For all their flaws, the Olympics are special. We get to see real people, most of whom aren’t paid millions, but some variation of peanuts, step into the once-every-four-years spotlight. It’s their singular chance to change their lives, cement their legacy, or just walk away knowing that they gave their all to chasing the dream.
I want to highlight just a few stories and lessons I’ve pulled from this year’s games. Feel free to share some of your favorites by replying to this e-mail (or let us know on social media).
Be Yourself and Go All the Way
Noah Lyles is a showman and mad talker. Last year he put the entire NBA on blast with his “World champion of what?” comment. He’s brash, confident, and goofy. And, after winning last year’s world championship in the 100 and 200 meter races, he had the weight of the world on him. Then, unexpectedly, he got beat in the heats and in the semi-finals. And yet, as he stepped out onto the stage for the biggest moment of his career, he was himself. Fired up, brash, and goofy. And he ran his race: last place at 40 meters, 7th through 50 meters, then holding top speed far better than everyone in the field, to out-lean his competitors by .005.
Love him or hate him, Lyles shows us to be ourselves and go all the way. He showed up as himself. He didn’t do anything different. Sticking to his pre-race with Zen, and ending by screaming into the camera. The 100m may be the most difficult race to prepare for mentally. You need full confidence before the gun goes off, an enormous expression of power, but also to be completely relaxed.
Strive Securely
There was Simone Biles, entering the meet with the memory of her body failing her in Tokyo. Yet, there she was, redefining what we think about performance. First, there was the controversy with a former teammate who said that the US team had lost some of its toughness because, bizarrely, they didn’t have a tyrant as a coach. Simone, Suni, and the team showed us that you can be the best in the world while having fun. They showed us that the damaging notion of decades past—that gymnasts needed to look like pre-pubescent girls—was wrong, as a group of strong 20-somethings dominated. And there Simone was, cheering on her biggest rival while competing against her for the gold.
We All Need a Helping Hand
There was the battle of friends, triathletes Yee and Wilde, going at it once again for the ultimate prize. After nearly an hour and a half of racing—including through the questionable Seine river—Wilde threw down the surges of all surges: a drastic bid for glory, that seemed to be working as he built up a 100-meter lead. Behind him, with a bit over a mile to go in the race, Yee was feeling the 85-degree weather. He was 14 seconds down, and doubts had started to take over. But then he heard a voice, prior Olympic champion and fellow countryman Alastair Brownlee shouting, “Anything can happen mate, anything can still happen.” Yee found some hope, clawed his way back, and overtook his friend, Wilde, for gold. It’s the essence of competition.
Respectful rivalry, throwing everything you’ve got at the wall, and the need for a helpful teammate to remind us to never give up hope when our brain is screaming at us to settle and slow. We all need that helping hand, that person to help remind us that there’s a path forward. A reminder that the battle isn’t over yet and we might have a shot that we can’t quite see yet.
Bet on Yourself
Kenneth Rooks best mark was nearly 20 seconds slower than his main competitors. He had no business leading the race. Yet, with a lap to go, against some of the greatest steeplechasers history has ever seen, there was Rooks doing his best impression of Billy Mills and making a hard run to the finish. The favorites were almost undoubetdly unaware of who this American kid was. This was not the script. Yet, Rooks pushed and pushed, before turning to his side with 100 meters to go, and seeing that it was just him, and two other competitors. He PR’d by 9 seconds, on the biggest stage, to take silver. The only man to beat him is the now 2 time Olympic champion in the event. If there’s ever been an example to bet on yourself, this is it.
Perspective to Deal with Heartbreak
Tere’s also heartbreak. There are people like Akani Simbine, a man you’ve never heard of unless you are a track fan. He was 4th in the 100m final, just 0.01 seconds off the podium. But this isn’t his first time in that spot. He was 4th in Tokyo, and 5th in Rio. He’s missed a medal in the Olympics three times by .01, .03, and .04. But that’s not all. He was 5th, 4th, and 5th at the 2022, 2019, and 2017 world championships. Meaning, that out of the 7 championships during an eight-year period, Simbine was 4th or 5th in all of them but one, by less than a second cumulatively! The only championship he wasn’t in the final was when he false-started in the semi-finals. If the fates turned a little differently, we’re talking about him as one of the greatest sprinters in history. Through it all, a disappointed Simbine put things in perspective, “I might not be getting the medal, but what I am doing is changing how sprinting is seen in South Africa and motivating a lot of kids.”
Redefining Greatness
The Olympic Games aren’t quite done yet. We’ve still got some amazing races, and no doubt more stories to come in the final days. But one that will be fun to watch is the zen master of running, Eliud Kipchoge. The man who has redefined what’s possible, both in record-setting days and consistency over time. On Saturday, he goes for an unprecedented 3rd straight Olympic Gold in the marathon. A feat that, dare I say, would cement him as the greatest athlete of this century. He’s been at the top of running since 2003, when, as a teenager, he stole the 5k race at the last minute from two of history’s greatest runners, Kenenisa Bekele and Hicham El Guerrouj.
Now, decades later, he’ll strive to defy time and gravity and to cement an unprecedented combination of dominance and longevity in a sport that often leaves you beaten down and broken after not too long. And, for the first time in a long while, he’s not the favorite. Over the years, Kipchoge has delivered some of the best quotes and advice on true competition. He’s not brash and bold like Lyles, but calm and stoic. He reads self-help books, including ours, which he once said, “It moulds you as a human being to achieve great things.” Of all the athletes, Kipchoge might encapsulate the Growth Equation vibe the best. He strives to see what’s possible, to get the most out of himself, and to do it in a thoughtful, self-reflective way.
There were so many stories and lessons during the 2024 Olympics. From the ‘race of the games,’ in which 1500m runners Kerr and Ingebrigtsen focused on one another so much that the American Cole Hocker could sneak up the inside to capture the gold, to the cyclist who only took up the sport after doing spin classes in her 20s and is now an Olympic champ.
One of the reasons the Olympics captures our hearts and minds is because it focuses us on something real. Sports may not be a perfect imitation of life, but it can help us see bits and pieces of the struggles and challenges we go through. It encapsulates striving with a purpose and also having our dreams crushed. We get to see people at their highest of highs, and their lowest of lows. And much of it we won’t see: the breakdowns in the warm-up area, the deep long stares, realizing that a career of chasing glory is over, or what comes next, after the crowd and attention retreat, and you head back to the track or trails or gym or court for four more years of work to see if you are lucky enough to get another shot.
Because these Olympics have been so inspiring, we’re opening up our 40% off link for the for the Academy. It will be full price once the games are over, so if you aren’t already, join over 300 members and sign up today!
— Steve
