From the Kalamazoo Gazette
“The guys I’m racing are much stronger — I think most of them have a little better genetic makeup. Quite frankly, sometimes I don’t know how I hang or medal. But I do know I work hard, and when it counts and it’s crunch time, I excel. I can handle extreme pressure and do some incredible things when the pressure is on. I’m all heart, want and drive.
Unextraordinary people can do extraordinary things — you just have to add a little extra to the ordinary. That’s all I’ve done, is add a little extra to the ordinary at the right time.”
-Kip Carpenter (this linked website is Kip’s OWN work, the guy has talent!)
I think what Kip says is true for more than just speedskating. Take an ordinary life, work really hard, add a lot of effort at the right moment, in something you care about, something you are good at, and good things happen.
I would have linked directly to Kalamazoo Gazette for this excellent interview, but they don’t have online except for current subscribers. However you can read the full text of this excellent interview here.
It’s easy to forget that each athlete competing at the games is an individual who is probably experiencing extremely intense emotions. When you see Kip on the start line in the 500m, remember that there is a human being under that USA emblazoned skinsuit. A person who has experienced a whole range of success, nasty injuries, challenges, joys, defeats.
But when that gun goes off, then his gift of focus and technical perfection, his portion of the extraordinary, comes through. His gift more than makes up for the fact that Kip is a fairly slender man, in an event that often rewards the fast twitch qwadzillas roaming the earth.
I took this picture of Kip focusing just before he steps to the start line of the 500m in the Salt Lake World Cup. The ice over his shoulder is reflecting the current standings on the scoreboard. He popped off a good one on this day, a 34.72!, and it was his best world cup finish this year, 5th place.
Also, my personal congratulations to Kip on getting engaged to Inge! That is fantastic! Legions of Dutch women are crying into their morning coffee, jealous of the Dutch woman who got you!!
Filed under: from home
“Unextraordinary people can do extraordinary things” This is the theme of a lot of fiction, especially the fantasy-quest stuff that my daughter devours, from Redwall to Tolkien to Harry Potter. Whether we choose a tough path or not, life has this way of calling upon ordinary people to do the extraordinary, and we know it, and i think these books help us to accept and so be more ready for that. To take it on consciously and be able to use it in a difficult path is admirable in a lot of ways. THIS is how athletes can be terrific role models; unfortunately what most people see is the few glamourous and wealthy ones, the glitz, not the ordinary people who choose, and work, to become more than ordinary.