The Cayman Islands has sent 27 athletes to Glasgow, Scotland to compete in the XX Commonwealth Games, the largest number of athletes we have ever sent.

The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee must be congratulated on their hard work in preparing Cayman’s youth to achieve such high standards of not only athletic ability, but the will and determination to compete at the highest levels.

Ronald Forbes, David Hamil, Tyrell Cuffy, Troy Long, Carl Morgan, Carlos Morgan, Ashleigh Nalty, Kemar Hyman, Myron Blair, Eilidh Bridgeman, Julian Jervis, Daniel Murphy, Cameron Stafford and Marlene West, Geoffrey Butler, Lara Butler, David Ebanks, Brett Fraser, Lauren Hew, Alex McCallum, Christopher Jackson, Edison McLean, Andrew Schirn, Tafari Ebanks, Michele Smith and Bethany Dikau, are all competing.

It is fitting that Cayman’s Governor Helen Kilpatrick and Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden are there, too.

We are a small country but a very proud one.

I remember the feeling of great joy when Cydonie Mothersill won Cayman’s first and only gold medal at the 2010 Games in Delhi. We all cheered and clapped like maniacs at our house when she crossed the line first.

Mothersill was a very good winner and an example to all.

Yes, winning is more fun than losing. Yes, there is the comforting fact to compete is better than not competing but it is little comfort when you actually finish last, especially when you have borne the high expectations of a win on your shoulders.

However, winning also creates its own problems. You can be overconfident and cocky. How often I have seen that.

Mothersill was humble in her win.

If you win too often, like Usain Bolt, although you experience the pleasure of victory you also increase the pressure of not to lose.

I read a very interesting article recently that winning a bronze medal at a big competition like the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games can be more rewarding than winning silver.

The article says:

“It seems counter-intuitive. Coming second, after all is better than coming third when it comes to sports rankings and bragging rights. And yet on an emotional basis, for those who miss the gold, bronze may be the medal that soothes the disappointment best, a classic study suggests.

“The idea is that in the self-questioning internal dialogue every athlete goes through after a competition, a silver medalist is focused on what he or she could have done differently to have finished in first place. But a bronze medalist may be awash with relief at making the podium at all.

“The idea that bronze may be more satisfying is explored in “When less is more: counter-factual thinking and satisfaction among Olympic medalists,” a scientific paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 1995.

“Counter-factual thinking is indulging in “what if? or ”if only“ thoughts. ”Thinking about what might have been,“ says Scott Madey, one of the authors of that paper.”

You can read the whole article at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/an-olympic-bronze-can-bring-more-joy-than-a-silver-medal-study-suggests/article16794814/

So all the very best to all of Cayman’s competitors and don’t have a problem with winning. We all want you to win but to do your very best is also a win, too.

See also iNews Cayman today’s story under iNews Briefs “Hyman favourite to win a medal for Cayman at Commonwealth Games”.