So often we see sport stars on podiums during medal ceremonies when shiny medals and big cheques are being handed out.

There are anthems and confetti and lumps in throats. Emotions well and eyes water. We live vicariously through their glory, our living rooms becoming stadiums in the moment.

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And then we move on. Another race about to start, we switch the tv off and get on with our lives.

After the podium moment, the athlete walks through a throng of accredited media, camera flashes pop, microphones joust for prime voice clips, interviewers beam questions and smiles flash across screens all over the world in milliseconds.

And then life moves on. In the lucky event of an Olympic or World Record having been broken, the glory of the win lingers on the tv networks for a day, if it is just a win without a record, you are lucky to get a mention.

But the audience forget about the years of training and devotion that went into that one single win. The days of getting up early and diving into a cold pool, the cramps, the build up of lactic acid in muscles and pushing through when you wanted to give up. The prizes pale in comparison to the pressure of training. It is seldom fair reward.

The viewers don’t know about sacrifices made by families who have to pay for equipment, flights and physio sessions. About family holidays having to be planned around resorts and destinations where there is a pool big enough to train in, because there are no holidays when you aim for an Olympic medal.
There are failed relationships and broken hearts because there is not enough time to invest in both a partner and the pool. Saying no to alcohol, caffeine and a lot of parties while your peers are living life.

There are months of begging for sponsorships, intercontinental flights in cattle class, sharing basic hotel rooms and trying to avoid diarrhea whilst doing your best to smile through being homesick.

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All for that one moment when you medal, when you are on the podium with the anthem in your ears and a fresh ribbon around your neck.

Is it worth it? Hell yes.

Will the spectators ever understand why athletes put themselves through this for a few seconds of glory? Probably not.

Unfortunately there is a huge void between the glamour of the podium and the grime of early starts and red eye flights. The reality is that sports people are not paid enough for what they put themselves through. Which is why SportsPodium is here to level the playing field. Join us and help us make this a reality.

The SportsPodium Team

Our Website https://sportspodium.io/
Telegram https://t.me/SportsPodiumPublic
GitHub https://github.com/SportsPodium/Documentation
Twitter https://twitter.com/@mysportspodium

Please share this post far and wide and follow us @sportspodium for more information.

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If you missed our earlier blog posts, please see the links below:

• Steem Saturday, Johannesburg, 9 September 2017 Agenda (Part 2)
• Let Us introduce our Executive team - Natalie du Toit
• The unsung heroes of Sport
• My life as an Olympian - By Natalie du Toit
• Red Tape, frustration and the fresh hell of dealing with sports federations
• The SportsPodium projects rockets along
• SportsPodium whitepaper goes live
• Exciting chance for Steemians to get first dibds on Pods