The Young Olympians

They may be smart, or they may avoid academia all together. They may have even failed their high school physics tests. They may have dropped out of high school, or they may have taken correspondence courses while training for their sport. Their passion is physical fitness, fierce and relentless competition and a certain sport at which they excel. The reader may wonder how Olympians fit into this column, and they must cast aside the idea that to be gifted is to be a brilliant achiever in the classroom or in academic areas. The Olympian teens in Sydney are physically gifted, and most of them have gifted minds as well.

These teens show remarkable all around characters as well as formidable strength and fitness. They endure terrible pain and muscle tenderness in their constant physical workouts. The young Olympians spend eight hour days training at their events. They may leave home and they may have to live at a training center, seeing little of their families. They take their high-paced, high- stressed lives all in powerful stride and they battle the psychological trauma which defeat brings frequently. They are most definitely gifted in the mental areas of endurance and perseverance.

These teens are in very difficult stages of their lives, without considering their athletic status. They are growing up and trying to see the meaning in life, as well as deciding what they want to do in the future. Athletes in most sports must retire quite young. Unless they go to competitions which pay, or endorse themselves in commercials, these athletes will need to work for money when their athletic days are over. As the hockey player is always lectured to stay in school, so must the top athletes of other sports. Even if retirement age is 30, an injury could cast them out of the spotlight and onto the streets instantly. They need back up.

The young Olympians capture the eyes of North Americans especially, because these people are defying the trends toward obesity and weakness. They are the fittest, healthiest, strongest, fastest and most powerful of the entire human race. They have been born with special characteristics for the best results in their chosen sports. The weight lifters have fast-twitch muscles to give rapid and short bursts of strength, while the marathon runners have slow-twitch muscles to give them endurance in races (See www.nationalgeographic.com and the article on the unbeatable body). Some coaches will analyze their athletes and be able to tell by their bodies if they even have a chance of becoming top athletes. At least to a certain degree the Olympians have inherited their

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