Coming from behind

We love an underdog. Not the winner who is expected to win, does so without apparently breaking sweat.  Sampras or Djokavic in tennis. It was always Nastase or Connors for me. Andy Murray had to work at full pelt to succeed, taking things to the edge so you were never sure if he was going to survive. The result in the balance. At the Paris 2024 Olympics two sets of UK athletes went for the dramatic rather than common place. Alex Yeo in the triathlon battled through the polluted waste of the Seine, swimming against sewage and the tide, survived the bike leg And then embarked on his favourite running section. Surprisingly one of his competitors started to go increasingly ahead. All seemed lost for Yeo and Team GB. He gained a second wind though, and bit by bit started to close the gap. The commentator got increasingly excited and then about 100 metres from the end Yeo takes the lead, wins by a few yards and then collapses on the ground, a few feet from the finish line. Completely spent. Exhausted. At his limit and beyond. The next competitor wobbles and falls gently on top of him, adrenalin immediately leaving the body as the finishing line is past. Back to the Seine, the women’s quads rowing were taking place, The Netherlands forging a large lead but the plucky Brits were hanging in there, just in sight, Gradually they started to reel their opponents in. It looked too late for gold but a few metres from the line an extraordinary effort propelled them to a photo finish which they won by a neck, or a head. Half an oar. The crew didn’t know they had won until the result flashed up on the screen. An incredible feat made dramatic by the manner of victory. It is not just about winning but the story that unfolds within it. The French BMX biker who crashed and lost his shoe before coming back to win a medal. Much more exciting than the Francophile swimmer who won loads of medals, seemingly without being out of breath. It’s not what you do but the way that you do it when going for gold.