Golden Goggles

Last week I had the privilege of presenting Michael Phelps with the Male Athlete of the Year award.  Along with former Olympian Don Schollander, I enjoyed reviewing some of the great moments of the Beijing Olympics. Of course, Phelps and his eight gold epic is one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport.

There were four candidates for this award, which Don and I covered for the ceremony. For those of you who may not know who Don Schollander is, he was the nation’s most celebrated athlete in 1964. He was on the cover of Life Magazine as the first American since Jesse Owens to win four gold medals at a single game. I can clearly remember watching him win those gold medals in 1964. Mark Spitz later went after Don’s record. After his swimming career, Don went on to become a real estate developer.

The other three athletes nominated along with Phelps were Jason Lezak, Ryan Lochte and Aaron Peirsol. These swimmers provided us with some great drama at the summer Olympics and they are all champions. I mentioned to the crowd that Ryan Lochte obviously understands the art of the comeback. He never lost confidence in himself and broke through to bring his Beijing total to four medals, two gold and two bronze. Jason Lezak had an astonishing final lap in the men’s relay and in the medley relay he anchored his team to gold. Aaron Peirsol is simply the dominant backstroker of his era.

I mention all of these tremendous athletes because they deserve mention as the champions that they are. They gave us some inspiring moments that serve as reminders of the importance of perseverance, timing, and determination. It was an honor for me to present the award to Michael Phelps, and to recognize his place in history.
 

Related Posts
A Great Coach
A Challenging Olympics