So, you're sitting there at night watching the Olympics. Yeah you're a college athlete or played sports in high school. Maybe you run every day, lift 5 days a week or do cross fit. But none of that means even a little when you see these athletes doing what they are. We focus more on how many beers we can drink, than how many laps we can run. We wait 13 weeks to try and lift our GPA's and they wait 4 years to lift a gold medal. Honestly the two sound very similar, just we struggle every year to get through the semesters and they work their ass's off to get through the preliminary rounds.
1. I almost drown in the shower...
Some times I will look up while I am taking a shower, and I swallow a little to much water and think I am going to drown. Meanwhile, Katie Ledecky swims 800 meters and beats everyone else so badly that they aren't even pictured when she finishes. Makes me question my abilities in the water just a little bit.
2. I can't get off the couch in 9.58 seconds...
It takes me a solid minute or two in order to get myself off the couch and catch my breath. Meanwhile Usain Bolt can run 100 meters in 9.58 seconds. The only thing I could have a world record in would be competitive sleeping, or procrastination.
3. Lifting...
These men and women are putting up scary amount of weight, and doing it seemingly with ease. That's impressive when you think about it, hundreds of pounds being put up. I have a hard enough time getting my GPA off the ground let alone 500 pound dead lifts. It hurts me just thinking about it really.
4. Synchro...
While nations get multiple swimmers to be completely synchronized to the beat of a song, I struggle to get my life even remotely organized. They keep each other above water, while I try to keep my bank account treading.
5. Taking the Dive.
These men and women are diving from 15 meters high, doing full turns, flips and entering without making a splash. Meanwhile I am struggling with the urge of jumping off a 15 meter high something or other. My bank account throughout the semester could really give these divers a run for their money though.
Olympians certainly have more athletic ability than we do, but we only realize it every four years. Up till this point we tend to believe we have some athleticism, even if it stems just from running a mile once and a while or lifting some weights. Until those freaks of nature wake up one day and walk in bearing their flags, us normal people can feel a sense of accomplishment with our small feet's of athleticism.
