1 . The Olympic spirit is about sportsmanship, personal sacrifice, and a strong will to reach your goals.     1     Instead, it’s a source of motivation to keep going and try to improve every day.

The importance of the Olympic spirit goes far beyond the sports events. And it’s not just for professional athletes, either.     2     Its goal is to encourage everyone, as people, and as citizens, to incorporate (使并入) these values into their lives.

It’s not easy to describe the Olympic spirit in words. Yet everyone who meets it probably knows what it means. One central aspect is having the knowledge that the greatest reward doesn’t lie in getting to a particular goal or victory.     3    

Of course, we’re not trying to suggest that victory means nothing to an athlete or that goals aren’t important. When we speak of personal or professional dreams or goals, we’re aware that reaching the objective is always one’s greatest wish.

Nevertheless, we shouldn’t forget that victory is the result of a long process. It’s only possible through the effort that leads up to it.     4     Everyone who manages to gain victory has to travel a long way to get there. And it must necessarily include some failures and disappointments, but must never end with the person giving up.

Let’s take a track and field race as an example-just to keep going along the line of this sports thread.     5     But all of the competitors are going to give the best of themselves throughout the competition. And you can expect they’ll continue to do so just to improve themselves even after the race.