Peking University, February 17, 2022: On February 4, 2022, the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was held in China’s National Stadium. International students from Peking University have actively paid attention to, supported, and participated in the Winter Olympics. 30 international students from PKU watched the wonderful opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on site. Tommy Lindsay, who comes from the United Kingdom and grew up in Beijing, is one of them.
 

This time at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Tommy became an opening ceremony spectator and has also grown into an athlete. Tommy has participated in a 60-hour backcountry adventure race on the Greek island of Naxos, is actively participating in the Spartan race, loves running, and joins ultramarathons. For Tommy Lindsay, sport is a spiritual coordinate, a habit in his daily life.

“Sportspeople should be able to understand the meaning and sentiment delivered by the Olympic Games.” Tommy's father was an amateur marathon runner, and his connection with China began when he ran a marathon along the Ming Great Wall of China. The 2000 kilometer route drew Tommy's father to China. Tommy not only inherited his father’s hobby but further ventured into ultramarathons, trying to push his limits with cross-country competitions. A few years ago, Tommy and his brother planned to retrace the marathon route of his father and continue to run eastward in a route of more than 4,500 kilometers. Now that Tommy is about to graduate, he has decided to run an ultramarathon in North China half a year after graduation and will take the route he has planned for several years as his first post-graduation ultramarathon goal.
 

While Tommy’s beloved ultramarathon will not appear at the Winter Olympics, he firmly believes that the spirit of self-improvement and pushing one’s limits hold a special meaning for all sports and everyone. Referring to the snowflake-shaped cauldron holding the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony which symbolized the unity and infectious nature of sports, Tommy felt that the big snowflake could not only be used to interpret the transmission and exchange of sporting spirit between countries, but also to reflect the mutual encouragement of sporting spirit between individuals. Tommy takes the people around him as examples. Influenced by his insistence on training for ultramarathons, many of Tommy's relatives and friends have gradually developed the habit of exercise. Tommy believes that health is the most basic goal of exercising, and constantly motivates those around him to maintain a healthy lifestyle. He believes that the Olympic Games will undoubtedly attract and encourage people to enjoy sports, thus aiding the integration of sports into people’s daily lives.


When it comes to persistence regarding sports, Tommy believes that upholding a growth mindset is the key to breaking one’s limits. This includes setting feasible goals, self-recognition, maintaining an optimistic outlook, and putting things into practice. Tommy’s self-motivation not only allows the body to adapt to the habit of exercise and fitness but also motivates him to become positive. Recalling a Spartan race he once participated in, he acknowledges that this motivation may often come from others. In that race, he saw an amputee firefighter take on the full obstacle course. This opened Tommy’s eyes to the limits of the human spirit and physicality.

In addition to a growth mindset, Tommy believes that identifying with sports in a positive manner will encourage people to love exercising rather than treat them as a mundane task. “I've made running an important part of my self-identity,” Tommy added that the change and establishment of self-identity can push people to view exercise as an integral part of life, stripping it of any stressful purpose.


Although Tommy has always regarded running ultramarathons as one of his hobbies, he has a very clear understanding of his athletic ability, saying that “I want to compete with myself. I do sports not just for grades or medals, but for my health and that of those around me. Exercising is so infectious and attractive, so why shouldn’t I do it?" For Tommy, exploring the limits of human endurance and speed is the meaning of his persistence in running ultramarathons.

Tommy firmly believes that the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will not only attract more people to pay attention to and participate in ice and snow sports but also promote the development of other sports. “As a global sporting event, the Winter Olympics will surely inspire more people with the spirit of sports and spread the vitality brought by sports around the world.”

Written by: See Tian Ai
Edited by: Li Wanqi, Hu Shaocong
Source: Peking University (ISD PKU WeChat Account)