MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

Every Olympic athlete comes to the Games having demonstrated by his/her speed, strength, skill, endurance, fearlessness, versatility and/or ability that he/she is among the best in the world at his/her sport. Whether they participate in a trials & elimination system or the governing body of the sport selects them, each one has already spent a lot of time, expense and effort just to arrive as an Olympic athlete ready for competition.

At some point in this process, expectations emerge. Valid or not, dreams are born and nourished and they flourish. Expectations are difficult to control and impossible to turn off, especially when fed by media, family, friends and even more so when they’re based on previous successes and near-successes.

Let’s take a look at US track star Tyson Gay’s expectations. By virtue of his record in 2007, he was considered “The Fastest Man in the World”. He held the world record in the 100-meters. He was “expected” to medal in the 100m, the 200m and 4x100m relay. And what a devastating Olympics he has had. At the Olympic trials in June, he ran a wind-aided 9.68 second (world record at the time 9.72 – Usain Bolt) in the 100m. So far, so good.

Then failed to qualify for the 200m when he pulled up short with a “leg cramp”. Disappointing, but OK, now he can “concentrate” on the 100m, and he has a “great chance” to beat the very deep competition, including his own teammates and the perennially speedy Jamaicans. And he can still run the relay at the Olympics.

Except in Beijing , he failed to qualify for the 100m race during the first preliminary heat. So no 100m medal, no 200m, but there’s still the relay. In the first heat for the relay, with Gay running the final leg, the baton is dropped during the pass from Darvis “Doc” Patton to Gay. The US , the winner of the 4x100m relay in 15 of 21 Olympics, is disqualified. They will not run in the final. Really shocking for a team with an embarassing wealth of talent.
So, Tyson Gay, “The Fastest Man in the World”, goes 0 for 3 at the Olympics. Plus Usain Bolt, one of those speedy Jamaicans, shatters his own world record (new – 9.69 seconds) with a particularly languid running style. How does Gay manage his expectations now? He seems to be a pretty level-headed, reasonable man, but his dreams of glory have ended in a resounding thud. That’s tough to recover from, and the measure of Tyson Gay will be how he continues on from here on out.

-- MADAME PANG TONG