Liu Xiang withdraws from Men's 110m Hurdles

Here is excerpt of a Dharma Talk written by Sensei Grant Ikuta following the Olympics in 2000:

Even in the Olympics, only three percent of the participants receive any medals, so we can see that ninety-seven percent of the athletes have their events not go as they desired. The Buddha taught us that life doesn't go as we calculate. If we can begin to accept this reality then we can begin to realise the importance of the Jodo Shinshu teachings for us. Even though our life may not unfold as we have planned, we are the focus of Amida Buddha's great compassion, just as we are. It is this compassion which tells us that we are never alone, but in fact are being sustained and supported by a multitude of causes and conditions.

The Olympics are truly a world event, but just as in life, there is as much to be gained from failure as from victory. It is through our many trials in life that we are awakened to Amida Buddha's boundless compassion, the true Gold Medal of life.

Gassho, Grant Ikuta

Grant Ikuta was formerly of the Toronto Buddhist Temple and currently, the Minister at the Steveston Buddhist Temple in B.C. This article was written following the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

So what's his secret?

Meditation. This is an excerpt from an article from the UK Times web site:

Woods does not talk much about the fact that he meditates, something he learnt from Kultida, his mother, who is a Buddhist. “In the Buddhist religion you have to work for it yourself, internally, in order to achieve anything in life and set up the next life,” he said. “It is all about what you do, and you get out of life what you put into it. So you are going to have to work your butt off in every aspect of your life. That is one of the things that people see in what I do on the course.”