Fighters

Every other year when I watch summer Olympics or winter Olympics, two major emotions occupy my mind.
1.Excitement.
2.Repentance.
No1 is what you already know. As you are, I'm excited about top athletes' performance.
No2 is...even I feel very excited or discouraged by the game results, I watch their games, only at the time of Olympics. The athletes compete every year at the World Cup or other international games...but I just become glad or sad about the results of Olympics.

However, this year, the third emotion was coming out of my mind.
The silver medalist of speed skating men's 500m, Keiichiro Nagashima said, "I really wanted to WIN. I wouldn't care even if I broke my feet to win, I thought."
The bronze medalist, Joji Kato also felt shame. "I was about to win, I thought. It was really regrettable that I ended up at the third place."

I, and many Japanese were excited about the fact "two Japanese got medals from the same event." But the athletes' stance was "to win or to lose. There are just two options."

I don't know if you feel a connection the Japenese medalists' words and the following line from a movie , but I was reminded of the movie, "Revolutionary Road."
In the movie, one young business man who felt stuck with his ordinary countryside life( acted by Leonald DiCaprio) said to his wife(acted by Kate Winslet.)
"I want to feel the things again. When I felt "I'm alive!" was...the time I was at the front line in the war. First, I was terrified like other soldiers, but after awhile, the excitement welled up from me. To kill or to be killed. At the ultimate intense situation, I felt "this is it! This is what I wanted to feel! I'm ALIVE!!"

I know in some areas in the world, unfortunately still some conflicts have been going on.
But many young, healthy, strong, indomitable athletes can compete not in the battle field, but in the athletic field now. Not to kill or be killed, but to win or lose.

After she ended up at the fourth place in the Olympics, a female mogul athlete, Aiko Uemura sent a text message to her mother.
"I feel grateful that I am ALIVE in this era. Thank you very much for giving the birth to me."
She is one of a few young top athletes who always feels the grace of peace, I thought.