Second Place is First Loser
August 15th, 2008 by LeeI’ve been watching the olympics and enjoying it immensely, although my fingernails are now all bitten off. I’ve been struck by the commentary on the morning news stations, and also after the competition is over, and noticed that the prevailing philosophy is sometimes “gold or bust.” A silver or a bronze doesn’t seem to be something to celebrate, but instead a reason to feel disappointment. It reminds me of a favorite quip in competitive cycling (and probably other competitive sports as well): “Second place is first loser.”
I’m no Olympian but I’ve been fortunate enough to dip my toes into the pool of professional cycling. It’s both a blessing and a curse: when you reach a certain level as a female cyclist, you can compete with professionals in national events. It means you have the opportunity to race with the best, but it also means you’re not likely to win.
In my four years of competition (probably around 100 races), I’ve only won four times. Two road races and two time trials. I consider my top achievement to be an 11th place finish in a national time trial, where I competed against pros and actually beat some of them. I have been thrilled beyond belief to get 2nd, 3rd, and even 10th. Sometimes in national stage races I am thankful just to make the time cut. If people know I’ve competed in race, sometimes they will ask, “did you win?” Rarely do I get to say, “yes.”
To me, winning isn’t everything. I figure if I’m winning I should go find some better people to compete against. There are many times that something within the race (a lap led, a prime won, a rival out-sprinted, a climb conquered) is what really fuels my fire.
I’m proud of everyone who competes in the Olympics, even that guy who comes in after Michael Phelps has his goggles off, already cheering his latest gold and world record. It’s an incredible accomplishment, whether you’re first, third, or dead last.