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Olympic Gems

WEEK 4 – AUGUST 2008


Another amazing Olympic week. More people across the world have watched these Olympics than ever before. And never before has a nation put on such a show. From a gravity-bending Opening Ceremony to Michael Phelps’ dramatic effort to win eight golds to Usain Bolt’s stunning show of speed to the astounding dominance of Chinese athletes, these Olympics were simply outstanding. Here are a few gems from some of the stars themselves.


I’ve been dreaming of this since I was like yea high…Anything is possible If I put my mind to it.
Usain Bolt: Winner of the 100 and 200m sprint

Coming back and doing everything that I did was to win an Olympic gold medal. That was my aim when I was training every single day, twice a day, 11 sessions a week, 30 hours a week, before every single dive, it was like `I want to win Olympic gold’ and that made me try my hardest in every single training session for the last year and a half. 

”It was all worth it.”
Matthew Mitcham Gold medal – Men’s Diving – 10m platform

You can do anything you set your mind to do. I have been running this over and over in my head more than a million times.
Jan Frodeno – Gold medal – Men’s Triathlon

Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva put in yet another masterful display of high-class pole vaulting as she retained her Olympic gold and cracked her own world record for the 23rd time. The height was also a massive 25cm higher than her closest competitor.
‘Life would be boring without records and I want to continue forever,’ said Isinbayeva. ‘The sky is my only limit.

Never say never.
She didn’t medal but Natalie du Toit wins gold every time she competes. The South African, who lost her leg when hit by a car in 2001, became the first amputee to compete in the Olympics when she swam in the 10km open water race.


Having been so inspired from watching all the feats of our sporting heroes, what is your Olympic feat you can aim towards in your life? Dream BIG and prepare to WIN. Next week I will follow on with some strategies to help you win!


Winning wishes
Ann

Ann Quinn, Ph.D

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