True Accomplishment

You know, all of this talk about Lance and Tiger has made me re-examine what I consider to be the greatest athletic achievement in the decade we live in. And this, timed with the re-launch (albeit briefly) of the Space Shuttle program, has drawn me back to an event almost completely unnoticed in the USA.

In this day of doping allegations, and spoiled, ignorant, so-called athletes, 'fan brawls' and statements such as 'I am not a role model', which really translates as, 'let me be as ignorant and unthankful as I can be and live in a manner that is not only completely self-consumed, but is also illegal', I find that true athletic accomplishment is hard to come by.

True, I will give it to Lance, an amazing achievement, no doubt about it. Also, I will give Tiger his due, he has rebuilt his swing three times and still come back to dominate. But, in my opinion, these accomplishments pale in comparison to Maud Fontenoy.

Never heard of her? Join the mass of people who slavishly follow the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL athletes who cry about their multimillion dollar contracts, and go on strike depriving their customers of any service while they golf in FLA awaiting word on their renegotiated contract.

Maud Fontenoy SIMPLY crossed the Atlantic Ocean West to East SOLO. She ROWED across the northern Atlantic over a period of four months, from islands off the coast of Newfoundland to Spain. How many times did she get a special segment on ESPN? She had to BEG for sponsors, a thought alien to someone like LeBron James.

And that was not enough for her; she recently rowed across the South Pacific solo!

She is the only woman to ever cross the Atlantic West <> East, rowing solo. She joins SIX men who have successfully done it. Think about that the next time you are contemplating how great your favorite 'professional' sports figure is. SIX people in HISTORY!

The next time you are watching the hockey players explain why they HAD to go on strike to get a fair deal, think about Maud Fontenoy; drinking seawater the last weeks as her desalinators had broken down, rowing 8-10 hours/day, capsizing innumerable times, driven only by the desire to DO IT. You know that goofy ad on the TV, JUST DO IT? Well, she did...