A Champions Gold

br /> "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">

Many people today have a struggle to succeed in sport .
It takes perserverence , dedication to make it through the obstacles alone the way to achieve
victory .

All over the world many have shed blood sweat and tears in the hope that one day they will be a champion . For many it has already come
with an Olympic gold medal .

History books are full of names of the winning athletes who have represented their Country in the Olympics games .

They have gone for gold , and captured it .
There are others who gave their best and although they failed to take the gold their prize was a personal triumph .

Images of marathon runners crawling their hands and knees in packed stadiums have grouted their images into the halls of fame and as the
huge crowd of spectators urged them on to cross the finish line all our hearts felt a little despair and yet pride for them as their anguished expressions shone thought their armoured plate faces .

Boxers hitting the canvas almost unable to stand yet they get up and manage to throw a flurry of punches in the hope that one may land
.

There are stories of heartbreak and happiness .
Sometimes you hear a story so full of virtue that it remind us about that important statement , Our day will come .

One such story is that of Bill Havens an American who was to compete in the 1924 Paris Olympics as part of the rowing team .
Just before he left for France Bill asked to be dropped from the team because his wife was expecting their baby and he wanted
to be with his wife for the birth . His wife begged him to go , but Bill stood firm . The rowing team went to Paris without Bill and took
out the gold medal with a very comfortable performance .
28 years later Bill received a telegram from his son Frank .
The telegram said " Thanks for waiting around for my birth .
I'm coming home with a gold medal "

At the Helsinki games Frank Havens won the Olympic title in the Canadian singles 10,000m canoeing championship .

When it comes to Gold keeping it in the family has its own hallmark of greatness .

At the Berlin Olympics in 1936 two brothers and a sister from Britain
competed . Godfrey and Ralph Brown with their sister Audrey . Godfrey
won Gold in the 4x400 relay race and he also
took out a silver in the 400m individual race . Audrey was a member of the team who came second in the 4x100m relay .
At the 1936 games in Berlin the winners of Gold medals were each given one year old oak seedling plants .
They were presented in pots with the inscribed words ,

" Grow to the honour of victory !
Summon to further achievement !"

By Paul McCann
The End