NINE GOLD MEDALS by David Roth - SUMMARY

POETRY 

NINE GOLD MEDALS by David Roth - SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION:  Sports is not only about winning medals. It is also about learning the values of cooperation, sharing, competing and complementing. In this poem, the poet, David Roth has presented the idea of empathy and how human values are as important as the spirit of competition.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS:  Special Olympics is an international organisation created to help people with various disabilities. It helps them develop selfconfidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment. Special Olympics offers these differently abled people, year-round training and competition in 30 Olympic-type events.

GOAL OF ATHELETS IN OLYMPICS: Olympics are held once every four years. Athletes from all over the world work and train hard to participate in all the events. Winning a medal in the Olympics is the ultimate goal of every athlete of the world.Special Olympics is no different. Here too differently-abled persons,train hard and participate in various sports events. The contestants put in a lot of preparation and practice. Everyone hopes to win a medal. The spectators are as excited as the contestants. They cheer and encourage the contestants.

HUNDRED YARD RACE:  Of all the events in Olympics, the hundred-metre race is the most prestigious. The athlete, who wins it, is remembered as the fastest person in the world. When the poem begins, the hundred-yard race is about to begin. The athletes take position at the starting blocks. They begin to run immediately after the pistol which indicates the start of the race is fired. However, one of them is unable to run, he stumbles and falls on the track. The eight contestants are strong and run forward, while the ninth, who is the smallest, falls down. He cries out with the pain of disappointment. He has trained hard but does not get the opportunity to show his talent. All his dreams of winning the medal are broken and destroyed.

NINE WINNERS: When the remaining eight contestants saw him fall, they, instead of continuing and trying to win the race, came to the help of their fellow contestant. Each one of the athletes had dreamt of winning the medal. However, they readily forgot their dream and came forward to help the boy to his feet. Then, all the nine contestants walked hand-in-hand to the finish line. The audience was so moved by the extraordinary behaviour of the contestants that it stood up and clapped. There were now nine winners, instead of one, and each was given a gold medal. All the contestants displayed empathy turning the Special Olympics into a really ‘special’ one.

CONCLUSION:  Empathy is the ability to ‘put oneself in another’s shoes. It is the capacity to understand another person’s experience from his/her point of view. It helps us to appreciate what the other person is going through and to offer emotional support at the time of need.That is exactly what the eight contestants had done. Seeing the little boy on the ground they had been forced to think ‘what would I have felt if I had fallen?’ It was then they understood what they had to do and how they had to behave. By awarding gold medals to all nine contestants, the authorities honoured their display of empathy, helpful nature and human values.