NINE GOLD MEDALS, ICSE POEM, PROJECT ANALYSIS, COLLABORATION IS NOBLER THAN COMPETITION

 NINE GOLD MEDALS - COLLABORATION IS NOBLER THAN CONTEST

The poem Nine Gold Medals depicts the companionship of all eight athletes. The runners have truly justified the spirit of Special Olympics with their empathy, sportsmanship and cooperation. It doesn’t require for people to be from a country or a place to show kindness and sportsmanship. It also gives us a message that being selfless and helping others can do a lot of good not only to the person who is being helped but also to the person who is helping. David Roth’s poem depicts the human compassion and sportsman spirit eight special athletes showed in the Special Olympics racing event. When the youngest of the nine runners fell thrashing on the ground, the others stopped and came back to lift the fallen one and walked together to cross the finishing line together. This was an outstanding display of collaboration and cooperation, for which each of them was awarded with a gold medal. The message conveyed by the poet here is that the world now needs more cooperation and collaboration than competition.

The poem Nine Gold Medals highlights the true spirit of sportsmanship, cooperation, collaboration and kindness towards other humans. The poet David Roth emphasises that mere winning is not so important than participation. The generous and kind behaviour of all the athletes towards their fellow participant helped them win the heartfelt applause of the spectators.

All of them had practised hard for the Special Olympics Racing event. When the youngest contestant falls down they put aside their efforts and continue to help the lad. This shows that the world today does not need competition but cooperation and collaboration.

At the scene at the playfield where the event was about to start, there was a great excitement among the crowd to watch the athletes competing hard for a medal. A large crowd of spectators was present to watch the events. They were cheering the players. The people were excited and were eagerly waiting for the race to start. Finally, it was time for the race to begin, so all the participants lined up in order. The names of the nine runners who were going to participate were announced. All the participants were determined to win the competition. The race was supposed to begin at the sound of the gunshot. As soon as the pistol was shot, all the participants in the race took off from their blocks. As ill luck would have it, the youngest of the participants in the race lost his balance and fell to the ground. The event of a runner falling during the race was unexpected as it does not usually occur. The situation had become tense. The athlete cried out in frustration and was devastated. what happened next was really quite unusual, as it is impossible to imagine in today's competitive world. He had fallen out of the race and his dream of winning the race was shattered. His fall wasted all the efforts and hard work that he had put in to win the competition as the race was over for him. What happened next was not only unusual but also stunning. The other runners volunteered their fellow participant to win the event of the Special Olympics.  

On seeing the runner fall down, the other athletes stopped running. One by one they turned back and went to the athlete who had fallen down. They helped him to stand up. Although they had spent a lot of time and effort in training, they did not hesitate to stop running to help the injured athlete. This is a brilliant act of compassion and empathy for the fallen athlete by the other eight runners. After helping the fallen athlete to get up, all the nine athletes joined hands and started walking towards the finish line. Thus, the hundred-yard race was now reduced to a walk by the athletes. There was a banner hung above the racing track which said ‘Special Olympics’. That banner displayed the value of true sportsmanship of the eight other participants by helping the injured athlete and deciding to walk together to the finish line as the injured athlete was not able to run anymore. As all the athletes walked down past the finish line while holding hands, the race ended and all of them were awarded a gold medal each. There was no second or third position in the race as all the athletes who took part in the race had won the first prize—the gold medal. They were smiling in a very wide manner and were happy after winning a gold medal in the Special Olympics event. When the audience saw the noble gesture of the athletes walking together past the finish line as one of them was injured and could not run, they gave the athletes a standing ovation. All the runners stood happy and contented as everyone received the gold medal.

The poem ‘Nine Gold Medals’ brings out the theme of empathy and the celebration of human values. Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s feelings from his/her point of view. It means to put oneself into another's shoes. The poem celebrates human values pertaining to kindness, cooperation and empathy. It brings out the idea that caring and sharing is more important than winning or losing an event. The other eight runners were not selfish, as they had stopped running on seeing the youngest runner fall on the track. They also helped him get up. Their sacrifice is inspiring. These eight athletes preferred helping the fallen runner than winning the gold medal. This shows their generous nature.  

Nine gold medals show nine golden hearts. The poem celebrates human values pertaining to kindness, cooperation and empathy. The nine runners were participating in the Special Olympics to achieve their dreams of winning the gold medal. All of them had been strenuously practising for months to run and to win. But the poem brings out the idea that caring and sharing is more important than winning or losing. Sports is not only about winning medals but also about learning values of empathy and cooperation. The poem brings out a situation where the contestants set aside their desire to win and help another contestant who had fallen down. They empathised with him. The contestants came together as a group. They stood by each other and walked together to the finish line and all of them won a gold medal. By awarding gold medals to each one of them, the authorities honoured their display of empathy and human values. The poet gives the message that the spirit of sportsmanship and empathy for fellow human beings is more important than winning a sports competition.

By displaying assistance and benevolence, we prove ourselves stronger. By being selfish and self-object oriented, we consistently betray humanity. When we display commiseration, we attract peoples praise and love. The benefactor and the witnesses are all blessed and inspired. Competitiveness is welcome in sportsman spirit. But, at the juncture of humane need, we must not fall short to sacrifice with benignity.

Disclaimer: Images have been taken from Google sites.