The guy in last place

The Rio Olympics are ongoing at the time of this publication, and though I haven’t watched many of the events yet, I look forward to seeing one of the things that catches my eye with each Olympics - the guy in last place. Watch enough events and you’re bound to see at least one race where there’s one guy (or girl) who has fallen far behind everyone else and finishes in dead last. Maybe he got a muscle cramp, maybe he’s not feeling too good that day, or maybe he’s just severely outclassed by the other competitors. Whatever the reason, he’s crossing the finish line in last place. Normally these athletes don’t get any attention, but there are a few of them whom I think deserve at least some level of recognition, namely the ones that keep fighting all the way to the end. If you watch carefully you can distinguish the ones in last place who have given up from the ones who are still pushing as hard as they can, like they’re still in contention for a medal. The commentators on TV may not mention them, but I respect the athletes who find themselves hopelessly behind everyone else and still give it everything they’ve got. There are no medals or fanfare awaiting them at the finish line, and they know this, but they are so committed to their sport that they will not give anything less than one hundred percent, regardless of the now-forgone conclusion of their event. You can’t help but admire someone like that.