As we Celebrate Victories of our Heroic Athletes, We must Follow their Untiring Perseverance for Extraordinary Success

BY SOLOMON DIBABA

The Ethiopian athletics champions, traditionally crowned as the Ethiopian green flood, has once again splashed the tracks at Oregon, USA with 10 more medals for their country.  Ethiopia has majestically stood second in the world and first in Africa making history for Ethiopia and Africa. The Ethiopian tricolor was hoisted in Oregon in glory and national pride.

 The victory registered by the gallant Ethiopian athletes is a continuation of the pervious feats that have always been reordered by Ethiopian legend athletes in all international athletics tournaments over the last several decades. The success gained at the 2022 World Championships by Ethiopian athletes is not just a mere sport competitions in which athletes received various levels of medals. It indeed symbolizes a number of important lessons that this writer would wish to explain in greater detail.

The composition of the Ethiopian athletics team shows that the Ethiopian Athletics Federation (EAF) is meritocratic and fairly gender inclusive demonstrating that our female athletes have always demonstrated their skills at all levels of our national endeavors including athletics. Most of the athletes came from rural Ethiopia from different regions and ethnic background. The mix in the team is a vivid manifest of Ethiopia at a small scale.

The victory attained by our brave athletes has been made in a period where the country is facing numerous challenges to the extent of posing a threat to the wellbeing of its people, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

In a statement Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed posted yesterday, he pointed that Ethiopian Unity has survived through perseverance. The premier added that Ethiopia will pursue the path of development it has chosen without losing its direction.

Accordingly, the Ethiopian Athletics Federation and its athletes have demonstrated strong commitment to make a difference at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.  There has been a strong zeal to win and a tenacity to achieve their best hours and minutes to qualify for international tournaments among our athletes and their managers and trainers. This requires a higher level of discipline and commitment on the part of the EAF leadership, the trainers and more particularly the athletes. The victory attained by our athletes show, among other things, rigorous training and discipline and strong team spirit. The victories vividly show there has been excellent relationship among the athletes, their coaches, with a spirit of unity among all the members of the team.

Despite political ramifications at home, our athletes have taught us that Ethiopia is diverse but strongly united irrespective of international political pressure on the country and the socio-economic problems the country is currently facing.

By demonstrating the highest level of professional skills, they demonstrated to the people of Ethiopia and the world that team spirit always brings forth victory in all aspect of public and private life. The team vigorously fought against ethnic mindset, exclusiveness and all kinds of personal and group level challenges they had to face.

The team spirit that our athletes demonstrated at Oregon, USA, is far more decisive and needs to be intensified to discharge national and individual responsibilities, by all citizens here and in the diaspora. In a country like Ethiopia, we should not confuse issues of group  identities with the big picture of Ethiopian unity. Upholding team spirit is of crucial importance to ascertain the fulfillment of the multiple levels and types of development programs and projects in the country.

 It is to be considered that all our athletes and their coaches have worked hard concentrating on their training day in and day out.

 Personal and group discipline among the Ethiopian team has paid off at the 2022 is critical in such championships where world class athletes make fierce competitions. Each member of the team was bound together in a combination of personal and group discipline that was a guarantee for acquiring medals of all types. Discipline needs to be enforced at the place of work, in public service and all spheres of life if Ethiopia is to prosper.

The shining victories that the Ethiopian athletics team has made  is significant and historic as this was achieved at a critical point in which the adversaries of Ethiopia have vowed to disintegrated the country into smaller fiefdoms. This victory clearly indicates the valour of our sons and daughters in up keeping the honor and glory of their country at this difficult situation that the country is forced to face.

The medals our patriotic athletes received usher in a new generation of youth that promotes civic nationalism as opposed to divisive intentions. As we welcome our heroic athletic sons and daughters, we also need to commit ourselves to working together to build Ethiopia, restore peace and stability.

The medals collected by our athletes symbolize the fruits of the unity among our athletes and their managers as well as coaches and is indicative of stepping up efforts for further achievements the country aspires for.

Our athletes can do more; the EAF can do more to register further successes in several other fields in athletics. It is to be noted that there is more to be desired both in athletics and in all our national endeavors.  

Ethiopia Shall Beam Forever by Her Sons & Daughters!