I watched a documentary about an American long-distance runner who, at the Munich Games, was destined to win. She led most of the way but tripped on the final stretch. The doco said she could have been “the greatest”.

The greatest? I wonder, what does it mean to be great?

Does winning eight gold medals in a pool do it? Or what about winning an eight-inch high gold trophy for an hour-and-a-half’s worth of entertainment that grosses $100 million at the box office. Is that a sign of greatness?

Perhaps I am being fickle. Maybe greatness is all about success in business. You know, landing the big contract or reeling in the big fish. Does that make for greatness?

All this has me a bit disillusioned actually. What is happening that we would value such things so highly? Now, don’t get me wrong, I admire our Olympians as they train and prepare for London. But you know who the real heroes are? It’s your mums and dads who sacrificed to pay for your coaching; the mums and dads who were up just as early, who became the taxi to the lake or the track or the pool; the mums and dads who encouraged and consoled you during the more challenging times.

There are mums and dads all over the country who invest everything they have in children who may not become sporting greats or award-winning actors or ground-breaking doctors. These mums and dads are the real Kiwi heroes. They are the ones we should call great.

I have come to the conclusion that we often look past the ones doing the digging and see only the gold they unearth. Yet if it wasn’t for the sweat of the digger, there never would have been any gold

As I have said already, good on all those Kiwis who will no doubt do us proud in London. But even greater than them, I think, are those who sacrifice, with no glory or gold; no crowds or ticker-tape parades ... they wake up daily to sacrifice all in the often thankless task of being Mum and Dad.

By Tim Sisarich, Executive Director of Focus on the Family,

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