In one of the most notable moments in sports history, Kenyan runner Abel Mutai was just a few feet from the finish line, but became confused with the signage and stopped thinking he had completed the race.
A Spanish athlete, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him, and after realizing what was happening, he started shouting at the Kenyan for him to continue running; but Mutai didn’t understand his Spanish. Fernandez eventually caught up to him and instead of passing him, he pushed him to victory.
A journalist asked Ivan, “Why did you do that?”
Ivan replied, “My dream is that someday we can have a kind of community life where we push and help each other to win.”
The journalist insisted “But why did you let the Kenyan win?”
Ivan replied, “I didn’t let him win, he was going to win.”
The journalist insisted again, “But you could have won!”
Ivan looked at him & replied, “But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor of that medal? What would my Mom think of that?”
Values are transmitted from generation to generation. What values are we teaching our children? Let us not teach our kids the wrong ways to WIN.
Values like this are in short supply because they require that a person cares about integrity. It’s in short supply lately.