Now that the Olympic Games are beginning to fade from our memory, with the exception of athletes and those closely associated with the Olympic Games, I could not resist the temptation to offer my reflections on the Olympic Games held in London, the place for which I have worked up. the last 20 years or more.

The Olympic Games held in London were undoubtedly a great success for the athletes, volunteers and organizers. Anyone who has ever worked at the Olympics should be congratulated for working on a gigantic task that demands great organization and presentation skills. I offer my congratulations as well.

One question that always comes to mind whenever the Olympics are held is whether the sacrifice of the athletes, coaches and families involved is really worth it.

The question probably removes any guilt I have for not trying too hard to overcome the struggle to get in shape.

But aside from the gold and silver medal winners who can land lucrative endorsement deals during or immediately after games, what happens to them after the media attention is turned off? And his images no longer appear on the front page of newspapers around the world or reach millions of homes. Are they still household names in the months and years after their spectacular achievements?

I decided to do some research on what happened to a couple of gold medal winners from the Beijing Olympics.

Ryu Seung-Min (born August 5, 1982 in Seoul, South Korea), a Korean table tennis player, won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men’s singles competition.

There are few references to Ryu on the web. Ryu’s fame seems limited to table tennis circles. Professional table tennis players’ earnings rarely top six figures and don’t become household names.

How about weight lifting? The 2004 gold medal winner for lifting 105 kg was Hossein Rezazadeh of Iran, nicknamed “The Iranian Hercules.” Rezazadeh tried to cash in on his Olympic achievement by appearing in advertisements promoting real estate in Dubai.

His participation surprised many of his followers and was considered degrading both for him and for his country, given the promotion of the purchase of farms in a land considered rival.

Once again, Rezazadeh is another example of an athlete who has achieved the highest athletic award, a gold medal, and then quietly slides into anonymity. This leads me to wonder why they do it.

Answers on a postcard, please.

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