty eyed during the Olympic medal ceremonies. And while it’s fun to watch great athletic performances, I won’t remember all the winners. What will I remember from the London 2012 Games? The moments of sportsmanship. Here are a few moments that stood out to me:
Kirani James of Grenada winning his semi-final heat of the 400 meters and immediately walking over to double-amputee Oscar Pistorius (who came last) and asking if he might exchange name bibs. The 19-year-old James would go on to win the gold medal the next day, but I have to admit his simple act of respect to the inspiring South African runner got me choked up.
Andy Turner of Great Britain and Jackson Quinonez of Spain returning to put their arms around former gold medalist Liu Xiang of China who was trying to hop to the finish line after he fractured a tendon hitting the first hurdle of the 110 meter heat. It was a great moment, made even more poignant by the fact that Quinonez had finished a disappointing fourth in the heat, one spot from advancing, but he and Turner displayed the grace to honor a former champion who was attempting to symbolically finish his last race.
Good friends Mo Farah of Great Britain and Galen Rupp of the United States crossing the finish line in places 1-2 of the men’s 10,000 meters. Rupp in second place was clearly just as thrilled for his Brit training partner and best friend Farah as for his own result, and when Farah turned to see his Yank buddy had come in second he let out a cry of joy and the two hugged and bounced around like little kids. The British crowd roared for minutes after the race while Farah and Rupp, together, circled the track waving their respective countries’ flags.
Please let me know of your favorite moments.
And Think Orange!
About Adrian Gostick
Adrian Gostick is a global thought leader on workplace strategy and the author of several successful books on employee engagement. The Carrot Principle by Simon & Schuster has been a regular New York Times bestseller, and 24-Carrot Manager has been called a “must read for modern-day managers” by Larry King of CNN. His latest book, The Orange Revolution, was a #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller."
The Carrot Principle
Human performance accelerated? Is this book about the work place or the human race?
With breakthrough research of 200,000 people over ten years from The Jackson Organization, and massive, new global data collected by Towers Perrin, The Carrot Principle demonstrates how constructive praise and meaningful rewards powerfully motivates people from every walk of life and inspires employees to excel, engage, and bring their best to work every day.
The Orange Revolution
Following the enormous popularity of their bestselling The Carrot Principle, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton return with a groundbreaking guide to building high-performance teams. The powerful research reported inThe Orange Revolution reveals that the true driver of exceptional success for great companies is not a genius CEO. Breakthrough success is driven by a particular breed of breakthrough team that generates its own momentum.
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