I am indeed an Olympic junkie. Short of wearing my 1988 Olympic Torch Relay track suit while watching the London 2012 Games, I'm pretty much dead gone. Yes, that's right. I carried the Torch for the Calgary 1988 Winter Games. That was my shot at Olympic glory, a tenuous one at best, but it was my moment.
I carried it for 2km through Orangeville Ontario on a cold winters night. The best time to carry it because the flame stretched and trailed out behind me in full glory. It was the one of the best, most memorable moments of my life. For this torch relay they really wanted you to train, because unlike the torches they carried in London, Beijing and Vancouver, this was authentic. Solid wood handle with a metal cauldron. Engineers came up with a supposed lightweight design but it still weighed 3.3 lbs, plus fuel. Sure, it was a challenge and I was ablaze with Olympic spirit, but I wasn't competing and putting myself out there to be scored and judged; I didn't win any medals.
And the motley Greek Olympic Team that led the parade of nations during the opening ceremonies at the London games this week may not win any medals either, but by writing a brilliant letter, a young Marios Chatzidimou does. He wins gold for Greece.
He took the Gold Medal in the UPU’s 41st International Letter-Writing Competition for Young People. The 2012 edition asked young people to write a letter to an athlete or sports personality they admire to tell them what the Olympic Games mean to them. Talk about ablaze with Olympic Spirit, he puts all of us to shame; out of the mouth of babes, as they say.
Chatzidimou, who is 14 years old, writes to his hero, the tennis player, Roger Federer and places him in ancient Olympia alongside athletes such as Diagoras of Rhodes and Polidamas where he creates a dialogue with him. “Participation, entering the contest, is already a great victory, regardless of the trophy. A victory against fears, insecurity and difficulties, of yourself, against your own vanity and selfishness.” That’s how young Chatzidimou has Federer describe the Olympic values to him. Chatzidimou criticizes the sometimes absence of fair play and the use of drugs in modern-day competitions, adding: “But for me the first Olympic Games mean neither anabolic steroids nor championship, nor financial benefits, economic crisis nor hate. They do mean joy for participating, fair play, friendship, peace and, I hope, this meaning will apply to this year’s Olympic Games.”The UPU jury complimented his simple and creative writing style. “The composition is original, very personal and stylistically creative. The modern and historic Olympic values come out very strongly,” it said.
What does all this have to do with building a house on the side of a mountain, you are probably wondering. Nothing and everything! True, plastering walls, stone-cutting, and carpentry are not Olympic sports. But young Chatzidimou's heart felt letter about values and ideals wasn't just intended for aspiring sport Olympians.
Technically, house building is not an Olympic sport, but every metre of rock wall erected, every ton of earth moved at my house in Verga, represents a considerable challenge, especially under an inhospitable August sun. Building a house requires participants, just like a track or gymnastics team; individuals willing to put aside vanity, selfishness and personal difference to work as one. Building a house requires participants willing to engage in fair play. No job or role is insignificant, each citizen of Greece is an indispensable member of an enormous relay team. That's how medals are won, that's how houses are built, that's how nation's overcome adversity and thrive.
I say let the young Marios Chatzidimou have a true Olympic moment and allow him to lead the Greek Team in the closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Games, carrying the Greek Flag. What better time than an Olympic year for Chatzidimou to remind the world and the Greek citizens themselves, that Greeks are indeed an exceptional, resilient and hardworking people. That the Olympic triadic of Higher, Faster and Stronger should be replaced with his words, Fair Play, Friendship and Peace. These are the Hellenic ideals that should be emblazoned across the heart of every house and home in Greece.
I had my Olympic moment and now I sit and watch and scream and cheer while CTV's Brian Williams delivers the best Olympic coverage in the world, thank you my friend! And as I rally for every fabulous Canadian, British and Greek awesome moment of these summer games, I can't help but think, does my 1988 Olympic Torch Relay track suit still fit me?
