外国语学院英语教育2001级(3)班　Zhou Yufeng

After seventeen days’ fierce competition, the 2004 Olympic Games drew the curtain. But my mind is still lingering there -- at the sports field in Athens.

During those days, I witnessed the ups and downs our athletes had experienced on their way to clinch the medals. Some of them missed the medals at a hair’s breadth while some others did a great job and harvested a medal miraculously. Some of them won their medals seemingly effortlessly while some others underwent all kinds of ordeals before the final success. All these testified to us that success is never assured. No one could take things easy and the winner would not come up till the last minute.

Before the Olympic Games opened, we had placed great expectation on our divers and gymnasts because of their strong power and fruitful past. However our diving team's dream has plummeted with only six golds garnered and the gymnastic team only one gold and two bronzes. Both knew that they were facing new challenges, but they found the situation even much tougher than they had expected.

Tian Liang , the biggest favorite for the men’s 10m platform, had a big margin of over 20 points with the rest of the divers after the second dive, but big splashes made in the following two cost him the championship.

Teng Haibin the reigning pommel world champion made three huge mistakes during the team final, costing China a team title which it saw as a sure gold.

Competition is just like that. We can hardly predict what will happen. The most likely winner may lose even at the very last minute, while those seemingly weak ones may win the gold medal unexpectedly. Advantageous conditions may help to give athletes confidence, but they don’t guarantee success. The sweetness of success will only be tasted by those who have strong strength, good psychological quality and willpower, sometimes even luck. The delight of success will only be experienced through hard work.

While watching the final between our women’s volleyball team and Russia, I was overwhelmed by their hardworking and persistent spirit. After the first two sets, Russians took a seemingly unbeatable 2-0 advantage. But the head coach Chen Zhonghe soon encouraged the team to win back the third set and they finally beat Russia.

This match was a typical cliffhanger .We won the match, but it was by no means easy. It was the wise guidance of head coach Chen, the excellent performances of each member and the co-operation of everybody that enabled them to relive the glory after 20 years. And what counted most was their perseverance.

As part of the Olympic spirit, every athlete is supposed to strive till the last minute. Accordingly, we shall also strive for what we aspire after and persevere till the last minute in our life.