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| Alexander Karelin had lost. He never realized before how lonely it could feel in the stadium filled with hundreds of spectators. Yet this defeat that came to him so suddenly and terribly made him almost want to cry. His string of victories had come to a crashing end. He had won three Olympic gold medals and had not been defeated in 13 years. Rulon Gardner Kiko Alonso Youth Jersey , his young rival, was surrounded by flashlights and people. Yet here he was, the great Karelin, universally considered the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time, feeling utterly alone. What should have been another great moment in his life was now one of the worst. Someone who had never won a major title had defeated him utterly. It was a match that no one thought he could lose. He overheard the buoyant young American saying, "When did I think I could beat him? About 10 minutes ago. I kept saying, 'I think I can. I think I can.' But it wasn't until it was over that I knew I could." Alexander had never conceded a point in 10 years. Today, he had lost 1-0. He caught the confused look on the face of IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, and quickly looked away. Later that evening, wandering alone in the Olympic village, he ran into his friend Boris Spassky EJ Manuel Youth Jersey , a former world chess champion. They spoke, and he tried to express his pain to his friend. Finally, after much thought, his eyes looking into the distance, Boris said, "Somehow you have to look beyond the sights. Somehow you have to hear between the words. Somehow you have to close the gap between your heart and your mind." "I don't understand," said Alexander. "You think that you have been defeated. That you will never again be the King. But look where you are. You are in the same universe. And just as it conspired to give you glory, so too it will continue to unroll its miracles. You will win again. All you have to do is trust, once again, in magic." "What magic? Is this about superstition?" "The magic of yourself in space and time. The magic of being here now. Trust in it. What seems hopeless will be transmuted. What seems lost will be found again." "Am I a loser?" asked Alexander abruptly, the agony of the day breaking through him. "If you have a little time, we can talk about what it means to win and lose. It is important that we do it." "Yes Mario Williams Youth Jersey , let's do it." Since it was getting chilly, they wandered back to the Olympic village and settled on the cafeteria as a place to continue their discussion. After they had filled up their trays, they found a secluded corner, away from the other athletes, some of whom were proudly wearing their medallions on their chest. "I know how you feel because I have been in your situation," said Boris. When I was World Champion, the best player in the world, the world thought that I was a winner. When I played Bobby Fischer at the World Championship at Reykjavik in 1972, I lost. The world then decided that I was a loser." Alexander frowned. "So, what are you?" he asked. "I am what I am." "Hunh?" "First of all, winning and losing are not my identity. They are an expression of what I do. It is important to make this distinction. Then one can have some clarity. "Winning and losing, ultimately Kyle Williams Youth Jersey , are not events but mindsets. "Most people think that they are events. But when you look closely at something, you can see that many things decide whether an outcome will be favorable or not. "There have been people who have been on a winning streak for years, and then the tide appears to turn and they appear to have lost the magic. "Then there are others who appear to have never won at anything, but then suddenly appear to hit a winning streak." "This is quite confusing," said Alexander. He would much rather be grunting over some barbells then wrestling with philosophy. "It is confusing because life is not predictable. A person can become highly skilled at something and be winning at life when the rules unexpectedly change and their skills become obsolete. For example, when |
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