It’s been awhile since my last blog on this subject. I was planning on writing more frequently, however due to limits on time and Internet access that did not occur. I’ll try to wrap things up.
The Americas team left Tucepi, Croatia on Thursday, September 2nd and traveled to Split where we were housed with the rest of the teams. Competition began on Saturday, Sept. 4th and ended on the 5th.
Let me briefly explain the format of the Continental Cup:
Four Continents; the Americas (Canada, USA, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands), Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. No country could have more than one athlete in any single event. Points are awarded to continents based on how their athletes placed (obviously more for first place than second and so on); men’s and women’s scores were combined for a grand total; winner take all.
With 36 of the 40 events completed, the score was tied 378 Americas, 378 Europe. Unfortunately for the Americas team, the night ended with us on the short end of the stick.
Some of my thoughts on this experience:
The dedication and sacrifice of these young athletes are inspiring; they are truly modern day Spartans. Most of them live in a world where the majority of what they earn is based on how they perform. It’s, “put up or shut up”, “you eat what you kill”.
Behind each great athlete is a support staff that people rarely see. These are the behind the scene people who make things work.
I like to think that sport brings out the best in man and track and field represents one of the purest of all sports. There are no points awarded for style, grace or being politically correct. Its black and white; who can run the fastest, jump the highest, throw the longest. Put the talk aside and settle things in the stadium.
There is a universal respect among elite athletes that I deeply admire. They understand the time, dedication and pain that each of them must put in to do what they do. To them it doesn’t matter what country you come from, what religion you practice or the color of your skin. We can all learn something from these athletes.
Until next time…
TRA
