Sunday, July 20, 2008

Blade runner - update

Some time ago I blogged about Oscar Pistorius, South African Paralympic athlete who had been prevented from participating in the Beijing Olympics. Well, since then, Oscar won the right to try out, but, unfortunately he failed to meet the qualifying time in his final bid last week - even though he ran a personal best in the attempt. Surely Oscar is truly indicative of the Olympic credo Citius, Altius, Fortius ... or, in other words, "Faster, Higher, Stronger". As suggested on the official Beijing Olympics site (available in French, Spanish, English, Mandarin and Arabic) "These three words encourage the athlete to give his or her best during competition, and to view this effort as a victory in itself. The sense of the motto is that being first is not necessarily a priority, but that giving one's best and striving for personal excellence is a worthwhile goal. It can apply equally to athletes and to each one of us." Great job Oscar! You are truly an inspiration, especially given the amount of opposition you faced.
Oscar is now concentrating on his preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

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