The Olympic Games have become the greatest sports event in the world. No matter how many championship titles an athlete has, to win at the Olympics often remains the supreme ambition. In this intense pursuit of sporting excellence, there are also shining stories of true sportsmanship. The good side of the Olympics One of the greatest examples is Emil Zatopec, the great Czech distance runner who actually gave one of his gold medals away. Zatopec won gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics on the same day his wife won with the javelin. They became the first and only married couple ever to win Olympic gold medals on the same day in separate events. He was already the hero of the '52 games, with victories in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters, when he decided to run the marathon--a race he had never run before. During the marathon he asked another runner if the pace was too fast. The reply--it was too slow. So Zatopec upped his speed and won another gold! Olympic gold had always eluded athlete Ron Clarke. Though he had set 18 world records, in his trips to the Olympics he had collected only a single bronze medal. One day while visiting with the Zatopecs, Clarke was given a small box and told not to open it until he was on his way home. When Clarke finally opened the package, he found one of Zatopec's gold medals. Attached was a card which read: "Dear Ron, I have won four gold medals. It is only right that you should have one of them. Your friend, Emil." This exemplifies the true spirit of sportsmanship--winning, with a willingness to share. The last man in the marathon Sports also give us inspiring examples. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics produced the story of the "Last Man in the Marathon." A little more than an hour after the winner had crossed the finish line, with only a few thousand spectators left in the stadium, the last runner finally arrived. With a leg bandaged and bloody, he made his painful way around the last lap. In the press box a columnist wrote: "Today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in the human spirit...a performance that gives true meaning to sport...a performance that lifts sport out of the category of grown men playing games...a performance that gives meaning to the word courage.... All honor to John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania." Afterward Akhwari was asked why he had endured the pain since there was no chance of winning. He simply said, "My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish." The dark side Perhaps the shadowy, manipulative side of sports was worst reflected in the 1936 Olympics. Those first-ever summer games held in Germany were used by the Nazi Party as a gigantic propaganda exercise. The attempt to prove the superiority of the "Aryan race" over athletes from other parts of the world was, however, undermined by the success of Jesse Owens, an African-American who was the undisputed star of the Olympics. At the 1972 Olympics, Germany again became the focus of the dark side of sports. The expectant joy of those games was shattered when 11 athletes, 5 terrorists and a policeman were killed during the kidnapping of Israeli athletes and the subsequent attempt to rescue them. The day after memorial services, competition continued, but with the Olympic flag at half-mast. Olympic ideals are often in sharp contrast to world reality. The Olympic motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius--Swifter, Higher, Stronger--is all too often marred by the powerful forces of nationalism and the drive for accumulation of team medals. Commercialism seems to have all but overwhelmed the basic intent of the modern Olympics as expressed by its founder, Frenchman Baron de Coubertin. What he said in 1908 has become the modern Olympic Creed, displayed on the scoreboard at opening ceremonies: "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." Tragically, the Olympics have become too much a reflection of man's society and the evils that dog his good intentions. Is good sportsmanship rapidly losing ground? How recently did you see a golfer fling his club after a bad stroke? Or see a highly paid tennis player throw his racket to the ground, angrily hit a ball into the stands or challenge the referee? Or hear of an athlete accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, or see players fighting on the field? Sadly, we see these things all too frequently. Have we lost sight of de Coubertin's ideals? Jesse Owens Positive examples give us heart. One good example comes from those 1936 Berlin Olympics, where Jesse Owens had won three gold medals and was competing in the long jump. He had fouled twice with only three attempts allowed. The German champion came over to him and in broken English said, "Jesse, let me make a suggestion. I will place my towel a foot in front of the foul line and you can use this for your take-off. You should then qualify easily." Owens took his advice, qualified and went on to win another gold. Owens recalled, "It was so gracious of him. After my victory he was the first one to greet me, and we walked arm in arm right in front of Hitler's box." That example of good sportsmanship helped Jesse Owens set a record of four track and field gold medals in the same Olympics--a record that held for 48 years. Another good example was one of the great "Golden Milers" who had an attitude toward athletics that made him a symbol of all that was good in sports. John Landy dominated Australian middle-distance running from 1952 to 1956 and was a central figure in the much-publicized quest to break the 4-minute mile, along with Englishman Roger Bannister and American Wes Santee. Landy broke that world mile record in 1954. In a race leading up to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, another great distance runner, Ron Clarke, fell. Landy, considering himself to be at fault, immediately stopped running to check on Clarke's condition and to apologize. He then resumed running to chase the field, regained the lead and went on to win. The delay probably cost him another world record. This is what makes for excellence in