We are in the Rio Olympic Games. We’re in the 5,000 meter race. Nikki Hamblin is a runner from New Zealand. She falls hard and hits her shoulder. Abbey D’Agostino is the American runner. She is right behind Nikki. Because Nikki is down on the ground, Abbey falls down too. Abbey gets up, and helps Nikki get up too. She wants to help her. She wants her to finish the race.
But Abbey is hurt badly from the fall. Her leg hurts so much that she falls down again. Now Nikki helps her get up. Together, they finish the race after all the other runners. They hug and cry at the finish line. Continue reading →
If someone pushes me to something to show a weak side of me, then I turn that weak side into a strong side.
If you have talent, you win games. But if you work well in a team and you are smart, you win championships.
Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.
I missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I was trusted to take the game and win, but I shot and missed. I failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. Everybody has them. But roadblocks don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Find out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.
The 1904 Olympic games included a side-competition for third world tribesmen
The 1904 Olympic Games included a side-competition for third world tribesmen in addition to the traditional Olympic sports. The strange and controversial event was called “Anthropology Days”. As part of the two-day contest, the third world tribesmen were taken from a “human zoo” and encouraged to try the Olympic sports. These men were paid to participate in traditional Olympic sports such as the long jump, archery and javelin throw and also in specially made contests such as pole climb and mud throwing. The tribesmen received almost no instruction and most of them didn’t perform very well. Continue reading →
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
“I hope the millions of people I’ve touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.”
“Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too.”
“You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.”
“It’s a heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can and provide entertainment for everyone who wanted to watch basketball. Obviously, people may not agree with that; again, I can’t live with what everyone’s impression of what I should or what I shouldn’t do.”
“The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, place I’ve always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It’s been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It’s a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.”
“My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.”
Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time.
It’s not surprising that this kind of crossing, took two years to prepare for. Two high wire artists have successfully made it across the Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border after two years spent in training. Student Lukas Irmler, 26, from Germany, and 34-year-old journalist Reinhard Kleindl from Austria, used a wobbling slackline slung across the face of the spectacular falls, known locally as ”the smoke that thunders”. They made the 100 meter long crossing on a slackline with only a safety line for support. They are the first people ever to cross the gorge walking upright.
Slacklining differs to tightrope walking in that the line is not held rigidly taut. Instead it can stretch and bounce and act rather like a long and narrow trampoline. Those who take part in slacklining are often called slackers. The falls, a UNESCO world heritage site, can carry more than 500 million cubic meters of water during the rainy season. The drop from the slack line to the canyon below is around a hundred meters. What makes the stunt all the more surprising then, is that for these daredevils this is just an extreme hobby. Irmler is an Economic Science student and his companion spends most of his time as a journalist and writer. Forty years ago, in 1974, New York awoke to find Philippe Petit walking on a high wire suspended between the 110-story Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Petit left a crowd of thousands breathless but was arrested by the police when he finally stepped off the wire. But as the realisation of what he had managed began to sink in, there was also an understanding that there was no way he could be punished. All charges were dismissed in exchange for a performance in Central Park for children. The ‘artistic crime of the century’, as Petit described it, was the subject of the outstanding 2008 documentary Man on Wire, directed by James Marsh. Answer the following questions to make sure you understood the article – 1. How long did it take for Lukas and Reinhard to prepare for crossing Victoria Falls? 2. How did Lukas and Reinhard make the 100 meter long crossing of the gorge? 3. Has anyone ever crossed the gorge walking upright? 4. How does slacklining differ to tightrope walking? 5. How high is the drop from the slack line to the canyon below? 6. What makes the stunt even more surprising? 7. How did Philippe Petit walk from one twin tower of the World Trade Center to the other? 8. What happened after he stepped off the wire? 9. Was he put in prison? 10. Write your answer in a comment below – why do you think he did it?
