The Olympics are officially underway after a spectacular display yesterday evening over and around the Seine river. Thousands of athletes will now compete to win a medal that will be recorded for ever in history. While many medals have been won in so many professional and amateur sports, nothing beats winning an Olympic medal, even if it's made of bronze. Seeing that flag of your home country being raised in the arena or stadium is always much-treasured memory. The spirit of the Olympics is actually seen in the famous quote by Pierre Rene de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics: 'The important thing is not to win, but to participate bravely in any sport.' Let us hope to be able to see some more splendid performances in these Paris Games as we did in the past with the likes of Paavo Nurmi in the 1920s, Jesse Owens in the 1930s, Fanny Blankers-Koen in the 1940s, Emil Zatopek in the 1950s, Larissa Latinina in the 1960s, Mark Spitz in the 1970s, Carl Lewis in the 1980s, Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci in Gymnastics, Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky in swimming and so many Ethiopians and Kenyan long-distance runners in track and field. And so many, many more !
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