Olympic Gold: But at What Cost?
I admit it. I was as captivated as the other 70 million Americans who witnessed Michael Phelps swimming for his 8th and final Gold Medal just a few days ago. In fact, I watched every race he swam LIVE (which actually meant 3 hours taped delayed to Los Angeles and the rest of the West Coast here in the U.S.) both holding my breath and cheering for probably the greatest Olympic athlete ever. And after observing the manner in which Michael Phelps has carried himself in all of his pre- and post- astonishing Olympic accomplishments, I remain extremely impressed with his sincerity and youthful charm and the fact that his teammates appeared to be clearly rooting for him along the way...which I ultimately feel is a true testament to the person he is.
But now that the water has settled and the immediate euphoria begins to subside, I find something a bit disconcerting about Phelps' rise to Olympic Gold. And before I receive any less than favorable comments on what I'm about to share, please hear me out first.
So here it goes...over the course of last week, Olympic announcers have spent countless air time emphasizing how the coach of Michael Phelps laid out a plan of Olympic glory to Michael's mother (who I have found to be quite genuine and inspirational as well) at the age of 11. Now think about this, most children are in the 4th or 5th grade at this point in their life...learning long division and completing their first book report. Their well child care visits with me focus on balance in all aspects of their life...studies, athletics, music and so on. Their bodies are just developing and to overwhelm any one particular area just can't be good. And although I must admit I am unaware of the specific training schedule Michael underwent, I'm pretty confident it involved countless hours in the pool with probably just enough time for his schooling and probably not much else. Of course, there is usually some bit of exaggeration with every story...but I have yet to hear anyone from the Phelps' camp deny it. And so over the past 12 years or so, Michael has been prepared for the events of last week...what ultimately has become the Perfect Week. But at what cost...or at least, at what risk to Michael Phelps?
But don't respond just yet as I'd like to introduce a parallel to the Michael Phelps' situation. All through these Olympics we have heard the stories of how the Chinese are quickly identified at a young age for any athletic potential and then groomed into specific sports, pending their athletic strengths. No different to Michael Phelps but again, at what cost or potential risk to these young children? Imagine, the reigning Olympic 2004 Games in the 110-meter hurdles is Liu Xiang from China. A nation of 1.3 billion people have saluted him as its' greatest athlete of these Olympic Games (which is much to say considering all the Gold they have been collecting) and to think of all the pressure he must have endured when he walked off the track yesterday secondary to an injury he could not overcome, must have been overwhelming, to say the least. I can only imagine what would have happened if he had raced healthy and not won.
So at this point, I'm sure many of you want to know where I'm going with this. Well, I think its straight forward. What is the potential physical and just as important mental harm from being devoted at such a young age to just one thing...one goal? Is it healthy? I'm just not so sure it is...but I guess time will tell.
Dr. Jeremy
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28
I too watched Michael Phelps win his medals, which is admirable. I too was a child-star type of athlete (tennis), and my focus was totally self-directed. I don't think any child could achieve Michael's level of success if he didn't feel such a passion and joy. To suggest, also, that the child who is so focused misses out on, say, social interactions or indulging the imagination is a total falsehood. Everything in life involves social interaction with others (except perhaps for musicians who are tied to the piano or an instrument, or computer people too). But sports is a different things altogether. Life is movement. And you also gain a great degree of confidence at doing something extremely well. No way Michael Phelps could've achieved what he did, and with such charm, etc., if he didn't like what he was doing and if it didn't feed more than a singular urge/need.
By LettingGo September 28, 2008 8:24pm
27
Sometimes kids even at a young age can have the drive and determination to push for it even without a parent's nudge. My daughter started swim team competitions at age 5 and this was her 8th year competing. She adores Michael Phelps. I had to drag her literally out of the pool and change her own schedule. She still swims at least 8 hours a day *but she now knows what :fun: swim is versus always practicing, though I catch her cheating on the sometimes*. Her once upon a dream was the Olympics like tons and tons of children out there. We never went for it or tried but she would have been the one pushing me, her mother, to do it if I had let her. She is committed to continue to compete through high school and then she would like to join a college swim team.
By heartdesires September 12, 2008 9:49pm
26
I agree. Hopefully he was gung ho about it and his mom only supported him. I would hate to see it the other way around. Kids need guidence from adult but hopefully he had some time to be a kid too. You can never get that back...
By tjmv12 August 31, 2008 12:59pm
25
I think Michael Phelps wouldnt have gotten as far in swimming as he did if he didn't want to do it ...even if his mother set out a schedule. I used to compete in swimming and I have seen some crazy moms trying to pressure theyre kids and I just don't think that unless he loved swimming at the young age he wouldnt have gotten this far. I love swimming to this day and still swim for hours because I love to.
