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View Winners → US Women Set a Very High Standard of Excellence in the London 2012 Olympic Games, Win Many Gold Medals
Arcadia Weekly Aug 16, 2012
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By Harry Sneider
Gold Medalists US Women’s Olympic Soccer Team. -Courtesy Photo
These Olympic Games can be said to be the year of the woman athlete. Women have earned two-thirds of all the medals won by the United States of America. They have won gold medals in track and field, swimming, beach volleyball, boxing, judo, water polo, rowing, basketball, soccer, shooting and more. This is truly an historic accomplishment for the wonderful Olympians and many live here in beautiful Southern California. We are blessed to have these athletes inspire our children and all of us.
As a track coach I was very impressed with the 4 x 100 relay where the women broke the world record. Many of these women have tried for many years to accomplish this. One Olympian is Allyson Felix. She trained for 8 years to break this record. Other girls on the track and field team have gone through many challenges including financial difficulties, having children, and trying to find a career in addition to track to accomplish their goals. One of the things that we learn from the wonderful 2012 Olympians is NEVER GIVE UP or as Winston Churchill, the famous prime minister of Great Britain said during World War II as the Nazis were invading Britain, “NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, GIVE UP”. The quality of a great champion is PERSEVERANCE.
These women champions with their remarkable accomplishments are role models for our younger generation. If you remember in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies the older generation of torch bearers gave the younger generation the torches to run around the Olympic stadium and to finally set the Olympic flames on fire. This great symbolism showed that we are not living in the past but we are moving forward to a new generation of accomplishments. Our younger generation needs these positive role models like the US Olympic soccer team. Many of these women are very happy to share their experiences and the valuable lessons they learned in London with our children and all of us.
The Olympics come every four years. We have some major stars that will be there in Rio in 2016. They include Missy Franklin, a great swimmer who won four gold medals and a bronze. Our basketball team had many superstars that have said they would like to give it another go in 2016. Some of the gymnasts may be there like Gabby Douglas. Many on the soccer team have said they will return. There are too many others to mention in this short article.
How do the Olympics impact your life? 1. Are you staying healthy? 2. Do you have positive goals? 3. Have you stopped eating junk food? 4. Do you have positive thoughts? 5. Do you workout? 6. Are you thanking God daily? 7. Let these Olympics inspire you to a positive, healthy lifestyle. YOU ARE A WINNER! Coach Sneider can be reached at harrysneider@earthlink.net or 626-355-8964.
