To The Quiet Ones

Photo by Brittany Nelson.

Be kind, kinder, to the quiet ones who didn’t quite make it. The 4th, the 9th, the one who had a gun malfunction, the one who had a stomachache, the one who just lost a loved one… You never know.

It may well sound like common knowledge, “you never know what the other is going through”, but perhaps it is precisely because it is the first time visiting those memories, I understand, yes, even a prima donna.

We all feel this way, I may boast for my rather rich record of that for many years, being a hair away from “the line”, whether being 1 point away from the final in Tokyo with a 9.9 on the last shot for 10m Air Pistol, or two days later, 2 points short from the final having scored a 0 shooting on someone else’s target at 25m, or not medaling with a misfire at the Pan-American Games with a 14 point lead from the second place, or losing a gold to silver with a gun malfunction during a World Cup... The list can go on.

The fact that many of my close and dear friends in this sport, being as talented and quiet as they are, who didn’t shine as much as they should have, makes you feel rotten.

To all the quiet friends I cherish.

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