Myth and heroes: Can sports champions be considered as heroes ?

MYTH AND HEROES

Intro :

• Def hero = A hero is a person who is admired for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. There are two types of heroes, on one hand fictional ones (in books, superheroes or in Greek mythology) on the other hand, real ones (firefighters). They tend to take part in a myth.
• Def myth = a collective belief that can be true or legendary.
• Today I’ve decided to speak about whether sports champions can be considered as true heroes or not. First we’ll see what makes a sports champion and then we’ll talk about how their actions outside from sports can turn them from sports champions to true heroes.

I- What makes a sports hero ?

→ Qualities : like any other kind of heroes, they tend to be courageous, strong and very determined to achieve their goals. They don’t necessarily have to reach excellence, just to do as much as they can to overcome obstacles. That way, we can consider them as models, examples to follow.

→ Achievments : they usually break records and do extraordinary performances.

→ Ex : Haile Gebrselassie was born in a poor Ethiopian family but he did what he could to go to school, running 20 km per day. That way he developped his athletic ability. He then remained unbeaten at that distance, making and breaking no fewer than 15 world records, and winning Olympic Gold at both the Atlanta and the Sydney Olympics.

II- From sports champions to true heroes

Sometimes, sports champions can become part of the myth :

When they become spokespersons : Tommie Smith = an american black man who won gold for the 200 meters during Mexico Olympics in 1968 → he raised his fist and bowed his head to show his support to the fight for civil rights despite the consequences it could have had. (could have been killed) Like that, he became a real hero thanks to his talent and also to his great courage

Conclusion :

To conclude, I’d say that to my opinion, not all sports champions can be considered as true heros. Some of them are just excellent in what they do but except that, they do nothing to change the world and help those in need. But others, like Tommie Smith stand for causes that really matters in order to improve our world. For me, those people can really be considered as heroes, not only because they are talented but also because they are committed to help the world.

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