Beijing 2008 Olympics

With now only one week until the start of the Olympic Games, some of the world’s finest athletes are converging upon Beijing. Hopes and dreams and years of preparation of their sport of choice come down to this single competition. Yet beyond the medals and record shattering performances, there is something unique of the Olympics. Something that defies much of modern sport, as it is truly meant to bring people together, in respect of common morals in the betterment of man. In probably the simplest statements that can be made the Olympics themselves define a sense of athletic perfection, the Olympic Spirit.

These games have already had their share of controversy, from the protests that disrupted the route of torch runners, even some earlier talk of boycotts and now the ever-present banning of athletes using illegal drugs, yet the Games survive. The Games survive because in its purest form it represents the finest element of sport that sadly has been forgotten in modern sport; to improve the quality of our lives.

As we go forward through these Games, I’m going to introduce you to many athletes and sports who you may not have ever heard of. I can’t promise you that they grace the winner’s podium with a gold medal but I can tell you of how they embodied the spirit of the Games. And that my friends, is when sport goes beyond its normal boundaries and improves of quality of all our lives.