Heartbroken
Another somewhat short post this week as the Olympics still dominate a lot of my waking hours…
It seems odd to post with a title like Heartbroken when we are just one day out from Valentine’s Day, but it is certainly how I have felt at times watching these amazing young athletes come so close to achieving their dreams and not making it—sometimes by a matter of just a few seconds. We, even though we are just spectators, know they have worked so hard, worked for so long and hope to show just how much that work has paid off. But here on this international stage they are competing against the best of the best from every country.
I admire their courage and their willingness to compete in the Olympics knowing that they may be standing on the podium for one of three medals or that they may go home empty handed. It is risky—and brave.
It was especially heartbreaking to watch Ilia Malinin in his final skate of these Olympics fall—more than once—and see the pain on his face at the end of his skate. None of us reading (or writing) this blog have even suffered that kind of defeat in front of thousands of people and yet we all knew how horrible he felt. Ilia knows he is a much better athlete than that one performance showed. Our hearts broke a bit with his. We wanted him to do well; not because he deserved it more than any of the other skaters, but because we knew he, like them, had worked so hard and he wanted to do his very best. We know he is an exceptional athlete even when it did not show in that one performance.
I have been impressed with the kindness and the compassion that people have expressed when an athlete does not perform as they hoped or as they know they can and have done so many times in the past but fail to do so when they feel it counts the most. Our hearts ache right along with them in their disappointment and hurt. Overall we have seen these athletes treat one another with respect and admiration and tremendous grace. I think their best has brought out the best in our own response to those who have not done the best they know they are capable of doing.
Empathy is a gift to treasure. To be able to understand the feelings of another person, to recognize hurt or pain in someone else and to respond with care and compassion is part of what makes us human in the best ways.
The Olympics have been a powerful mirror of the power of empathy.
That one competition is something I look forward to every four years. I, too, was heartbroken as I watched him fall and get up/fall and get up. It brought tears to my eyes. Maybe I'm too invested, but I really don't care cause I know I'm not alone! Thank you for helping me realize that.
You have written so eloquently about the great highs and devastating lows of these young athletes. The highs mean standing on the podium and receiving a medal on a ribbon. The lows mean picking yourself up off the ice after a humiliating fall or a trip by helicopter to a surgical center. And knowing that you’re next chance for one of these shiny medals is four years away. I feel the same way when watching young college football or basketball players who practice so hard and then lose a crucial game by one run or one free throw. The great highs and the devastating lows.