The Children of Olympus

The Greek legends say that it was the Demi-God Hercules that created the Olympics as a means of  joining man together in a common bond that athletic competition and individual achievement can create. The legacy of Hercules still remains , thousands of years later as our Olympians meet in Vancouver to participate in what Wide World of Sports called"The human drama of athletic competition". Hercules understood , in a world torn by war between nations ,that this gathering of exceptional individuals would unite the world by making the free willed individual and his abilities the most important aspect of their lives. The tragic death of Georgian Luger , Nodar Kumaritashvili is a great loss , and a terrible tragedy , as the losses of other Olympians in the past have been. But, we should also remember that the man was doing what he loved, what he was born to do, competing in a sport that only a handful of people could dream of doing. His death, while a great loss and  a time of grief for his family, should also be a reminder of the the great sacrifice and sometimes pain, that these athletes endure to practice their difficult craft.His grieving family should try to remember that Nodar died doing what he loved , and all of his training , skill, and personal sacrifice were not in vain , for all , I repeat, all those who compete every four years in these noble games are, regardless of how they finish are truly heroes in the ancient Greek tradition that Hercules began. Being both man and god, Hercules , if he truly existed, probably understood the faults and failings of both, and also would have realized that man is always at his best , his noblest, when he is striving to overcome obstacles and challenges that life confronts us with. It is this individual struggle that all of us must endure, that is personified in the Olympic Games, where man dared to challenge the gods, and themselves , in athletic competition. If those ancient legends are , in fact, true , and The Son of Zeus did create these games that are named after the home of the gods, then I am sure , that Nodar Kumaritashvili and other fallen Olympians of the past, have been greeted at the gates of Heaven warmly , and have taken their place , with their fellow Heroes, in the Halls of Mount Olympus.