When the 2022 Winter Olympics concluded, I began to reflect on an interesting aspect of The Games: Recognizing the top three finishers in each competition. Whether they took gold, silver or bronze, each athlete jumped on the podium, smiling and waving to the crowd, happy to receive their medal and celebrate their tremendous accomplishment.
Now, most of those “silver” and “bronze” athletes have resumed training to take the ultimate prize in the next competition. Indeed, we all know those athletes are closest to achieving that success. There simply are not many as-qualified athletes out there to replace them! So, a coach’s immediate strategy is grooming their silver medalists to become the gold standard in future Olympics.