“No one remembers who took second place.” Enzo Ferrari

Mr. Ferrari, may I introduce to you Yusuf Dikec? He is the exception to your ‘only first place winners are memorable’ thought as this Turkish shooter has gone viral at the Paris 2024 Olympics after winning second.

Also, you need to meet another exceptional sportsman, Spanish runner Ivan Fernandez Anaya. As Fernandez was approaching the finish line in a 2012 cross country race behind the Kenyan athlete Abel Mutai, he noticed Abel slowing down. Abel was confused by the signage and mistakenly thought he had already won. Ivan saw what was happening and could have easily darted past his opponent to win the race himself. Instead, he slowed his own pace and encouraged Mutai onward but Abel did not understand Spanish. Ivan then pointed and shoved Abel towards the real finish line so Mutai could win.

In competitive sports, athletes go through immense pressure both in their training and during performance, all to strive for that number one spot. So for Ivan not to take advantage of a competitor’s mistake and snag first place for himself, he became a winner.

Ivan would later say, “I didn’t deserve to win it. I did what I had to do. He was the rightful winner. He created a gap that I couldn’t have closed if he hadn’t made a mistake. As soon as I saw he was stopping, I knew I wasn’t going to pass him. But I also think that I have earned more of a name having done what I did than if I had won,” he added. “And that is very important, because today, with the way things are in all circles, in soccer, in society, in politics, where it seems anything goes, a gesture of honesty goes down well.”

“Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 TLB)

“Do nothing in self-interest or vain conceit, but in humility be esteeming one another surpassing themselves,…” (Philippians 2:3)