AIBU to think that an olympic silver medal is pretty damn impressive?

[CaptSkippy]

So, every day I see these athletes winning medals. Sometimes it's gold and sometimes it's silver or bronze. I find each of these accomplishments really impressive.

Yet, the winner of a silver medal has just minutes later to "explain themselves" in front of a camera as to why it's not gold. You'll frequently hear phrases like "... and that's where I messed up."
And I am thinking: You messed up? You got silver, not last place.

Same thing with football matches. Out of all the teams that make it to the final, it's like all the previous matches didn't even happen if they don't win.

Am I missing something? Is silver only ever a "consolation price"? Or are we too hard on athletes who are in my opinion already impressive when they qualify for the olympics?

@Coffeeand

Literally nobody starts a race or event aiming for silver.

Depends on how realistic you are I suppose! If you know there's someone else in the race who's always quicker than you are, you know the chances of winning are slim, but you may be able to beat everyone else.

I think it depends on the medal and the individual and where you are in your career.

Teodora Ungureanu is supposed to have said to Nadia Comăneci, "I won an Olympic silver next to you and nobody noticed".

Not everyone is in the Olympics to win a medal that Olympics, for many younger athletes it is for the experience.

Some very experienced athletes don't achieve medals in the Olympics and 4 years can be a long time to keep training.

Beth Tweddle was pleased with a Bronze in London because it was 'the one missing' she had European and World medals.

As for Steven Bradbury, he probably still cannot believe he won.

@ChainJane

YA so obviously BU it's difficult not to laugh. Second place is the first loser, it's a failure. You don't win silver, you lose gold. If second or third is OK, where do you draw the line and why? I mean I could probably by in the world's top five billion 100m sprinters if I put my mind to it. If five billionth is unimpressive and 3rd is, where's the cut-off and why?

If winning isn't what counts why give out medals at all? You don't even need to run the race, just let all the entrants take a "victory" lap basking in the adulation of the crowd and be done with it.

Sorry, but a silver medal just means you failed.

No need to be condescending. I see from this thread alone that there are many people with different views on this topic and I find the discussion very interesting, which is why I posted it in the first place. It's laughable you think that only your opinion counts.

If second place or lower is a failure, then why give out silver and bronze medals at all?

Surely it depends on how good you are and the circumstances in which came second.

Over achieved or overcame an adversity (ie a puncture) then you’ll be happy. But if you know you’re capable of winning and you mess it up then you’re going to be hard on yourself.

I think the head to head type sports are worse as the last thing you do is lose, rather than say beat 6 others abs come second

I once got the 8th highest mark in the world for one of my professional exams. I was over the moon but then realised that the equivalent of coming last in an Olympic running race and somehow that didn’t seem as impressive!

Sorry, but a silver medal just means you failed.

Unbelievable, cannot believe you really think that? God help your poor kids if you have any

Sorry, but a silver medal just means you failed.

Tell that to Georgia Taylor-Brown

Yeah it makes me sad. It’s completely understandable but they should be so proud!

@GunsNShips

I once got the 8th highest mark in the world for one of my professional exams. I was over the moon but then realised that the equivalent of coming last in an Olympic running race and somehow that didn’t seem as impressive!

But only the best of the best get to the Olympics so just getting there is an insane achievement. As is coming 8th in the world in your exams.

It depends on the individual athlete and their expectations.

If, for example, Adam Peaty had won silver in the event he has completely dominated for years and in which he holds the world record, that would be seen as failure. He won gold, of course.

Charlotte Dujardin, in contrast, was delighted by winning bronze on her very young and inexperienced horse despite having won gold at the previous two Olympics on Valegro, the greatest dressage horse of all time.

There are some events where the gold medal winner is head and shoulders above the other competitors, with PB times/distances well clear of everyone else’s. Those people are basically unbeatable unless they screw up. In those cases I’d imagine the silver medal feels pretty good. In more open competitions it’s always going to be an ‘if only’ medal. I’d imagine it feels even worse to win a silver if you are one of those who’s head and shoulders above the others, expected to get gold, and you don’t perform to your capabilities.

@GunsNShips

Surely it depends on how good you are and the circumstances in which came second.

Over achieved or overcame an adversity (ie a puncture) then you’ll be happy. But if you know you’re capable of winning and you mess it up then you’re going to be hard on yourself.

I think the head to head type sports are worse as the last thing you do is lose, rather than say beat 6 others abs come second

I agree with this. 2nd place when you were favourite for gold and/or you country typically wins gold in that sport, probably going to feel like it is "only a silver medal". 2nd place when you weren't expected to get a medal at all, overjoyed.

Should the person who came 43rd in the triathlon not have bothered turning up because they didn't get gold? Or is that actually an improvement for them? Or should we celebrate that they are amongst the best 50 whatever triathletes in the world.

There is pressure on GB athletes (And I assume elsewhere) because funding for the whole sport is ties to you meeting the results targets for your sport.

Most simply want to be the best and unbeatable. Wining second is to some being the first loser unless in a very close competition which could have gone either way as either could have won on the day.

However wining a medal even if silver or bronze is an amazing achievement and the recipient should gratefully receive this award and try harder next time. They have beaten most athletes but just fell short of being the best.

