You Did It…Well Done!

We have seen some truly amazing performances in sports this past week in Paris. Anyone who has been watching can’t help but be impressed by the determination and diligence of the athletes at the Olympic games. Just qualifying to be there at all, let alone competing and winning a medal is quite an amazing feat of excellence. But we think there is something even more impressive than winning a medal.

The true excellence belongs to those who, in achieving sporting excellence, show the rare quality of humility. So today we celebrate two extraordinary athletes who are humble champions.

LeBron James

No one would argue that LeBron James is a world class basketball champion. He has earned himself the title of “King James” for being widely recognized as one of the all time basketball greats in the world. So you might think he would have every reason to assume as a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, that he should be the one to lead the U.S. Olympians and carry the flag. But when his teammate, Steph Curry, told him the team had voted him to be the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, in his own words, LeBron was humbled:

When asked who he thinks the all time basketball greats are, he mentions Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Cobe Bryant, and others, but never ever himself in spite of the nickname he is known by. For being at his peak professionally and still showing his humility when honored we say “WELL DONE LeBron!”

Katie Ledecky

When she won her 4th straight gold medal in the same event, the women’s 800m freestyle, she officially joined Olympic great, Michael Phelps, as the only Olympic swimmers to win 4 Olympic gold medals in the same event. If that wasn’t enough, her gold medal on Saturday was the 9th in her Olympic career, making her the American woman to have won the most gold medals in Olympic history!

So when she stood on that winners podium with gold around her neck, knowing at 27 years old this could possibly be her last chance to do so, she would understandably have had every reason to stand alone and drink in her victory, but she didn’t.

As one journalist put it:
“But Ledecky, in the classiest of gestures, had USA Swimming teammate Paige Madden, who won the bronze medal after a furious comeback in the race, join her on the top step of the podium where the gold medal winners stand.”

Rather than keep the spotlight solely on herself, she humbly invited her teammate to share the top spot on the podium with her as the national anthem played. To that we can only say…WELL DONE Katie!

No one achieves their victories alone, in sports or in life. We all can play a part in helping someone be the best they can be at whatever they strive to show excellence in. A kind word, a thoughtful gesture, even a smile that let’s someone who may be struggling with unknown issues know they are seen and appreciated may be what helps to propel someone to greatness. We won’t all be the “greatest of all time” …aka the GOAT… at something, but we can be a part of the community that propels someone to be his or her best. And those few who do achieve that moniker would do well to remember that greatness is not a solo achievement. It is a fine quality to be quick to be humbled by all the help that has been given to them to allow them to reach that place of honor. LeBron James and Katie Ledecky are two examples of people who have achieved greatness in their sport but remain humble in the face of that greatness. So we salute them and say “WELL DONE!” You make us proud for more than just your medals!