Opinion – Judy Harris: The essence of a champion as exemplified in a track competition

“To be a champion requires more than simply being a strong player; one has to be a strong human being as well.” Antoly Karpov

It was the Mid-South Conference Outdoor Track and Field Tournament in Williamsburg in April, 2021. The Thomas More track and field team was coming from a wonderful invitational with both women’s and men’s teams taking first place.

The weather for the MSC tournament was clear and sunny. The first day’s events were reported with live statistics. The second day’s events also had excellent live video. I followed along on my phone and computer and with ear buds, glad to have audio, too. It was easy to identify the TMU team with their bright blue shirts and black shorts.

Three other schools were in the fight for first place in the conference and trips to the nationals. Thomas More would have excellent showings with some individuals taking first place.

One of the afternoon events was men’s 400-meter hurdles. The temperatures had gotten very hot on the dark blue track.

The men were called to the track, assumed their lanes waiting for the start of the hurdles competition. This time the video commentator was giving extended information about the athletes in the first two lanes as seniors having impressive records in this event with expected wins for their qualifying for the national competitions. The Thomas More hurdler was in the fifth or sixth lane.

Suddenly, the commentator was shocked and describing two false start disqualifications. The video panned to show the competitors in the first and second lane out of position with the hurdler in the second lane lying face down in his lane. This was one of the stars of this event. Was he hurt? Or was he just devastated from his false-start disqualification?

Athletes and officials were stunned doing nothing when the Thomas More hurdler left his lane, crossed over several lanes to lay his hand on the back of the athlete lying on the track. He said words of comfort to this fellow athlete and returned to his own lane.

The disqualified athletes left the track; the remaining hurdlers got in position again and the event took place.

The TMU athlete, just a sophomore, had understood the pain of his competitor and moved immediately with compassion. He returned to his own lane to refocus on the race. He finished in first place. But the disqualifications had stolen much of the joy.

I realized anew as an alumnae and former faculty member at Thomas More that I have been so very pleased over these years of following our student-athletes not with their winning histories but of how they conduct themselves in all situations.

They put their all into preparation and competitions, yet they are gracious winners and give congratulations in defeat. They reach out to each other and to their opponents with compassion and understanding. Such appealing elements are found in the very essence of these collegiate champions.

We’ve seen so many Olympians embody this character, too.

Their behavior raises the stature of their sport and the stature of all the competitors.

Judy Harris is well established in Northern Kentucky life, as a longtime elementary and university educator. A graduate of Thomas More, she began her career there in 1980 where she played a key role in teacher education and introduced students to national and international travel experiences. She has traveled and studied extensively abroad. She enjoys retirement yet stays in daily contact with university students.

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