In many Olympic sports making the entry requirements is already a major achievement particularly in nations with small populations and no historical ties to that sport or little financial support. These athletes are there to celebrate their personal goal of mixing and competing if not challenging the very best. For them their goal is Olympic representation as the best from their nation. All Olympians deserve much respect and an inspiration for their sheer determination and hard work over years with most unknown outside of their sports and effectively self funded with little financial support as they are not in the popular highly rewarded professional televised mass spectator or sports gambling sports.

@StCharlotte

Years ago I watched a programme about happiness and the consensus is that a lot of it is about meeting or beating expectations. The example they used was the Sydney Olympics when Steve Backley expected to win gold in the javelin but won silver and was devastated whereas Kelly Holmes was just happy to get to the final of her event and was absolutely thrilled with her bronze.

I listened to a similar podcast recently, where they talked about extensive scientific research into sporting achievements and happiness, and they showed that the happiest people on the podiums are the bronze medallists, then the gold, then the silver, who were dramatically less happy than either the gold or the bronze medallists.

It’s like the criticism the England football team got for removing their runner up medals straight away. They were in it to win it. Second place was first loser and that silver medal will have hung very heavily around their neck as a reminder that they were only second best.

@Coffeeand

Literally nobody starts a race or event aiming for silver.

Roger Black may beg to differ.

@Shoxfordian

And this is why we don’t win as many medals or win the football; we love coming second

What are you on about? The UK always does extremely well at the Olympics. In 2016 we came 2nd in the medals table, after the US but ahead of China and Russia.

Yeah exactly- second

Generally Gold and Bronze are the happiest, and Silver and 4th are the most disappointed.

Gold - you couldn't achieve a higher place
Silver - you only just missed out on gold
Bronze - you are happy to be on the podium at all
4th - only just missed a medal

Of course any colour of olympic medal is a huge achievement, getting to the olympics full stop is massive. But for many athletes their goal is gold, and they could have done it on a different day, it's understandable to be disappointed for not getting it. Example - Nikita Nagornyy 'only' got bronze in the gymnastics mens all around final. Impressive. But had he scored what he did in qualification on floor that bronze would be gold.

OP I totally agree. Being selected for the Olympic team already makes you a winner. I do not really follow sport but always get drawn in by the Olymics because it is so incredibly joyful. If you are at the top of your game or defending a gold, the pressure is huge. However coming second or third to someone at the top of their game is incredible. I am not watching but listening on radio 5. I was on edge this AM during the women's kayaking which was a really close call. She lost by a fraction of time to the best in the world, who she respects and knows well and was was very gracious. Also how could anyone view our young gymnasts getting bronze as a failure?

Not so much a whataboutery but an overall podium top three finish for Olympic Team GB in the summer Olympics is an amazing achievement. This is more so due to competition from traditional larger power house systematic state sponsored teams such as China and Russia and of course the effectively multinational team of many imported talents competing for the USA team. Team GB is not as well funded as say comparable Germany and France in many sports. It is good that it is a GB team although I am not sure if that presumably excludes Northern Ireland unless it is actually a UK GB & NI team? Historically I understand some Chanel Island athletes have chose to compete for Team GB. In any case coming top five is amazing and any higher is astonishing. The hosts Japan have massively invested in their sport over recent years and it shows in current medal table standings.

I predict the USA (mixed multinational) team will head the medals table followed by China and then either the Russian Olympic Committee Team (not sure why the politics as it’s either Russia or it’s some but not all Russian athletes that cheat and should not be included), Japan, GB, Germany, France and Australia.

I would be so delighted in Team GB finish top three ie third as that will be better than the hosts and Russian Olympic Committee Team amongst most others. I only wish Team GB come top but that is mission impossible unless the others were found using banned performance enhancing drugs or caught Covid etc.

I loved Tom Deans attitude. He knew he and Duncan Scott were 1 and 2 when they went in that race.

They both raced and both knew they couldn't both win (well technically you can!)

But he said in an interview it was 0.04. He just happened to get the touch and that's racing.

And duncan Scott was clearly thrilled for his friend and team mate but you couldn't help but notice a tone of disappointment and unwillingness to discuss his place.

James Guys reaction also summed it up. He trains with Tom and is friends with both - he was clearly thrilled for them both even though he's also a great 200 free swimmer and don't qualify for the team in that event.

This is why they have sports psychologists as part of the team. It's a lot of pressure and you always know the world is watching.

It depends very much on their expectations. The team gymnastics bronze was a big surprise, and Charlotte Dujardins bronze was a great achievement with a new young horse, and having not had an opportunity to do the routine. And then some of the TKD athletes lost their matches in the final seconds so it will feel like they lost gold rather than gaining a bronze or a silver. I think they are all very dedicated and am impressed with anyone who makes it to an Olympics! The TKD athletes have particularly impressed me with their attitude.

Literally no one goes in and competes for silver.

That's actually untrue.

There's been a few unbeatable greats over the years.

Adam Peaty, Usian Bolt, Mo Farah, Phelps etc.
Linfors Christie from his time etc.

They are the kind of unbeatable talents we rarely see who dominate their sport for a number of years.

Although everyone obviously wants to be that person who beats them - they also know silver is best if the rest and realistically what's the top medal on offer for them.

If you got silver then the chances are you were good enough to get gold, so it's disappointing that you didn't (unless you're racing Adam Peaty or something where noone expects you to win).

If you place lower, chances are you were well aware of your competition and knew that you weren't a gold hopeful. I would imagine therefore being less disappointed and more proud to have been there in the first place.