ENGLISH

LITERATURE PROJECT

NINE GOLD MEDALS

NAME-NIKITA SURI
10-B
5
QUESTION
‘Nine Gold Medals’ by David Roth is one of the most popular
inspirational poems. It underlines the idea of empathy and sportsmanship.
Justify the statement.

Nine Gold Medals by David Roth is one of the most inspirational and
touching poems. David Roth is an American rock vocalist, musician,
songwriter, actor, author, artist, and former radio personality. His passion
for music was visible since childhood .He joined a band in high school
.He was a lead singer of Hard Rock band Van Helen and is also known as
a successful solo artist. Nine Gold medals has been narrated and recorded
in a pattern of a song by Roth.

The poem is a poignant record of the incident that took place at the
Special Olympics. Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports
organisation for people with disabilities. This helps these people to
develop self -confidence and social skills. Special Olympics is a global
movement of people creating a new world of inclusion and community,
where every single person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability
or disability. It also provides children and adults with disabilities year-
round training. The poem underlines the message of empathy and
sportsmanship. It gives us the message that human compassion and
respect for competitors is more important than winning medals and
highlights the true spirit of competition. This is depicted by the actions of
the eight athletes who disregarded their own dreams by helping their
fellow contestant as they are able to imagine the frustration of the
youngest athlete who had stumbled and staggered.
 Athletes from countries across the globe had come to take part in the
Special Olympics. They had gone through rigorous training for
months, with the competition in mind and hopes and dreams of winning
medals. A huge crowd had gathered all around the field. They were
cheering the participants throughout the day. Now it was time for the
final event of the day, the race that everyone had been waiting eagerly
for. It was the hundred meters race and the names of all the participants
were being announced on the loudspeakers. There were nine
young athletes, all determined to win the competition. They stood behind
the starting line waiting for the sound of the gun. The pistol exploded
signaling the start of the race and the runners dashed forward. But
suddenly there occurred an unexpected incident. The youngest of the
competitors staggered and fell to his knees. In that moment, he knew that
a small mistake had cost him his dream and all the hard work, grit and
determination would now account for nothing. His pain and anguish
made him give out a cry of frustration.
 The youngest athlete stumbled and staggered

Then something happened that no one had expected. All eight

competitors who had trained for so long for this competition, instead of
sprinting ahead, stopped in their tracks. One by one they turned back and
helped the fallen one back to his feet. In a world of cut-throat and
merciless competition, a sight like this was most astonishing. Empathy is
the ability to put oneself in another’s shoes. In this poem the other eight
athletes have shown empathy towards the youngest athlete who had
stumbled and staggered. The competitors understood his pain and
frustration and at once denounced the vice of selfishness to help the
competitor. Except for being happy that one athlete is left behind which
increased their chances of winning, they disregarded their own dreams of
winning a medal as they realized that a win like that would hold no true
value. They embraced the true spirit of sportsmanship. Sportsmanship
implies that a sports activity should be enjoyed for it’s own sake, with
consideration for fairness, respect and a sense of fellowship with one’s
competitors. David Roth indicates how human values in a sportsperson
are as important as the spirit of competition. All nine runners joined
hands and the sprint had now been reduced to a mere walk. They walked
to the finish line together. They stood smiling under a banner that read
Special Olympics. The term ‘special’ referred to the intellectually
disabled. However, what made the competition truly special was the great
display of empathy and kindness. At the end of the race all the
participants were awarded gold medals and declared winners, as they
upheld the true essence of sports. The spirit of care and compassion on
the faces of the participants said more than the words of the banner.

All the athletes helped the youngest athlete to get back on his feet
 All nine athletes crossed the finishing line together
The poem through unforeseen and unprecedented events inspires us
by showcasing the virtues of empathy and sportsmanship. Cut -throat
competition drives people to do immoral acts. Athletes are often detected
using performance enhancing drugs to gain competitive edge. Jamaican
track and field star Usain Bolt lost his ninth Olympic gold medal at the
2008 Beijing Olympics for a positive doping test discovered eight years
later. Despite the nine athlete’s intellectual disabilities, the competitors
showed more humanity and sportsmanship than most people
would. It reminds us that the world needs less competition and more
cooperation. Being a sportsperson personally, this story inspires me to
place human values over competition and to showcase true sportsmanship
in this highly competitive world.