World Record vs Gold Medal
Just some miscellaneous thoughts on something I saw in the men's swimming event in the Olympics.
Pardon me if I get my facts wrong.
I was watching the men's 100m freestyle semi finals 1 & 2.
Before the semis, the world recorder holder is Eamon Sullivan, an Australia swimmer. He was scheduled to be in semi final 2.
Then there is this French guy, Alain Bernard, who has an amazing physique in semi final 1. He is the reigning European champion.
In semi final 1, Alain won it in style by breaking Eamon's world record in 47.20sec.
In semi final 2, Eamon had the perfect response by breaking the world record set by his rival just minutes ago in the 1st semi final with the time of 47.05sec.
So, the record went back to Eamon.
The next day, it was the final. Eamon and Alain were placed side by side.
And the winner is... Alain Bernard of France with a winning time of 47.21sec! Eamon came in 2nd with the time of 47.32sec.
Therefore, at the podium, Alain received the gold medal while Eamon got the silver.
Now, here comes the question:
Do you want to be the world record holder or the gold medalist?
After giving it some thought. I would rather be the gold medalist than the record holder. I am not sure about you guys, but I find that it makes more sense to be the gold medalist.
Everyone remembers at this Olympics, you are the gold medalist in this event.
Your gold medal is safe in your house, inside the trophy cabinet I suppose. No one can snatch your gold medal away from you. The best part is, your country may reward you with a lot of money.
If you hold the world record but finishes 2nd, the sad thing is - no one remembers who came in 2nd. The good bit is whenever there is an event that you held the record for, your name and time would be mentioned. However, your record is far from safe, you cannot keep your world record in your trophy cabinet. One fine day, someone is going to snatch away your 'world record' title. A fear that would, inevitably be realised. (Just look at the number of records broken in every Olympics)
Once your unparallel mark is replaced - who is going to remember the name? No gold medal, no more record, no more glory.
-dakepaike-
Pardon me if I get my facts wrong.
I was watching the men's 100m freestyle semi finals 1 & 2.
Before the semis, the world recorder holder is Eamon Sullivan, an Australia swimmer. He was scheduled to be in semi final 2.
Then there is this French guy, Alain Bernard, who has an amazing physique in semi final 1. He is the reigning European champion.
In semi final 1, Alain won it in style by breaking Eamon's world record in 47.20sec.
In semi final 2, Eamon had the perfect response by breaking the world record set by his rival just minutes ago in the 1st semi final with the time of 47.05sec.
So, the record went back to Eamon.
The next day, it was the final. Eamon and Alain were placed side by side.
And the winner is... Alain Bernard of France with a winning time of 47.21sec! Eamon came in 2nd with the time of 47.32sec.
Therefore, at the podium, Alain received the gold medal while Eamon got the silver.
Now, here comes the question:
Do you want to be the world record holder or the gold medalist?
After giving it some thought. I would rather be the gold medalist than the record holder. I am not sure about you guys, but I find that it makes more sense to be the gold medalist.
Everyone remembers at this Olympics, you are the gold medalist in this event.
Your gold medal is safe in your house, inside the trophy cabinet I suppose. No one can snatch your gold medal away from you. The best part is, your country may reward you with a lot of money.
If you hold the world record but finishes 2nd, the sad thing is - no one remembers who came in 2nd. The good bit is whenever there is an event that you held the record for, your name and time would be mentioned. However, your record is far from safe, you cannot keep your world record in your trophy cabinet. One fine day, someone is going to snatch away your 'world record' title. A fear that would, inevitably be realised. (Just look at the number of records broken in every Olympics)
Once your unparallel mark is replaced - who is going to remember the name? No gold medal, no more record, no more glory.
-dakepaike-
posted by fukepaike at 1:31 AM
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