Talking about the heartbreak for Canadian athletes today in Athens, there are two stories to be told. The first one to come to everyone's mind, I am sure, is that of Perdita Felicien. The second should be that of Akos Sandor.
Perdita said herself that she did not know what had happened to her on the track. Her right foot hit that hurdle, sending her flying. Now she has to begin the daunting task of somehow dealing with the bitter disappointment. She has spent so much time training, striving toward the day when she hoped to bring home the gold, but at least the dream she was chasing was her own. The sad thing about Sandor is that it seems the dream he was chasing was his father's, and not his own.
The elder Sandor was part of the Hungarian team that would have competed in the Los Angeles games, if politics had not intervened. Life can deal out some hard knocks like that. Felicien found that out today, and for all the people telling her that she is young and can still look forward to the next Olympics, the reality is that today's chance may never come again for her. That's not what the elder Sandor seemed willing to acknowledge, however, so he focused his frustrated hopes on his son, Akos. He became his coach, in the sport of weightlifting, and began his wait for the moment when he could live the step up to the podium, vicariously, through his son. Before his son made his first attempt today, his father was interviewed. He said among other things,"I have been waiting for this moment." Shouldn't he have been talking about his son? His use of the first person says it all. When his son did make his first attempt, he was unsuccessful. The same thing happened with his second attempt, and then finally, with his third and last. Although Akos had previously lifted heavier weights, a smaller amount defeated him today. The emotional pain on his face was a raw, open wound. His father steered that man through years of striving toward the wrong person's dream. He spent years steering him toward that moment today, when he failed. What a crushing heartbreak to visit upon your own child.
Perdita said herself that she did not know what had happened to her on the track. Her right foot hit that hurdle, sending her flying. Now she has to begin the daunting task of somehow dealing with the bitter disappointment. She has spent so much time training, striving toward the day when she hoped to bring home the gold, but at least the dream she was chasing was her own. The sad thing about Sandor is that it seems the dream he was chasing was his father's, and not his own.
The elder Sandor was part of the Hungarian team that would have competed in the Los Angeles games, if politics had not intervened. Life can deal out some hard knocks like that. Felicien found that out today, and for all the people telling her that she is young and can still look forward to the next Olympics, the reality is that today's chance may never come again for her. That's not what the elder Sandor seemed willing to acknowledge, however, so he focused his frustrated hopes on his son, Akos. He became his coach, in the sport of weightlifting, and began his wait for the moment when he could live the step up to the podium, vicariously, through his son. Before his son made his first attempt today, his father was interviewed. He said among other things,"I have been waiting for this moment." Shouldn't he have been talking about his son? His use of the first person says it all. When his son did make his first attempt, he was unsuccessful. The same thing happened with his second attempt, and then finally, with his third and last. Although Akos had previously lifted heavier weights, a smaller amount defeated him today. The emotional pain on his face was a raw, open wound. His father steered that man through years of striving toward the wrong person's dream. He spent years steering him toward that moment today, when he failed. What a crushing heartbreak to visit upon your own child.
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