Last night, Paul Hamm took Olympic gold in men's all-around gymnastics. His win made an impact on me, not because he added to the USA medal count, but because he didn't give up when it seemed all hope was lost.
He'd been doing well until the fourth rotation when he crashed off the mat into the judges’ table on a bad vault. He posted a score of 9.137, dropping him from first to 12th place with only two rotations left in the competition. It seemed impossible for him to medal, much less get gold.
Hamm could've given up right then. Dejected and bruised, no one would've blamed him for quitting. Instead, he went on to make Olympic history, nailing his last two events with twin 9.837s. He seized the gold from Korean Kim Dae-eun by .012 points.
That's what I love about the Olympics. They allow human beings to become exceed the "sum of their parts" by magnifying such traits as courage, perseverance and determination. The Games inspire me to be a better person. How many times have I wiped out and immediately given up.
Hamm's performance reminded me of Keri Strug's vault in 1996, and not just because Hamm and Strug both have munchkin voices (my brother said Hamm could compellingly represent the Lollipop Guild). Both performances loom iconic in my mind. That's what the Olympics are all about, at least to me.
I hope next time I'm in a jam, I mirror Hamm's attitude from last night.
"I dug down deep and fought for everything," Hamm told the AP. "It was the best performance of my life."
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