Continuing the Race
In sport culture, many experts have studied the science behind athletes overcoming challenges. During the study of the Holocaust, survivors are seen to have PTSD and a lack of will to survive. Multiple historians realized that two of the survivors were different from the rest. Many people who survived the holocaust did not thrive during the rest of their lives, but Ben Helfgott and Alfred Nakache went on to become Olympic athletes.
Athletes are often viewed specially because of their intense determination. They often beat themselves up in order to overcome what they think they can do. Breaking this threshold nearly always requires the overcoming of adversity. In sports psychology, when an athlete “not only makes it …show more content…
In 1939, Nakache and his family were deported to Auschwitz. By this time in his life, Nakache had already set the French records in four swimming events (Dietschy 519). In fact, at the time of his deportation, Nakache was known by many as “the swimming champion” (520). During his time at Auschwitz, Nakache endured the same grueling work and starvation that all the prisoners endured. The difference between Nakache and the other prisoners was his ability to cope more readily with the serious physical adversity he faced (521). Although the rigorous training of an athlete is extremely painful at times, it does not fully compare to the pain felt in the prison camps. Athletes push their bodies to do things that their minds don’t even think are possible; this is what every prisoner had to do in order to survive the anguish of Auschwitz and the other concentration camps. After being starved and tortured in the concentration camp, Nakache went on to receive a silver medal in the 1946 Olympics. Because earning a silver medal in the Olympics is such a great accomplishment, one can clearly see how mentally and physically strong Nakache truly …show more content…
Seven years later, Helfgott won his first lightweight weightlifting championship. Two more years and Helfgott had made it to the Olympic games (Epstein 2-4). Eleven years after he had weighed just eighty-two pounds, Helfgott become one of best weightlifters in the entire world. Holocaust survivor Helfgott recalls his adversity in saying, “Eleven years ago I was at the point of death” (qtd. in Epstein 3). Most athletes are able to understand that they must train and work hard for many years in order to reach the high goals of the Olympic standards. Now he helps deaf children as they undergo adversity in their daily lives. Helfgott reminds them that “our experiences may have hardened us and made us more realistic about human nature, but they have also left us with a dream: to live in a world of understanding, compassion, fraternity and love for our fellow man” (qtd. in Epstein 4). Helfgott is a living example of how suffering has a purpose (Joselit
In sport culture, many experts have studied the science behind athletes overcoming challenges. During the study of the Holocaust, survivors are seen to have PTSD and a lack of will to survive. Multiple historians realized that two of the survivors were different from the rest. Many people who survived the holocaust did not thrive during the rest of their lives, but Ben Helfgott and Alfred Nakache went on to become Olympic athletes.
Athletes are often viewed specially because of their intense determination. They often beat themselves up in order to overcome what they think they can do. Breaking this threshold nearly always requires the overcoming of adversity. In sports psychology, when an athlete “not only makes it …show more content…
In 1939, Nakache and his family were deported to Auschwitz. By this time in his life, Nakache had already set the French records in four swimming events (Dietschy 519). In fact, at the time of his deportation, Nakache was known by many as “the swimming champion” (520). During his time at Auschwitz, Nakache endured the same grueling work and starvation that all the prisoners endured. The difference between Nakache and the other prisoners was his ability to cope more readily with the serious physical adversity he faced (521). Although the rigorous training of an athlete is extremely painful at times, it does not fully compare to the pain felt in the prison camps. Athletes push their bodies to do things that their minds don’t even think are possible; this is what every prisoner had to do in order to survive the anguish of Auschwitz and the other concentration camps. After being starved and tortured in the concentration camp, Nakache went on to receive a silver medal in the 1946 Olympics. Because earning a silver medal in the Olympics is such a great accomplishment, one can clearly see how mentally and physically strong Nakache truly …show more content…
Seven years later, Helfgott won his first lightweight weightlifting championship. Two more years and Helfgott had made it to the Olympic games (Epstein 2-4). Eleven years after he had weighed just eighty-two pounds, Helfgott become one of best weightlifters in the entire world. Holocaust survivor Helfgott recalls his adversity in saying, “Eleven years ago I was at the point of death” (qtd. in Epstein 3). Most athletes are able to understand that they must train and work hard for many years in order to reach the high goals of the Olympic standards. Now he helps deaf children as they undergo adversity in their daily lives. Helfgott reminds them that “our experiences may have hardened us and made us more realistic about human nature, but they have also left us with a dream: to live in a world of understanding, compassion, fraternity and love for our fellow man” (qtd. in Epstein 4). Helfgott is a living example of how suffering has a purpose (Joselit