The 2012 Olympics hosted by London was a great event that provided great opportunities for development in East London, where most of the activities took place. These are a few lessons you could draw from the competitions:
1. There is always enough time to prepare for the Olympics, whether as a country or an athlete. London knew seven years ago that they would be hosting in 2012. Each athlete had at least four years to prepare to participate.
#There is time now to prepare for that big thing you want to do.
2. Hosting the Olympics is not automatic. Countries have to prepare and bid for it. They may not have all the facilities required, but the Olympics officials look for visions and plans of how they would make the facilities available within the time frame allowed.
#You may not have everything in life now but you can have vision, dream and goals to make them happen in few years.
3. The money needed to deliver the Olympics was not the first determining factor for the British government. $5 billion was the original bid but the final cost is estimated to be $15billion. The opening and closing ceremonies alone cost about $125 million.
#There is always a ‘pro’vision for the vision. The central government only funded 55% of the total cost to deliver the games.
4. Participants prepare and subject themselves to very rigorous training regimes for 4 years, just for 10seconds’ or maximum of 15 minutes’ competitions.
#Preparation has its payday.
5. The hard training does not guarantee victory in the competition. Despite this, athletes must still train as hard as they can. Sometimes, you would make mistakes at the big stages.
#You have to keep giving yourself the chance to seize the opportunity and aim for the gold. You can try again except that you may need to wait another 4 years.
6. Many athletes gave their best but their best was just not enough to win any medals.
#Sometimes, you may need to go beyond your best to give what is required.
7. #Know the rule of the game and you can play it to your advantage, otherwise, it could go against you.
8. Some countries know their areas of strength and they devote their energy, focus and resources to develop those. It all paid off on the medal table.
#Focus your everything on one thing that will grow and bring other things.
9. Records are always there to be broken. Many new Olympics records are set. Some of the old records are broken by the same athletes that set them few years before. They went beyond their personal best.
#You can outperform yourself if you try.
10. London had the choice to either make the delivery of the Olympics games a plus or a burden. The games have left some previous hosts in huge debt.
#The vision needs a robust, holistic, implementation strategy
11. #The stage is always free and open to anyone, whether known names or not. At the end, it’s the result that determines who is worth the medals.
12. Irrespective of their background, colour or race, winners are always celebrated and honoured.
#Your background or history is not an excuse. For some, it’s to their advantage – gives them the edge.
