The tale of Oscar Figueroa is one of grit and persistence.
The 21 year old Colombian weightlifter participated in his first Olympics in 2004. At 165cms and 62kgs, Figueroa had been training and preparing since he was a teenager. In Athens, he finished a commendable 5th, but well short of his goal: a gold medal.
Four years later, Figueroa competed in Beijing but a spinal hernia prevented him from completing a single lift.
This was his lowest point. Tears. Heart ache. Disappointment.
When Figueroa walked out onto the Olympic lifting platform at London 2012, it had been 8 years since he’d successfully completed a lift on the Olympic stage. Despite setting an Olympic record on his lift, he was still beaten, and took home a silver medal.
Refusing to give up, Figueroa participated in his fourth Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Figueroa braced himself on the weightlifting platform and propelled the 176kgs above his head. He lifted 26kgs more than his first Olympic outing in 2004 to finally win a gold medal at age 33.
Following this personal best performance, Figueroa symbolically took off his shoes and placed them on the platform to signal his retirement.
As we admire Figueroa’s journey, it’s a nice reminder to remember the grit and persistence hidden in the 4,380 days between his Olympic debut and his gold medal win.