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From Karnataka Open Educational Resources
→Core Meaning
===Core Meaning===
===Core Meaning===
Olympics are held once every four years. Athletes from all over the world train hard to participate in this event. Winning a medal in the Olympics is the ultimate goal of every athlete of the world. However, the setting or the scene of this poem is that of ‘Special Olympics’. In these Olympics, differently-abled persons, who have some problem/s in a particular part of the body, participate in various sports events. The contestants put in a lot of preparation and practice. Everyone hopes to win a medal. The spectators are as excited as the contestants. They cheer and encourage the contestants.
Of all the events in Olympics, the hundred-metre race is the most prestigious. The athlete, who wins it, is remembered as the fastest man in the world. So, for Special Olympics mentioned in the poem this is the final event, hence the most prestigious. The hundred-yard race is about to begin. The athletes take position at the starting blocks. They begin to run immediately after the starting pistol is fired. However, one of them is unable to run and falls on the track. The action has begun and already one episode has taken place. Notice how eight contestants are strong and run forward, while the ninth, who is the smallest, falls down. He cries out with the pain of disappointment. He has trained hard but does not get the opportunity to show his talent. All his dreams of winning the medal are broken and destroyed.
When the remaining eight contestants saw him fall, they, instead of continuing the race, came to the help of their fellow contestant. All the athletes had dreamt of winning the medal. However, they readily for got their dream and came forward to help the boy to his feet. Then all the nine contestants walked hand-in-hand to the finish line. The audience was so moved by the exemplary behaviour of the contestants that it stood up and clapped. There were now nine winners, instead of one, and each was given a gold medal.
All the contestants displayed empathy turning the Special Olympics into a really ‘special’ one. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s experience from his point of view. Simply stated, empathy is the ability to ‘put oneself in another's shoes’. That is exactly what the eight contestants had done. One look at the fallen contestant had forced them to think ‘what would I have felt if I had fallen?’ and they knew exactly what they had to do. By awarding gold medals to all nine contestants, the authorities honoured their display of empathy, helpful nature and human values.
===Alternative interpretations===
===Alternative interpretations===
