The Olympic wins are great, but the losses are so important for our children to witness | Amanda Blair

Seeing the Fox sisters both win gold and Arisa Trew be radical at the Olympics has been awesome. But Amanda Blair finds herself enjoying the losses for one great reason.

There are many thoughts that run through my head when I’m watching the Olympics.

I wonder if there’s anybody in Sweden who isn’t really really really good looking? Should breakdancing be included or should it have stayed in the late 80s with poodle perms?

Why do some athletes insist on wearing makeup and stick-on eyelashes the size of large spiders before running 400m? And why are large statement earrings sometimes worn to accompany aerodynamic swimsuits?

I wonder why my husband shouts at the television and appears to know all the rules and all the possible tactical responses to sports he’s previously never had anything to do with?

And why do our medal winners continually tell us that they’re “doing it for everybody in Australia” when we know they’re not. They’re doing it for free flights with Qantas, a breakfast cereal company sponsorship, a new car and a future career as a sports commentator.

Dark, but I wonder if any athletes from countries where dictatorship is de rigueur mysteriously “disappear” if they don’t bring home a medal?

Speaking of the “d” word … what was French pole-vaulter Anthony Ammirati thinking? Why was that beast not strapped down or tucked into a firm jockstrap? Six Ps Anth, ffs – prior preparation prevents penile polevault peril.

I spend a lot of time staring at the television wondering if I could have been a gold medal winner myself, could I, little old Amanda Blair from Adelaide, been up there on the podium, medal in my teeth, green and gold tracksuit on my tush.

Amanda Blair has found herself wondering lately if she could’ve been an Olympian. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Could I have been Australia’s balance beam champion, a little battler who did good despite the odds? (fat knees)

I’m not on my own here – in loungerooms all over Australia people are considering their own

Olympic dreams. Wayne “Wayne-O” West from Cheltenham told me he could have been a

swimmer, or a diver, or even a taekwondo master. Yes, Wayne-O, you could have if perhaps you’d participated in any of those sports at any point in your life.

Carla Graham from Seaford reckons she could have been big in hockey. She’s never played

hockey, but she thinks it looks easy enough. Stick-ball-net, how hard can it be?

Really really hard actually. These athletes have sacrificed just about everything for a shot at their dream.

No messy alcohol-fuelled late nights, no distracting relationships, no parties, and most distressingly for me, no carbs.

Successful Aussies like gold medal-winning siblings Noemie and Jess Fox have been incredible to watch. picture: Instagram/jessfoxcanoe

As has Australia’s youngest gold medallist, skateboarder Arisa Trew. Picture: Julian Finney/Getty Images

They make it look easy and it’s fantastic to see them win, I cried for the foxy Fox sisters, cheered for the GOAT Simone Biles and thought that 14-year-old Arisa Trew was RADICAL, DUDE.

But for me, the best moments are not found with the winners, it’s with the losers. How do they cope?

What dignity do they show in defeat? How do they not shout out the F-word really loudly when they stuff up four years of work by bouncing the wrong way on a diving board?

I force my kids to watch these uncomfortable moments because it’s important they see the flip side of success.

Sadly their main reference point – social media – is filled with winners not losers, it’s all shiny happy people having fun.

But Amanda says we need to witness a bit of failure at the Olympics to give perspective. Picture: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Tears, and not happy ones, are important for children to see, says Amanda. Picture: Luke Hales/Getty Images

So this is what they’ve come to expect in their own life – success, popularity, achievement seemingly without effort.

You just put on a bit of lip gloss and dance around in front of a camera and BANG you’re living it, everybody “likes” you so that’s enough.

When life goes pear-shaped as it inevitably will, they can’t cope. Don’t want to sound like an old Karen, but kids these days have no resilience.

Losing can be a lonely place, but it’s a reality of life. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

If it doesn’t go their way IMMEDIATELY they go to pieces. They have no grit, no mettle.

We haven’t helped placing “wellbeing” at the forefront of kids sports, handing out end-of-season participation medals to the entire team, even the kid who was totally crap, cried when play came near them and spent more time looking at their freshly-picked boogers than the ball.

Apparently they’re entitled to the same accolades as the kid who kicked the goals, put in an effort and worked hard.

That’s not a parental podium finish, that’s a failure. Kids need to know how it hurts to lose or else they’ll never reach for a win. But perhaps I’m the loser? Discuss.

Originally published as The Olympic wins are great, but the losses are so important for our children to witness | Amanda Blair