sports--great athletes who are also great in character and humanity. We still see this exhibited occasionally, but all too rarely. Is winning everything? Sports fans love a winner. We feel up when our team is in the Super Bowl, World Series or Stanley Cup. Winning teams are in the media spotlight. Champagne and backslapping are the victor's spoils. Yet winning is often only the difference of a stroke, point, second or goal. Many believe that winning is everything. Winning often takes precedence over a player's health and injuries. Seeking to intimidate the opposition or deliberately trying to injure an opponent is becoming an accepted part of the game. Defeat is often quiet and depressing. Heads are lowered. Feet dejectedly kick the turf. Some losers are not too graceful in defeat. Clubs and rackets are thrown in disgust. Knowing they can't win, some resort to rough play to injure opponents. What makes for bad attitudes in sports? Well, the media doesn't help by describing teams in terms of the battlefield: Crushed, blitzed, demoralized, flattened, devastated. Add to this a growing disrespect for rules and authority. Players argue with umpires and referees. Wild melees involving whole teams are commonplace. It's little wonder that children emulate the adult stars and that violence plagues youth sporting events as well. Thankfully some do take a stand against obnoxious players. Administrators, officials and the majority of athletes are concerned about violence, but are at a loss as to how to go about cleaning up the mayhem. The motivation to win at any cost is too strong for most sports to change. The reality is that many players lose more often than they win. Defeat is a frequent visitor in life, and we must come to terms with it. Humble in victory, gracious in defeat is a nice ideal, but one we rarely see in sports--or in life, for that matter. The intertwined character traits involved in sports and life have not altered since the apostle Paul reflected on athletic training more than 1,900 years ago. He drew analogies from running and boxing, probably referring to the Isthmian Games of the city of Corinth. Writing to the Corinthians he said: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, New International Version). Paul took the runner's strict training, self-denial and focus on the finish line as requirements for spiritual endeavors as well. He saw that while a runner's discipline gained him only a wreath of wild celery that soon withered, the true Christian strives for an imperishable crown. Paul clearly taught that we should strive to win the race of life. But he knew there would be setbacks and short-term defeats along the way. He was a disciplined person who could gracefully accept defeat or humbly savor the high of a win. "I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound," he said (Philippians 4:12). In defeat the character of the players is highlighted. Some players give of their best, even shine in brilliance, in a losing battle. Actually, we face defeat more often than we enjoy the triumph of victory. In the voyage of life, humility is a struggle because virtue isn't financially rewarded nor does it receive public acclaim. People would far sooner have the trophy, take the money and drink the champagne. We prefer heady glory to consoling words about bearing up in defeat. Good sportsmanship in the game of life Many of these principles apply to everyday life. Whether a participant or spectator, we can apply them by refusing to give in to temper, anger and the human desire to punch or strike back at another. Develop greater skills to keep out of conflict and win by talent and ability. Some athletes are known for their fair play and self-control. Like them, be a good sport! Winning is a goal to strive for. But winning is only laudable if you can also hold your head up in defeat. Can we expect the trends toward more obnoxious behavior and increased disrespect for authority to continue? Biblical prophecy doesn't suggest otherwise. Until man's heart, mind and attitude change, his actions will not. It takes character to keep a tight rein on your emotions when you are provoked. It takes character to hold your head high when you've tasted setbacks and defeat. Winning is fun, and being challenged by other skilled players helps bring out our best. The desire to win motivates us to work, run, row, bike or swim faster and longer than we have done before. Winning is also competing with yourself against the elements, the mountain or the sea. Striving to win doesn't have to mean animosity between opponents. The pregame psyche-out too often leads to grudges to be settled on the playing field. If winning requires you to cheat, lose your temper, aggravate an injury, abuse the umpire or intimidate your opponent, what really is the quality of your victory? There is a better way While all Olympic teams enter the stadium at the opening ceremony carrying their national flags, the closing ceremony is designed to highlight unity as if all the athletes belonged to one nation. This all came about because of 17-year-old John Ian Wing during the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Leading up to those games the world was in turmoil. As teams made their way to Melbourne, Soviet tanks and troops were entering Budapest to put down the Hungarian uprising. A few days after the opening ceremony John Wing wrote a letter to the organizing committee. He suggested a different kind of march for the closing ceremony: "During the march there will be only one nation.... What more could anybody want if the whole world could be made as one nation?" So it was done. And this has become a tradition that has remained for all Olympic Games--athletes from many nations saying farewell as one body, instead of marching separately under their own national flags. What an inspiring thought about how sports could be in the prophesied world of tomorrow! Most sporting careers are brief, while the game of life is long. That's why we need to learn to be humble in victory and graceful in defeat. If you can play fairly and in a good spirit, then you'll have a good start in playing the more important game of life.