Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Assumptions

I want to introduce you to two young triathletes. They swim, cycle and run triathlons together. Their names are Connor and Cayden Long and they were just named Sports Illustrated's SportsKids of the year.


Take five minutes and watch this video. Trust me.

Their story is not about winning the race. It is about giving something to someone else and finding a way to connect with someone you love. He could have chosen to bring his brother to watch his races from the sidelines. Or he could chose to race together.

This story is also about advocacy. It is pretty impressive how this articulate young man is able to explain how he wants to make a difference and to hear him say that he wants people who don't care to start caring.

At first they reminded me of the amazing Team Hoyt that I had the honour of watching run the last stretch of the Boston marathon in 2011.

Team Hoyt is a father and son team. They are incredible and inspire a lot of people.

But Team Long are two brothers. Young brothers who, at an age when many siblings don't want much to do with each other, decided to do triathlons together. Decided to train together. Decided to sacrifice speed for partnership. Decided to make a difference in each others' lives AND teach people a thing or two about false assumptions.

Watch the video.

And then think about all the assumptions that this five-minute video just challenged...about how kids behave, how families work, what disability means and what it really means to be an athlete.

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