Winning is fun and usually losing is not, but ultimately games are not about the outcome. Sports around the globe provide people a chance to create a community around their teams, which is an amazing way to bring people together. And sometimes we forget that the sport itself is not about who wins, but instead, it is more about the spirit of competition and what it brings out in people. 

 

The year 2021 was full of moments in the sporting world that was much bigger than any sport. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics provided many special moments to people around the world, and proved to us once again that athletes are much more than athletes and games can inspire people from all walks of life. 

Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles put mental health before trophies

First, it was 23-year-old Naomi Osaka exited Wimbledon and passed on the French Open) to focus on her mental health. Osaka showed the world that elite athletes are people and that we cannot expect them to be like their video game characters. In recent years more people than ever have been dealing with mental health issues and yet society has not found a compassionate way to talk and deal with it. 

 

Simon Biles, widely acknowledged as the greatest female gymnast, arrived at Tokyo 2020 with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Biles was expected to complete a clean sweep in the gymnastics events that she was going to compete in. Then things started to go wrong during the qualifying rounds. Biles subsequently pulled out of the women’s all-around and the women’s team event, explaining that she had lost her air-awareness – a phenomenon known as the “twisties.” 

 

Biles and Osaka became bigger than sports when they openly discussed that they were focusing on their mental health instead of worrying about winning. Their impact will be widley felt around the globe as many people deal with all sorts of mental health issues and have been afraid to publicly acknowledge them. These women showed that mental and physical health are connected – and that there is no shame in doing whatever is needed to prioritize your wellbeing. 

Biles still wins bronze and Suni Lee takes gold

Biles was seen cheering on her teammates and showed that even though she was not in the best place mentally she could still do her best to help support her team. After much speculation if Biles would compete at all – she ended up taking bronze on the balance beam. That single medal combined with her team spirt showed her deep resilience much more than if she would have won multiple golds.

 

Biles dropping out of all her other events opened the door for Suni Lee, who ended up winning gold in the women all-around and bronze in uneven bars. Lee who was not expected to be a major player at the Olympic Games became the face of the USA women’s team as she made the most of her opportunity. Women at different stages of their careers dealing with different but very similar pressures both showed up authentically for themselves and their teammates, and preceded to inspired the world. 

Tom Daley showed us the true meaning of Pride

Daley wept beautiful tears of joy as he and Matty Lee took gold in the men’s synchronized 10-meters, which represented the culmination of a lifetime’s work. Not just the countless amount of work put into perfecting his sport, but the work it took to overcome all the life obstacles that came his way. 

 

Speaking about his sexuality with openness and genuineness, Daley has helped redefine what it means to be an athlete. After taking gold, he spoke passionately about this. “When I was younger, I always felt like the one who was alone and different and didn’t fit … I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see, no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone,” he said. “You can achieve anything.” 

 

Thanks to Olympic pioneers such as Daley, the 2020 Olympics has been deemed a “rainbow Olympics”, with at least 172 LGBTQ+ athletes competing in Tokyo – more than three times as many as in Rio, 2016. Daley, who is also now a knitting icon, is amongst many athletes in 2021 who are publicly making it completely normal to be yourself. It is about damn time the world starts celebrating our differences as humans and stops shamming people for who they are. 

Marcus Rashford raised the bar on being more than an athlete

At 23 years old, Marcus Rashford is not only a national hero but he has been deemed the “leader of the opposition.” He is passionately fighting against racism, homelessness and child hunger in the United Kingdom. Rashford has been a driving factor in getting the British government to change their course on free school meals twice. His attempts to change the schooling system didn’t stop with meals, he also launched a reading initiative in 2021 to help families have more access to books. 

 

No. 10 on Manchester United has been rightfully praised for using his platform to be a political activist and philanthropist to drive societal change. In January 2021, Rashford was awarded The Guardian Footballer of the Year. In February, he was listed on Time magazine's 100 Next list and in April was named as part of Forbesmagazine's 30 Under 30, Europe Sports & Games. 

 

The following month, Rashford became the youngest person to be ranked No. 1 in the Sunday Times Giving List, the newspaper's annual measure of "the generosity of those financially best equipped to make a difference".

 

We the people not only need more athletes that care as much as Rashford – we are in desperate need of a greater number of us who are passionate about creating positive change. If you have a heart than you can take inspiration form the young man who uses his experiences of growing up in a low-income household to destigmatize and advocate for such children today. 

 

Rashford, Biles and Daley represent the best of this new generation of athletes/people who are determined to use their platform to create social change. The year 2022 is one to follow their lead and do our part in the cultural shift that is happening.