I've always been a sports fan, but lately my eyes are on golf. Not on anyone superfamous like you-know-who, but on the other "TW" - Tom Watson. He of the cool threads from Ralph Lauren, the easy smile, the all-American spirit, I have not watched someone play so gracefully and effortlessly in a sport that really fits gentlemen.
Someone who perseveres through the ages, a man who still wins against an unforgiving course or fortuitous events, must be like a solid rock. He stands firm in times of adversity and does not waver in the face of hardship. He does not apologize for his age, but is the first to admit the reality of his mortality. And yet he remains humble, as the sport continually humbles our spirit; he stays soft and yielding, like the land he has learned to respect.
Many a times, we have seen towering men diminished by the passing of years. Not Tom Watson.
My admiration for the man, the golfer, the heart of gold, is like a ladder ascending - not to the castle where he is king, but to the little sun-lit clearing he wants to call his own.
* photos courtesy of www.tomwatson.com *
Speedskating is a sport not many people know about. As far as games go, it is just gaining recognition although historically it began as a sport around the 1500's.
Speedskating can be broken down into three types: long track speed skating (or just "speed skating"); short track speed skating ("short track"); and marathon speed skating. In the Olympics, only speed skating and short track are events. And as for short track, it became an Olympic event only recently, in the 1992 Albertville, France games. Here's an interesting piece of trivia as an aside: 1992 was the last year the Olympic Games was held the same year as the Summer Games. Now they alternate every two years.
Eric Heiden, an American speedskater and cyclist who is now a medical doctor, is considered one of the greatest speedskaters of all time. Apolo Anton Ohno, however, is the one who has made the sport more famous.
Recently competing in the Vancouver Olympics, Apolo has been the focus of much attention. He broke the record of long track speed skater Bonnie Blair for most number of speedskating medals ever by a Winter Olympian. This is not only an American record, but a world record of any speedskater.
For me, this is the allure of Apolo Ohno. He has tried to keep the sport pure by doing his best in every competition. He pursues excellence just as he pushes himself further, sharpening his focus in all aspects of life. He knows his struggles and faces his challenges squarely and with fierce determination. He is unafraid and knows the reality of the volatility of the sport. His aim to win embodies the Olympic creed created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. It reads,
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
Apolo has fought well. And he is still fighting.
* Digital painting is by my husband, Bene Rullan *