By arorra123 August 27, 2008 2:41am
24
I hope you are wrong, but I had a funny feeling when I heard all of the hours that Phelps spent in the swimming pool. I wish him the best. Sharon I can agree with Maria in Indiana about how once you become a mother, you have your road ahead to be there for your children. When they grow up and you want to something, then it's okay.
By daniele August 25, 2008 11:38pm
23
I don't know if you saw the excitement on Phelps' face every time he won, but it looked to me like he enjoyed what he was doing.
By fordguyinny August 25, 2008 6:40pm
22
Ok, so they should just have sat on the couch and have played video games like the rest of the youth?
By Jet007 August 25, 2008 8:09am
21
I believe any type of success requires discipline and sacrifice, just getting into college often means having to plan a few years in advance and gear your academic life around a specific subject. For example: a doctor. Then, having a career requires same. I admire ppl who are so focused at such an early age(I wasn't). I think when it becomes detrimental is when the kids are pushed into it by their parents or in the case of some, their govts, and have heaps of pressure put on them to succeed and represent "the family" or "the country". In that case, they aren't dedicated out of love but out of duty. THAT is unhealthy. And what about all the ppl who devote their entire lives to sports, science or the arts but never become world champions, rock stars or win a Nobel... we never seem to hear of them. Is their dedication/education a waste of time? I guess what I'm saying is for the folks who do it, the sacrifice is probly worth it. I'm not sure I'd ever hear anyone successful say " I wish I had sat around and watched more TV."
By wannabewell August 23, 2008 5:04pm
20
"and to think of all the pressure he must have endured when he walked off the track yesterday secondary to an injury he could not overcome, must have been overwhelming, to say the least. I can only imagine what would have happened if he had raced healthy and not won."
I BET IT'S PRETTY FRUSTRATING 2 ANY ATHLETE, BUT EVEN MORE 4 SOMEONE THAT YOUNG : )
By SimplyJT August 22, 2008 11:37am
19
I absolutely agree with you.
When I was in college majoring in music, a Chinese violinist who had been a child prodigy did a solo concert at my school. A few hours before the concert, the music faculty asked me to take him to the cafeteria for dinner so that he could experience the American college scene. During dinner I asked him what i was like to have played the violin so well since he was 5 years old, and he told me that his parents had pushed him very hard to be a famous violinist, so hard that he had no social life and didn't know how to do anything except play the violin. He was so sad as he said this. It was as though by focusing so intently on the violin for so long, he had been removed from a normal life of connection with others, and he had a shame inside himself about being able to do one thing so well, but not knowing how to do anything else. I felt sorry for him.
By AveDecamp August 21, 2008 10:41pm
18
I have wondered the same things. At what price?
My son has chronic illnesses and was forced out of sports at age 11. I watched as all his friends and their moms went off to traveling soccer teams, neglecting home life and other social activities in lieu of sports. And only one of those grade and high school friends even got a scholarship! Yeah, they learned to play as a team and about discipline, but at what price? And, the scholarship the one child achieved? Golf, a sport he learned to play with his father and uncle.
This morning I was off work and cleaning, and had the Olympics on. They had a segment about Olympic MOMS. These were mothers who were still pursueing their 'dreams of Olympic gold'. And all I could think is what I have told my son. Once you are a parent, its not 'about you' any more, its about that child. Maybe these supermoms have a way of balancing all that, but I find that hard to believe when these elite athletes have to work out and practice every single day for hours. What kind of home life do their children have?
Sports are great, but need to be kept in their proper place. And don't even get me started on what we PAY our professional athletes!
Maria, RN, Indiana
By snooksmama August 21, 2008 9:49pm
17
I agree with you 100%. I think that pushing oneself so hard, so young MUST do physical harm. And, no, I don't believe his parents are "to blame" - I'm sure the 11 year old Michael Phelps pushed himself.
By ClaresMom August 21, 2008 6:02pm
16
I think what Phelps did is remarkable, & admired. Look around at all the kids who are fat & lazy, with zero goals....but they go to school & do their homework. I think teaching your child to dream, never give up, and to believe in themselves is priceless. I went to school, have degrees, and used to be a great competitive swimmer (100 IM). When I was 16, it became tough...practice in the mornings, meets constantly, I gave up, & have regretted it my entire life. I never had anyone "push" me, encourage me, build me up, believe in me.....it's a priceless gift that teaches way more than a child could ever learn in school. Perserverance.....covers a multitude of problems that everyone will face....it's something kids don't learn anymore. Give up when the going gets tough (school, sports, relationships, MARRIAGE (look at the divorce rate!). I completely respect your opinion, but from an adult who grew up wishing I had someone to give me an encouraging push...I had to comment. What I DO think is wrong is to make your child do everything, never giving them any free time, family time, or making them live out your dream. If they're gonna dream, teach them to DREAM BIG! Michael Phelps dreamed big, & has so much to be proud. His mother is a remarkable woman, who believed in her son, & told him to never give up.
