Inspired (TT column 09.12.13)

As a sportsperson inspiration is vital. Whether it helps you get out of bed at the crack of dawn to spend a few hours slogging up and down a swimming pool or to head out for a run in the rain during the long cold winter months; somewhere in the back of your mind I am sure that there will be something or someone who has given you reason to find that drive. After London 2012 the tag line "inspire a generation" was arguably overused and a year on national sporting institutions have been reviewing the legacy left by those performances we witnessed at the home Olympics.
Athletes are expected to inspire people, young and old, although it is normally presumed that they themselves will have had someone inspire them along their journey. It is a question I have been asked by many children during school visits or had to fill in for competition profiles and something I still have to stop and think about. This is not because I struggle to find inspiration but I do struggle to name just one and the dilemma of whether it should it be a sporting hero, a family member or maybe a coach or teacher.
I am sure that all of us will have done something to inspire people throughout our lives but we may struggle to do so to the same degree as the late Nelson Mandela. I cannot begin to comprehend the lengths that the former South African president went to for his country, he was and still is an inspiration to not only his fellow countrymen but everyday people like you and me across the world. Rest in peace.