The benefit is competition, the thrill of playing in the Olympics, being an Olympian, playing against the best.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Becoming an Olympian is the ultimate reward for any athlete.
The Olympics is about showing what you've done with your life, your dream as an athlete and sharing that with the world.
For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth.
To be part of something special, to be an Olympian and have the chance to win a medal - it's an amazing feeling.
With athletics, you put all that training in for only two major championships a year and the Olympics every four years. So when you get on top of the podium, it is relief and excitement and... Oh! it has all been worthwhile... the hard work, the sacrifices.
The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us.
If the Olympic Games ever served a true altruistic purpose, they have long since outlived it. Yeah, the pursuit of athletic excellence, sportsmanship and international goodwill is plenty noble. But the modern Olympics are at best a vehicle for agitprop; at worst, a scandal magnet.
You hit one level of the sport, and then you want to get to the next level. Until, eventually, the Olympics becomes part of that dream, part of that goal set and the mindset of wanting to get there. And then you realize there's so much incredible hard work and determination and effort that you need to put in along the way.
The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself.
The incentive of a medal at the biggest sporting arena in the world is what drives me. Before I hang my gloves, I want to win the Olympic medal, and my performance at London will decide my future in the sport.
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