Re: “There’s more to the Olympics than the medal count,” Feb. 21 letters to the editor.
I disagree with the letter-writers who stated that medals at the Olympics don’t matter and participation and sportsmanship are what is really important. Many factors make up a great country; certainly one of those factors is how well our athletes compete and succeed on the world stage. No stage is larger than the Olympics. How sad if our athletes simply thought that being there and participating was all the reward they needed. Too many in our country have the show-up mentality: if they show up, they feel they deserve some sort of participation award. The real world rewards hard work and success, and while I enjoy watching all the athletes compete in the Olympics, I certainly feel immense pride when our athletes are on the podium. We have seen many great feats by our American athletes and we should all be proud.
Mark Smith, Denver
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