British Guy Gives Medals To Olympic Athletes Who Finish In Fourth Place
David Mitchell from Derbyshire, UK has taken it upon himself to start awarding athletes participating in the London 2012 Olympics with medals for fourth place. Bookshop owner Mitchell has already created medals for British divers Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield, who came fourth in the men’s synchronized 10m platform diving and he is planning on giving out more.
David Mitchell from Cromford, studied the history of the Olympics and concluded times have changed.
“There used to be 84 countries in the Olympic Games, now there are 204,” said Mr Mitchell.
“There has been an increase in competitiveness and higher standards need to be taken into account.”
David purchased the medals with his own money at his local trophy store and had them customized to his specifications. On one side would be the athlete’s name and event and on the other, “In Recognition of your 4th Place Olympic Games 2012.” The first recipients? British divers Peter Waterfield and Tom Daley.
The pair was well on its way to a medal (and possibly even the gold) when they botched their fourth dive. In the end that mistake was enough to knock the duo just off the podium. In a tweet following the match, Daley summed up his feelings:
Well now, thanks to Mitchell, Daley and his partner will have something to show for their performance, which though disappointing, left them as the fourth best synchronized divers in the world. And after all, being the fourth best anything in the world is something worth celebrating.
Mitchell is not limiting his operation to athletes from the UK. He’s said he plans to send medals to select fourth place finishers from around the world. His only worry?
“I hope they don’t find it insulting, because it’s meant seriously and supportively.”
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Its very kind and generous of Mr Mitchell to give out fourth place medals but it’s not really fair to give to just a select few. Everybody competing in the Olympics tries their hardest and if you give to one you should have to give to all.
Maybe the heads of the Olympic games should look into Mitchell’s idea and consider introducing this new medal for fourth place.
What do you think, should fourth place athletes get medals?
