An Olympic Moment

 

Last night I watched Kirani James from Grenada qualify in first place in his heat for the men’s 400 meter sprint = ¼ mile. I also watched Oscar Pistorius from South Africa finish last in that same heat.  My eyes were on both of them. I’ve been following Oscar’s story for a few weeks (month or so?) since the media introduced him to me while the IOC decided if his prosthetic legs gave him a running advantage. Oscar is a double amputee whose goal was to compete in the semi-finals against able-bodied athletes. His entire life was spent competing against able-bodied athletes in a variety of sports. Last night I watched him accomplish his goal. 

After the qualifying race, Kirani walked up to Oscar, unpin his race bib with his name and trade it for Oscar’s. I have never before seen this act that I can only interpret as getting an autograph with no pen. This, to me, showed his utmost respect and admiration for Oscar. And today Oscar has the bib of the 2012 Olympic Gold medalist in the 400 meter sprint. Kirani has Grenada’s first Olympic medal, Gold nonetheless.

After Kirani won Gold, Bob Costas (aka the voice of the Olympics) shared this story about the Gold medalist. A Grenada “tour guide” for the NBC crew nervously asked Kirani for his autograph for her daughter, Sydney, and this is what he wrote, “ Sydney, Your mom is extremely proud of you…Kirani James”. I think it’s safe to say that Kirani James’ mother is extremely proud of her 19-year old son who is a shining example of sportsmanship.

Oh, and Kirani James trains in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he ran for The University of Alabama for two years before going professional.

ROLL TIDE!