John Stephen Akhwari…most likely you have never heard of
this man. However, he made Olympic
history in 1968 in Mexico City.
Akhwari was a marathon runner from Tanzanian that had leg cramps
during his run because of the high altitude in Mexico City. During the marathon, there were many changes
for first place and he was hit during the race.
His knee was badly wounded, his shoulder was dislocated and then he hit
the pavement hard. Even with all those
injuries, he did not stop. Finishing 57th….he
was last person to finish and 75 had started.
The winner was Mamo Wolde of Ethiopa finishing at 2:20:26 and
Akhwari finished 3:25:27. When Akhwari finished,
there was only a few thousand people left in the whole stadium and the sun had
already set. The small crowd cheered
louder than when the original winner of the marathon crossed the finish
line.
The next day he was interviewed by the media and was asked
why he continued running, he said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to
start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race."
Remember that you have a purpose in this life and you cannot
give up. Remember the amazing words of
Winston Churchill:
Never, never, never
give up.
Check out this inspirational YouTube video about his story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlfMogR7ZnI
This is such a great reminder!!!! I read twice as the second time I read to my husband. When I read what John, the Olympian marathon runner said during his interview, my husband said, "It sounds a little like Jesus - Jesus didn't come to just start havoc; He came to FINISH it." Tim continued to say, "I wonder if that's why Jesus proclaimed on the cross, "It is Finished"!
ReplyDeleteThank you again for the reminder Terri as we NEVER GIVE UP!