Man Sends Honorable Medals to 2012 Olympians Finishing in Fourth Place
When it comes to the 2012 Olympics, British bookshop owner David Mitchell said it best, “Performance levels have become so much higher that it’s so hard now to get a medal.” Just think about Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, both of whom have won medals by mere seconds ahead of their competitors. But does that make those Olympians who came just shy of placing any less athletic?
Mitchell certainly doesn’t think so, which is why he’s using his own money to craft his own Olympic medals to send out to those fourth-place athletes who he feels deserve to be recognized. “I hope they don’t find it insulting because it’s meant seriously and supportively,” he told BBC News.
Since selling and studying Olympic books in his Derbyshire-located shop, he realized that “there used to be 84 countries in the Olympic Games, now there are 204.” It’s because of the sheer amount of competitors and skyrocketing standards that he came to this decision.
The first two he made these medals for were British synchronized divers Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield, who fell to fourth place over their performance in the 10m platform diving event. “I’m sure that all the sportsmen at the Olympic Games will have a great medal cabinet at home and I just hope there’ll be room in it for one of these medals.”