Thursday, February 13, 2014

Another Feel Good Olympic Story

We have company coming later toady and staying for the weekend, so here goes a short post that will have to suffice for awhile.

Denny Morrison, who has had a bit of a hard luck story in past Olympics, failed to qualify for the 1000 metre speed skating event. By that, I mean that he didn't qualify in Canada's selection trials prior to the Olympics because he had a fall and, therefore, a poor time.

Gilmore Junio did qualify, even though the 1000 metre race was not his specialty. Before the race, however, in the interests of the team, he ceded his spot to Morrison, who went on to win the silver medal.

Said Junio: “It is an individual sport. And sometimes you’re kind of looking out for No. 1, but for me it was a no-brainer for Denny to be in this distance ... As a country, we want to win.”

We have every right to get upset with Olympic politics and problems, but in the end, the athletes have trained hard for many years, and they deserve their moment, and moments like this are certainly heart-warming.

9 comments:

Tabor said...

Except for our bicycle idiot the international sports champions are usually honorable people.

TexWisGirl said...

really neat.

Mara said...

I heard about this. What a selfless move! Will he (Junio) be competing in any of the other races? And if so, will he be a threat to the Dutch at all??

Dale said...

Selfless indeed! This athlete put his country first. Thanks for that one, John.

Unknown said...

Smiling, even though I heard it on CBC first.

Jackie said...

How wonderful. I've been watching the Olympics, and I am so proud of the athletes. What competitiveness...yet sportsmanship.
Hugs,
J.

Regenia said...

Catching up with your posts. Oh my goodness, how I agree with you about grammar. There are other mistakes that also drive me a little crazy. I read things like "...berween he and I". Or "He is smarter than me". And "If I was you...". I don't only read such errors, I hear them on TV or radio. I have not watched any of the Olympics. No idea why. I have always looked forward to them and really enjoyed them. I was glad then to read the touching stories you shared. Wishing you a good weekend with your company.

Ginnie said...

Junio should teach a course on the correct way to be a team member. What a neat young man.

troutbirder said...

Wonderful story. Thanks for sharing.