Always special to meet an Olympian. But this one's very special .....

There’s  always something cool about meeting an Olympian.

I’ve been lucky to meet some of Australia’s best, including our greatest  marathoners  Rob DeCastella and Steve Moneghetti.

Deeks and I in New York for the NYC Marathon.  Between us we've won the Boston Marathon...

Mona at this year's Run For The Kids.  A real gentleman.

Couple of weeks ago I met Sally Pearson. (And what an absolute delight she was. Unassuming. Funny. Comfortable in her own skin.)

 

But I want to share a story of one particularly inspiring Olympian. To get the ‘punch line’ you have to read (or skip!) to the end. 

Recently I heard the story of Dean Barton-Smith. His Olympic journey started like this:

As a seven year old lying on the floor watching the TV he asked “what’s that Mum?”  “The Olympic Games” his Mum went on to describe.  “Can I do that?” the youngster asked, rather naively. “Yes”, his Mum encouraged, probably not realising the power her words were unleashing.

And so the journey began .....

Well Dean followed that dream, and 17 years later at Barcelona in 1992 Dean represented his country. And not just in ‘any’ event, but in one of track and field’s hardest……...  the decathlon. Ten events in two days, requiring a range of skills like no other.  From the 100m to a 1500m. The long jump to the pole vault. Tough stuff!

 

“So what”, I hear you say. “Many people dream of doing that from a young age.”

 

Well I’ll let you in on the punch line. 

Dean is deaf.

When he was young his mother was told words that could have been a shackle for life ….”He will always be an average kid…..but don’t expect anything greater than that.” 

Through hard work and not accepting anything below his best, Dean didn’t let a little thing like his lack of hearing stop him! Just think about starting the 100m sprint … and not hearing the starter’s gun.

Sure there was “fears, doubts, and uncertainties”. Dean also recognised he needed a broad support team, and especially supportive family and friends.

But one word Dean focused on, as being absolutely necessary, was ‘resilience’.

Resilience, not relying on self talent, or ‘bought’ in an instant, or answers found in self-help slogans.  But resilience built over days, months and years – with the end result being an extra 100th of a second.

I’ve never worked that hard or long, with the end result being such a small improvement.  But that’s what makes Olympians.   And men of character. 

 

Dean speaks of the many of the same things that are important to me;

- Leaving footprints
- Creating a legacy
- Creating a new path and leaving a trail
- Changing people’s lives.

 Dean is a man of character. He also happens to be deaf.

Hasn’t stopped him.

I’m proud to call him my friend and an inspiration. He has made quite the impact on me and my family.

 I encourage you to follow him …. And his ongoing journey.  Being an Olympian is just one small part of Dean’s story. One day I’ll write the story of his being a husband, father, Order of Australia recipient,  YMCA Board member, Masters of Marketing, Surf Life Saving medallist, Volkswagen Beetle lover, and much more.

Twitter:  @DeanDeca

Linked In:  http://au.linkedin.com/pub/dean-barton-smith-am-mmktg-faim-afami-cpm/13/536/22b