In sports, people reach their peak very early. You have to move

The voice of Greg Louganis, champion of the waters, speaks to us across time: “In sports, people reach their peak very early. You have to move on. I don’t know if I will ever surpass what I did at the Olympics, but I’m still doing the work I always wanted to do.” These words shine like a torch in the night, for they reveal the fate of those who chase greatness: the peak of glory comes swiftly, but the mountain of life rises far beyond that moment. It is not enough to triumph once; one must learn to live after triumph, to find meaning not only in the roar of crowds but in the quiet labor of the soul.

From the ancients we know that the athlete’s body, though powerful, is but a fleeting vessel. Youth surges with strength, yet time is relentless, eroding sinew and speed. In the Olympics of Greece, victors were crowned with olive wreaths, but the laurel soon withered, and the same champions who once stood as gods among men were later forgotten. Louganis, in his humility, acknowledges this truth: that peak performance may pass, but the work of the spirit endures. He teaches us that life is not merely about reaching the summit once, but about finding purpose in the long journey that follows.

Consider the tale of Leonidas of Rhodes, who won four running events across four different Olympic Games. For twelve years he was hailed as the fleetest of men, his name inscribed in the annals of glory. Yet after his speed faded, he, too, had to walk in the shadow of his own greatness. His story reminds us that no matter how radiant the triumph, there comes a day when we must turn from applause to the still labor of living. Louganis embodies this same wisdom: that one may not always surpass the heights of youth, but one can still live with dignity and devotion to higher callings.

So what does this mean for us, who may not dive from platforms or race in the stadiums of the world? It means that in every craft, every dream, there may come a time when our peak passes, when the world no longer crowns us, when our strength is not what it was. Yet that does not diminish our worth. True greatness is not only in the height of t