Kunle Smith watched the racers intently from the VIP stand. His eyes were not trained on Martin Dash but on Jeff Stathers. Everyone in Maracana at that time had their eyes trained on Martin Dash because according to the Guinness Book of world records he was the fastest man alive - with a record 8.92 sec in the 100 meter dash.
Jeff Stathers on the other hand was a complete “nobody”; no one in the stands cared about him (apart from family and his team, that is), but here he was competing with the very best. His nation, Guernsey, was hardly known and when his name was mentioned by the commentator, no one batted an eye.
The shot went off and all the racers shot forward; as expected Martin Dash beat everyone to the finish line… and everyone screamed their appreciation at the cheetah’s speed. Stathers, however, barely made it in 11 seconds. Only the commentator noticed it and he didn’t waste words trying to educate the screaming crowd on the last runner’s inefficiency.
Kunle turned to his 12 year old son, Eti, standing beside him. Eti was screaming his lungs out – quite inappropriate for the VIP lounge, but Kunle made no efforts to stop the boy; after all, the boy had come all the way from Nigeria to see his hero. Kunle on the other hand was interested in whoever the loser would be… Jeff Stathers just happened to be that loser
When the ovation died down, Eti turned to his father in excitement “Dad did you see that?”
“Yes son, I saw what you saw but you didn’t see what I saw” Kunle replied
“What did I miss dad” Eti’s eagerness couldn’t be contained
“Did you notice the last man” Kunle asked
“The loser?”
“His name is Jeff Stathers” Kunle replied with a smile that reflected his understanding of Eti’s naiveté
“Why would I notice him dad? Nobody cares about losers”
“God does” Kunle touched his son’s right shoulder “Did you know that three Olympic outings ago, Martin Dash was last in the 100 meter dash?”
“Seriously?” Eti’s eyes popped
“That was the second time he came last in the 100 meter dash” Kunle Continued “You see son, there is a vital lesson in life that people miss… Time and chance happens to us all…”
“I don’t understand dad”
“Whatever happened to Martin Dash 8 years ago to change his fate, can also happen to Stathers” Kunle answered as he rubbed his son’s shoulder “You see, most people will write you off in life when you don’t instantly succeed. God doesn’t; matter of fact, that’s when God is moulding you to fit his plan”
“So?” Eti still didn’t get his dad’s point
“Maybe not this Olympics” Kunle replied “maybe not the next, or maybe not even in the Olympics… but Jeff Stathers will meet greatness… and greatness isn’t what people or the media say about you… Greatness is knowing you are doing exactly what God created you to do”
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