The main achievement in sports is the proof that the limits of human capabilities are very conditional. A real sportsman does not just go for a record, trying to overtake his rival by a minute, a kilometer or a point, but shows by his example how to live, defend the interests of society, and set the right vector of movement.
Jesse Owens: Challenging Racial Discrimination
The XI Olympic Games, held in Berlin in 1936, went down in history as the last pre-war meeting of athletes. Hitler and Goebbels were counting on the Aryan team representatives to demonstrate the Nazi idea of the perfection of one race. But their plans were ruined by a black track and field athlete. By the way, casino apps in Canada add games on this theme to their catalog of popular slots.
Jesse Owens took four gold medals. The representative of the American team set a world record in the 200 meters and made a significant contribution to the 4×100 meters relay record. Presenting deserved awards, Hitler deviated from the protocol and did not shake Jesse’s hand, and Roosevelt did not send a congratulatory telegram. However, Owens’ triumph changed attitudes towards black people and became a symbol of rejection of racial discrimination.
Billie Jean King: the battle of the sexes
The famous tennis player Billie Jean King made her own contribution to the fight for women’s rights. In the middle of the last century, the fees of male athletes were 12 times higher than those of the fair sex. That all changed after a legendary match in 1973 in Texas.
Former champion Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, a multiple winner of the “World No. 1” title, took to the court. Almost 100 million fans watched this unequal match closely. Such a full house is explained by the fact that 55-year-old chauvinist Bobby loudly claimed that he could easily defeat any woman. The stakes were enormous. The prize money alone was $100,000. Billie wins in 4 sets and becomes the winner of the great “Battle of the Sexes”, after which the prize money for men and women is equalized.
Eugenio Monti: outstanding sporting behavior
The first athlete to receive the Pierre de Coubertin Medal was the Italian Eugenio Monti. This honor of nobility is considered more valuable than Olympic gold, as it is awarded for showing true sportsmanship. In 1964, during the Winter Games, English bobsledders Tony Nash and Robin Dixon’s axle bolt failed. The representative of the Italian team did an unexpected act. He passed the needed part to his rivals, who got the gold medal. Monti’s crew came third, but what does victory mean when the spirit of pure play is at stake?
Terry Fox: illness is not a judgment
Terry Fox played basketball and wanted to become a physical education teacher. At the age of nineteen, he began to be bothered by pain in his knees, and doctors diagnosed bone cancer. Even after the amputation of his right leg, hopes for life were slim to none. But Terry showed a true sporting spirit.
He decided to fight to the end and help patients with oncology. Having installed a prosthesis, the guy began serious training. April 12, 1980, in Canada started the Marathon of Hope, which lasted 143 days, in each of which the hero ran 42 km. Having learnt about the action, people who cared about him donated money to fight cancer. The marathon, 5373 kilometers long, became proof of unlimited human possibilities, and Terry, who died at the age of 22, became a symbol of faith and hope.
Cliff Young: age is no barrier
The multi-day ultramarathon held in Australia in 1983 was a sensation, as this time the victory went not to a professional athlete, but to a 61-year-old farmer. Cliff Young ran the Sydney-Melbourne distance in 135 hours, spending 5 days on the race, which is 2 days less than the previous record. Afterwards, he admitted that he imagined a storm was coming and he needed time to corral his sheep. Not only that but instead of 6 hours of sleep, he rested only 3.
A year later, the record holder married a 23-year-old beauty, and the bill for the wedding reception was paid by the sponsor of the sporting event. The record set by Young became a symbol of the triumph of the spirit and once again confirmed that age is no barrier to great achievements in life, sport and love.
These are not all the sporting achievements that have changed the world for the better. Perhaps your name will be on this list too.