“Strength and Courage aren’t always measured in medals and victories. They are measured in the struggles they overcome. The strongest people aren’t always the people who win, but the people who don’t give up when they lose.”  -Ashley Hodgeson

Every Olympic games I truly enjoy the P & G videos that have inspiring Olympic Stories, so I want to post some of them here. Hope you feel the Olympic Spirit of determination within these videos. Enjoy.

 

 

 

A few more stories to inspire…

Uber-kind stranger helps dad see his son’s debut at the Games

One of sweetest stories so far is that of Ellis Hill, the father of shot putter Darren Hill, was not even going to go to the Olympics. Travelling for mega sporting events is expensive and Hill, who drives an Uber taxi in Philadelphia, was going to have to settle for watching his son on TV. But that all changed when he mentioned to one of his passengers that he wouldn’t be able to go. The Good Samaritan decided to crowd-fund to get him there.

“It was devastating to hear that,” said the passenger, Liz Willock, in an interview with People magazine. “Here’s this wonderful man, who has a close relationship with his son, and I know any parent would want to see their son or daughter compete at the Olympics, but it was very understandable how that could be out of reach.” [taken from Daily Maverick]

 

Yusra Mardini might be the only athlete in the world whose sport literally saved her life.

The Syrian refugee, who will compete for the newly created Refugee Olympic Team, was forced to flee her home country because of civil war. With her sister, she went from Lebanon to Turkey with plans to sneak into Greece via the Aegean Sea, according to Juliet Spies-Gans of the Huffington Post.

During the trip, her boat broke down and began to fill with water. Along with another refugee, Mardini and her sister jumped into the Aegean Sea and pushed the boat to land. A month later, Mardini and her sister went to Berlin.

Mardini has always been a talented swimmer, but circumstances in Syria made training difficult at times.

In Berlin, she was able to begin training with Wasserfreunde Spandau 04, a swimming club that is based near her refugee center, according to the official Olympics website. There, she would train in a pool that was built for the 1936 Olympic Games.

Mardini hopes she will inspire others, according to the Olympics website:

I think my target is to qualify for the Olympics and to be an inspiration for everyone.

I want everyone to stay strong for their goals in life, because if you have your goals in front of your eyes, you will do everything you can; and I think even if I fail I will try again. Maybe I will be sad, but I will not show it, and I will try again and again until I get it. I want to show everybody that it’s hard to arrive at your dreams, but it’s not impossible. You can do it; everyone can do it. If I can do it, any athlete can do it.

She competes in the 200-meter individual medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle events [taken from bleacher report.com]

 

Well, I hope these stories inspire your day and your life. Don’t give up!