In case you haven’t turned on the TV recently, you should know that the Olympics have been going on for a solid week now. From figure skating to the mysterious curling, Ed Board’s enjoyed tuning in to all the coverage.
While “boarder-cross,” a sort of snowboarding on crack, really got our attention, it’s the stories behind some of our favorite winners that seem to be tugging at our heartstrings.
Ed Board loved hearing about Joey Cheek, a speed skater who took home a bronze in the 2002 Olympic games.
This year, Cheek brought his A-game and beat out Russia’s Dmitry Dorofeyev and South Korea’s Lee Kang Seok to take home the gold.
We’re not only pleased because Cheek is an American but also because of the altruistic actions he took after he won the gold: Cheek is donating his $25,000 bonus from the U.S. Olympic Committee to help the children in the region of Darfur in Sudan.
In fact, Cheek has asked his sponsors to match his donation so he will be able to do even more for the war-torn region. And, Cheek won’t merely be writing a check. The gold medalist plans on visiting Darfur soon to help the region first-hand. We think Cheek deserves another medal for his generosity and willingness to help out children on the other side of the world.
Croatian skier Ivica Kostelic also got us a little choked up when he took the silver medal in the men’s Alpine skiing combined event on Tuesday. Kostelic, who had surgery two years ago and hasn’t won a race since, had come in 14th place in the downhill earlier that day.
But, Kostelic made a comeback, taking home his country’s first medal this year and emerging from the shadows of his sister, Janica, who is defending the three gold medals she won in Salt Lake. When Kostelic won, he immediately hugged his crying younger sister and kissed the podium.
He was genuinely shocked and thankful that all his hard work and determination to not give up had finally paid off. We think it’s great that the Kostelics, who came from a family with little money or means to fulfill their dreams, are able to represent their country in such an admirable way.
Hopefully next week, more inspirational stories like Cheek and Kostelic’s will transpire. Ed Board will continue to look out for the U.S. winners, and we’ll enjoy watching that crazy curling, but we are looking forward to the motivating stories behind the winners the most.
Hopefully, more athletes will follow in the footsteps of Cheek and Kostelic and give us a little something more to watch.
