Day 2 and 3 of the World University Games delivered as we always expected. I remember walking down the street, contemplating the meaning of my place in the world. While I made some progress on that front, my attention was more readily directed towards the place of our Tigers in the world; attaining seventh and ninth position for Long Jump and Triple Jump respectively. What a time to be alive to see these results.
Every nation has it's heroes, and ours can be seen right here staring into our souls.
During Day 2, Jessie Harper excelled in the Women's Long Jump Final. I would not be surprised if her name is added to the definition of "excel" in the next Oxford Dictionary edition. The Italians did not know what they were in for, when Jessie jumped a total of 6.30m to come 7th in the world. That is a monumental achievement. Forget the Leaning Tower of Pisa ladies and gentlemen, or the Colosseum for that matter. Despite being such important Italian cultural landmarks, we know the real inspiration at this time was seeing Jessie perform at the track. Heck, with the passion, blood, sweat and tears Jessie brought, as her ears rung with the sound of unruly, boisterous cries, the track might as well have become a Colosseum. Congrats Jessie on shining at the world stage and making Casey Sims weep with joy.
Jessie, utterly enthralled at being added to the Oxford Dictionary (Photo Credit to Athletics Australia).
Day 3 saw Shemaiah James return to the track. Shemaiah is a man of focus, and sheer commitment, much like John Wick. When he sets his mind at pursuing a target (sporting goals in this instance) there is nothing that can stop him, as shown when he jumped 15.73m in the Men's Triple Jump to come 9th worldwide. Join me and Stacey Taurima in raising our glasses to this man and toasting to his great hair. We need someone to make a movie based off Shemaiah's life; perhaps myself and Stacey should collaborate on such a project. It would be the feel good film of the century and would be universally adored by all audiences, especially the Italians, after seeing this man in the flesh. Congrats Shemaiah! You've done it again.
The moment you realise you've become an International super star, and your hair is holding beautifully for the cameras (Credit to Athletics Australia for Photo).
