Thirst For Success

IF LOSING DOESN’T HURT, SAYS FRANK DICK, THEN WINNING DOESN’T MATTER

IF OUR purpose is not to be the No.1 athletics nation in the world, then why do we compete in the Olympic Games and World Championships? Why do we need to have the largest high performance budget of any nation competing in athletics at that level? Why are we, as the athletics culture in the United Kingdom, comfortable at not being the best in the world?

Notwithstanding the outstanding achievements of Mo Farah and our relay teams, did I hear correctly the celebratory tone that went with announcing that ‘we achieved our target of six medals’? That, bearing in mind, is six out of 144 on offer and probably not the ones we were aiming for.

We might do well at such announcements to reflect on the words of Michelangelo: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.”

It is an unfortunate fact that what we need to hear professionally is not always what we want to hear personally. So culturally we tend not to be candid in order not to hurt personal feelings. But if we do not have a culture of constructive candour, then honesty and accountability fly out of the window, lessons that must be learned are ducked and nothing changes.

So, as the Godfather would say, “This is not personal”.

This is about trying to redirect attitude, thinking, behaviour and, as a consequence, performance.

Or to put it another way: the opposite of right is not wrong; it’s left.

HIGH PERFORMANCE

Historically the United States are the world best at 4x100m and 4x400m relays. It seems to me that our national relays coach, the personal coaches of athletes in the squads and the athletes themselves were not prepared to accept that.