A BETTER VIEW

The real winners

By Chris Benguhe | April 2, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

What’s the point of playing if you don’t win? Last week, super cyclist Lance Armstrong made the news again when the seven-time Tour de France champion broke his collarbone. All the attention we give successful athletes reminded me of all the other ones, those who give it their all, but who don’t always win or don’t always make the news. Those that keep on trying after the winning stops can teach us all a little bit more about the meaning of life.

One of those “champions” I interviewed a few years back was Karen Smyers. She worked, sweated and slaved her way to her first triathlon victory in 1990, then several more national championships before she broke a record when she won the famed Ironman in Kona, Hawaii, in 1995.

But two weeks before defending her title in 1996, things changed. While taking down storm windows in her home, one of the panes shattered and sent a huge shard of glass through her calf muscle.

Karen’s career stopped. But rather than lament Karen remembered how much she and her husband had always wanted a child. Amazingly Karen and her husband conceived on the first try. Nine months later, they beheld their beautiful baby girl Jenna. Even more amazingly, the pregnancy had allowed for her hamstring to heal.

Perseverance pays off

She set her mind on a return to Ironman in Hawaii. Then one day during her cycling workout, she heard the roar of an 18-wheeler behind her. As the road took a turn, so did the truck — right into Karen, sending her back to the hospital with six broken ribs, a separated shoulder and a lung contusion. Again, it seemed like her career was over.

After several weeks in the hospital and months of bed rest, Karen amazed critics by getting back on her feet in time to make a run for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Tragedy struck again when a pedal fell off of the bike in front of Karen’s during a race, forcing the rider to careen into Karen. She was out of the race and in the hospital with a broken collarbone (sound familiar?). When doctors noticed some nodules on her neck, they discovered the 38-year-old champion had thyroid cancer.

Through all the trials and tribulation, Karen came to appreciate her family more. She took the next year off to have another baby. But when a miscarriage dashed her dreams, she decided to race again to take her mind off the tragedy.

Halfway through the race, Karen broke down with shooting pains in her abdomen. She slumped across the finish line late that evening into the open arms of her family.

“I knew I wasn’t going to come close to winning,” Karen said after the race. “I promised myself from then on that I wouldn’t ever judge myself by where I placed. I would just do the best that I could.”

Winning isn’t everything? Strange to hear from an athlete today, but maybe it’s what we need to hear. Maybe it reminds us that nothing we win on this earth is really as important as our relationships — with God and each other.

Karen never did make it to the Olympics. But she continues to do the best that she can as a competitor, but even more importantly as a wife and a mother.

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Chris Benguhe is a columnist for The Catholic Sun. Please send comments to letters@catholicsun.org.