Falling Down: Just something to watch and think about

“Fall down seven times; get up eight.” – Japanese Proverb

I don’t have much more to say about this.

But in the 1972 Munich Olympics, before he defeated Steve Prefontaine in the 5,000 meters, Lasse Viren of Finland won the gold medal in the 10,000 meters.

He was by no means the favorite in the race.  And just about halfway into the race, he fell to the track.  Viren himself never knew or remembered how exactly he fell.

He got up and won the race in a world record time of 27:38:40.

Here’s the video:

Lasse Viren falls and then wins the gold medal in the 1972 Olympics 10,000 meters.

We all fall.  How many of us get up and try to win?

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If you want a more complete story of this race:  “Viren’s 1972 10,000-He Falls, GetsUp, Sets World Record” by Marc Bloom