“American speed skater Joey Cheek did something very unusual after winning the 500 meter race at the Winter Olympics. He announced he's contributing his $25,000 gold medal award from the U.S. Olympic Committee to refugees from Darfur. And he urged Olympic sponsors to support the same relief effort.”
Come to find out, Joey was inspired to do so by another leader and Olympic speedskating champion.
“Cheek is following in the long strides of Johann Olav Koss, the Norwegian speedskater who won three gold medals at the 1994 Games in Lillehammer. Koss, who is now a physician, donated much of his Olympic bonus money to children who were victims of the fighting in Sarajevo. The Bosnian capital was the host city of the 1984 Winter Olympics. Koss went on to start a humanitarian effort called Right to Play, which seeks to provide a bit of normal childhood -- games and sports equipment, visits from athletes -- to kids living in refugee camps.”
Cheek drew inspiration from Koss, in his sport and in life. "I thought maybe I could walk a little in his rather large shoes,'' said Cheek. He met Koss a few days ago. Koss demonstrated that importance in life neither ends nor begins with the Olympics. Cheek hopes to inspire also. He said, “tomorrow there is another gold medalist, and the day after there is another gold medalist. So if they do what I do, who knows what is going to happen.”
Photo found on NBCOlymics. Hat tip to a few bloggers out there that kept this story going Aimlessly Wandering and Random Ravings.
Thanks for the article, Hal. It seems that success frequently breeds egoism. It is refreshing to see someone burst on the scene, deserving of international attention because of his accomplishments, and yet turn that attention to help some of our fellow human beings who are suffering. Thank you for putting some focus on this wonderful story and significant leadership principle.
Posted by: WDC | February 14, 2006 7:38 PM | Permalink to Comment