THE long-awaited Olympic season is finally here! After 5 years, the time has finally come for athletes to battle it out in the sporting arena.
This Olympics is the most unusual one yet. No fans are allowed into the stadiums. Somehow, it doesn’t really feel like it’s THE Olympics. Some critics have said that the opening ceremony was subdued and didn’t reflect the true glory of the quadrennial games.
However, the true battle of this Olympics is not between the athletes; it’s the battle against Covid-19.
Picture this: You’ve set your mind and heart to compete in the 2020 Olympics. You start prepping and training hard since 2016. When 2020 finally arrives, the pandemic happens and the games get delayed by another year!
With all the uncertainty, you are not even sure if the games will actually happen in 2021, yet you continue training. One more gruelling year of blood, sweat and tears. Fast forward to 2021, the time has finally come! Your heart is pumping, you are ready to unleash the beast that has been laying dormant.
Only three more days to go! You feel confident. This year is going to be my year!
Suddenly, your phone rings. You jump up in shock because you were deep in your thoughts.
You check the phone, it’s an unknown number. You pick it up with uncertainty, little knowing everything is going to change after the call.
You have been tested positive for Covid-19.
Your phone slides out of your palm. You’re fazing out, the world doesn’t seem real anymore.
How could this be? You question yourself, incredulously. I have been vaccinated! I’ve checked and checked and checked, no symptoms at all!
Calm down, you tell yourself, while your heart pumps wildly. It could just be a false alarm. Let’s request a retest.
Refusing to believe the results, you go for a retest.
The report comes back and the results are confirmed. You are tested positive for Covid-19, and there is nothing you can do about it to change the results.
In that instant your world comes crashing down. All your hopes and dreams have gone up in smoke. The moment that you have been waiting for, all the sacrifices made for the past 5 years, gone, just like that.
You are no longer allowed to participate in the games. You have to self-quarantine, with only your thoughts to accompany you.
You think to yourself, “Why me? Why did God play such a cruel joke on me?”
The story demonstrated above is completely fictional. However, it is happening right now as you are reading this.
Quite a number of athletes have tested positive for Covid-19, they are not allowed to take part in the Olympics anymore, and this is absolutely heart-breaking for them and their team.
In dark times like these, do you fall, or do you rise?
The incredible Olympic athletes have chosen to rise. One can only imagine the pain they are going through, yet they have accepted the fate bestowed upon them, and are rising to the occasion.
I was especially touched by this American athlete's story.
Beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb was tested positive a few days before the games started. He then made a post about it, saying “he wants to send positive vibes and negative test results for all athletes here in Tokyo.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRn1pNqg26Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
As much as it stings, he has accepted his situation and is now playing his new role - supporting his team members. The new team, Jake Gibb and Tri Bourne, have also shown resilience as they are playing not only for Team USA, but Taylor as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRu22lEnDgt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I wanted to share this story not only because I was so incredibly touched by it, but I also just want us to take a moment to reflect on these incredible athletes and their spirit.
What if we all could learn to look at things the way they do in times of adversity? What if we could change our perspectives and play the new role we are meant to, instead of whining and complaining when things don’t go our way?
With that, I leave you with this thought. Just enjoy the games from our safe spaces, and let us be #UnitedbyEmotions. - The Vibes. July 27, 2021
