Passion Lives Here

This is the slogan for the Winter Olympics currently being held in Torino, Italy. Short but it embodies a trait athletes would need to have to compete at the highest levels.

With the result of the match between West Ham and Birmingham done and dusted and only a few minutes to the full-time whistle, I decided to channel surf and came across another live broadcast, featuring paired figure-skating. The Chinese pair on screen seemed to be in a quandary with the girl visibly shaken. Sensing something wrong, I lingered on the channel and caught sight of what happened moments before on slow motion replay. The girl had suffered a pretty bad fall after an attempt to do several spins in the air. Pardon me for not knowing the technical term but I suppose most would know what I mean. She landed awakardly, banging one knee on the rock hard ice. You could almost feel the pain. I winced, twice, thanks to the Italian television producer bent on reminding viewers of the disaster.

What happened next made me feel proud to be in some way linked to the games. I am moving towards working in the world of journalism and sport, and this couldn't have come at a better time to furthur rejuvenate myself. It gives me hope that sport can educate, bring peace, restore nations and unite the world. The Chinese pair of Zhang and Zhang truly epitomises the three words.

The female Zhang not only picked herself up, wiped away the tears and after a couple minutes of collecting herself, gritted her teeth and carried on. They produced a stunning comeback performance. Even the commentators were amazed at how beautiful the moves were despite the pain and mental anguish the pair must be feeling. I was watching the rest of their routine with trepidation, worried especially for her safety.

And one would wonder what might have been should the girl's fall not have taken place. The Russian pair grabbed gold but the loudest cheers were reserved for the gutsy silver-medalists, who showed what can happen when you are driven by passion. They deserved every point given by the judges.

Olympic champions they may not be. But champions of strength in character they certainly are. How heartening it is to witness such spirited displays that could inspire and bring hope to millions. Live with passion!

The Zhangs