Hello again, its been three weeks since I wrote to you, caught up with academic certification and a few other things. I apologize that I couldn’t bring Monday Truclusions to your screens for the past weeks. But on a brighter note, I am happy to share with you that today I am a certified scrum master. I am also back with a few amazing true stories that have inspired me to no limits and I want to share them with all you wonderful readers.
Abebe Bikila – From Barefoot To Puma
It is a well-known fact that African athletes are famous for long distance running. In the 1960 Olympic marathon, ran an athlete by the name, Abebe Bikila. He was an unknown runner from the East African country of Ethiopia.
Being from a very humble background he had made an appearance in the marathon barefoot, because he couldn’t afford to buy shoes. Initially in the race, the lead exchanged hands several times, but Abebe won the race finishing faster than the Olympic record holder.
The hot sun overhead and the rugged terrain under feet; nothing troubled him. He returned home a hero and was honoured like one with the “Star of Ethiopia”. Four years later he again represented his country in the Olympics. But this time he ran wearing Puma shoes. This time around with the previous experience Abebe not only won the marathon for the second time in the Olympics. But also created a new world record!
Derek Redmond – The Sprint Champion Whose Spirit Made History
The second legendary sportsman I would speak about is Derek Redmond. Derek was in his time the kind of athlete that the world of athletics looked up to. He held the British record for 400 meter sprint. In the 1992 summer Olympics he was the front runner to win the gold in the 400 meter sprint. But after running the first 150 meters, his hamstring muscle gave up on him. He suddenly experienced intense pain and started limping.
He could have easily given up and sat on the side lines. But he didn’t; he wanted to finish what he had started. He continued to limp on the track, while the other runners ran the race at their full ability. Then Derek’s father dodged the security and supported his son to continue his limp through the track.
While the father duo walked through the track, the father told the son, that he didn’t have to do it and dint have to prove himself to anyone. Derek’s reply was “I’ll not quit!” and he did not. Five seconds later the father left the son on the track letting him complete his race, which he did!
During this race Derek’s competition wasn’t with his counterparts but with himself. Was with his ability to withstand pain and was with the temptation to give up. As he completed his race 75,000 strong audience stood up to applaud his spirit. His performance showed the strength of human spirit.
Swapna Burman – First Indian Gold In Heptathlon
I told you these stories to talk about the recently concluded Asian games. From past records, India hasn’t been a strong performer in athletics. But this time there were many pleasant surprises. Out of which the biggest surprise was from Swapna Burman, who won the gold in the heptathlon and became the first Indian ever to win a gold in the discipline.
In spite of coming from a humble background, Swapna has made it big at the international stage. Her journey has been anything but easy. When the girl was in her fourth grade her father, Panchanan Burman, a rickshaw puller in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, got bedridden with paralysis and her mother had to serve him full time, quitting her day job in a tea plantation. The family had to bank on the very meagre income of her brother to make ends meet.
In addition to these emotional and financial problems that the family had to go through, there was another issue Swapna had to constantly struggle with and that was her 12-toe feet. That made it extremely difficult to find proper footwear. Her wide feet wouldn’t fit in the normal shoes and if somehow she fit them into the shoes, they wouldn’t last for long. She did not have the resources to replace them frequently.
Hence she had to constantly fight with her 12 toed feet. Despite all these problems she dared to dream big. She did not give up on her dream to perform for India on the biggest of stages. Today Swapna is the darling of the entire nation. She has made not only Indians but every sports lover proud of her performance. She now has raised the bar of expectations, because she was not only competing with her counterparts but also with herself and an intense tooth ache.
Swapna not only won over the other athletes but bettered her own best in three of the sections of the difficult discipline, where the athlete needs to be if not the best, better than other in 7 kinds of sports. She amassed 6026 points across all 7 disciplines and topped the event.
Food For Thought
There is no limit to what one can achieve if one believes!
Liked reading this? Then you might also like to read Monday Truclusions – The Love For Our Motherland & Mother’s Love!
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