By trose72 August 21, 2008 1:20pm
15
At three years old I remember clearly feeling very passionately about music and at that time dedicated myself to doing whatever I had to do to achieve that goal. Coming from a very dysfunctional home I was not supported by my parents. I'm now 25. I've never given up. I've sacrificed a lot of things to get to where I am. This is something I've done on my own with no coach or parent to push me. Many have said that I take things too seriously, but in addition to being an accomplished musician, (playing to audiences of 15,000), I've also travelled the world, had meaningful relationships and enjoy many hobbies. My goals are the one thing that kept me from self-destructing as the result of horrific abuse. I wouldn't compare Michael Phelps and the Chinese athletes. As I understand it, his father was absent and his coach became a sort of surrogate father. He could have been writing book reports, or he could have been getting into drugs (as some of my friends were at that age). Also, for myself, even though some have said I need to have more fun, I get bored easily and feel restless when I'm not attempting the impossible. A coach might be able to push you into getting to the Olympics, or even winning a medal, but the kind of accomplishments we've seen from Michael are, in my opinion, only the kind that can be dreamed up by someone with an unquenchable appetite to "go where no one has gone". What's more tragic, is when children have that appetite, and do not have the support to follow it through.
By CansOnAString August 21, 2008 12:08pm
14
My 16 yr old daughter is in gymnastics. It is her passion. She would no more quit the gym than she would cut off her arm. When her school friends tell her she has no life, her answer is "gymnastics is my life". She has many friends at the gym - and phones & texts them often. Because they spend so much time together, and have such a huge part of their life in common, they are a close knit bunch of girls.
My daughter started gymnastics at age 9. Her "complaint" is that I didn't allow her start three years earlier, when she first asked to join.
Seeing what Michael has accomplished, I have to assume he has this same type of passion for swimming. People don't achieve this level of success without it. I have seen many girls "doing it because their parents are pusing them" and their attitude and feelings are obvious in their training and performances. Their parents eventually let them quit because their progress doesn't compare to the girls who love the sport.
Instead of worrying about Michael spending so much of his life swimming, lets worry about what his next goal is going to be, now that he's achieved his Olympic Gold. Congratulations Michael!!
By ckissner August 21, 2008 11:45am
13
It's still a huge gamble, dedicating your childhood to all that preparation and physical demand. There is afterall, only ONE gold medal. If you don't achieve gold does that make you a failure? I would hope not.
By DHRN August 21, 2008 9:37am
12
Where do you draw the line between pushing and teaching your child to be the best they can be at something they want and letting them give up when it gets hard? My son wants to play football and I am encouraging him in every way. Even working out with him to make the workouts the coach will put him through more endurable. I want to teach him stick-to-it-iv-ness but where is the line?
Mind you my son has a life outside of football...AKA two guitars, bow-hunting, and has a fishing pole behind his bedroom door with a pond in the back yard.
By hppywme August 21, 2008 8:58am
11
Yeah I wonder about that too. My boyfriend whom I am just getting to know right now has only done hockey ... he said he was pretty much bred to do it. Right now I am fence-sitting on that issue with him because I want to say my opinion but don't know how to say it in a non-offensive way. My Dad tried to raise me with more soccer, but since I live with my Mom I was allowed to chose what I wanted to do (which is more than one thing) within limits.
By Shamrock593 August 21, 2008 1:31am
10
I don't think we can really judge this situation without knowing all the details. There are times when I would willingly trade the childhood I had for a childhood more focused on dancing, which has always been my secret dream and passion. I've improved tremendously at dance over the three years I've been taking classes, which is great but also endlessly frustrating because who knows what I could've done if I'd worked at it since I was five like I wanted to? In fact, I often feel that I would make that trade without qualms. Phelps did make that trade, with his swimming, and although it seems to many like a harsh deal, maybe to him, it doesn't seem like he's missing out on much. I know I had nothing better to do.
By LizzyG August 21, 2008 12:26am
9
i have been thinking of the same things as well....alot of these athletes are extremely short and underweight, and while that may be good for whatever sport their trying to accomplish, 'm not so sure it's good for their health.i'm just curious of the long term affects.....it's alot to risk for a piece of medal....
By teenagewasteland August 20, 2008 11:09pm