Paris Olympics shows the value of family in athletes’ careers
Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon in high spirits after arriving at the JKIA on August 13, 2024 from the Paris Olympics.
What you need to know:
- It is also here that an athlete first gains a role model before he or she can seek out the outside world for people to look up to.
- Therefore, it is important for a sportsperson to build strong connections with their families and friends – not just any connection but those that bring the best out of them and push them closer towards their goals.
If there is a lesson that can be learnt from the just-concluded Paris Olympics, it is the importance of a solid social circle around every sportsman and woman.
Some of the enduring images of the games have been athletes running to celebrate with their loved ones after winning a medal in their respective competitions.
In more romantic cases, two of the athletes proposed to their partners right there in front of millions of viewers around the world.
Closer home, one of the popular sports websites reported that our own, Faith Kipyegon, had a three-hour call with her husband, Timothy Kitum, during which he encouraged her ahead of the women’s 1,500m final on Saturday.
Such moments – and many more – amplify the need for sportspersons to have a strong social support system even as they pursue their dreams.
Families and friends are a source of emotional support in terms of encouragement in the form of words and actions.
Just knowing that there are people who love you unconditionally and believe in your abilities is enough to push you closer to that gold medal. In the case of Faith, that three-hour call was just what the doctor ordered after the emotional ordeal of initially being disqualified in the women’s 5,000m final.
As she attests, the loving words from her significant other had a calming and reassuring effect on her, which spurred her to history as the first athlete to win three consecutive Olympic titles in the women’s 1,500m.
Additionally, a strong social support system can come through for you financially when going through tough times.
Preparing for a grand competition such as the Olympics is a longstanding process that begins more than four years before.
On many occasions, athletes will need the backing of their families in terms of equipment, food, training fees and transport as they pursue their dreams, even before the relevant federations and the governments provide the required support.
Families are also the immediate environment in which an athlete can acquire the requisite values for success in sports, such as discipline, integrity, hard work and perseverance.
It is also here that an athlete first gains a role model before he or she can seek out the outside world for people to look up to.
Therefore, it is important for a sportsperson to build strong connections with their families and friends – not just any connection but those that bring the best out of them and push them closer towards their goals.
