Matthias Steiner

Matthias Steiner is a German weightlifter. He competes in the Super Heavyweight category. He is 25 years old and he won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Now if you heard the above version, you would probably say "ok cool, good for him, so what?". You`d be right to ask cos there is so much more to this story.

Here is the better version.

Matthias Steiner was married to Susann. In 2007, Susann was in a severe car accident. On her death bed, Matthias made a promise that he would win an Olympic Gold Medal, for her, for them. She was always his biggest fan. She passed away shortly after that promise.

So the Olympic Games in Beijing arrive. The competition is fierce in the Super heavyweight category.

Matthias however is struggling. He had already failed not only on one lift but two. He had one lift left. It was make or break for him. He then did something that nobody saw coming. He added 10kg to the weight he had just failed on. Keep in mind that weightlifters usually increase their weight by 2-4kg`s. It was obvious that it was a desperate attempt by a desperate man.

A hush broke over the crowd as Matthias stepped forward. He groaned and yelled as he lifted the weight. Then, he did it. He completed the lift and in doing so beat his own personal best. Not only did he beat his own personal best but he won the gold medal at the Olympics.

On the podium, he received his gold medal. He had a bouquet of flowers in his one hand, the medal around his neck and a photo of his wife in his other hand. He kissed the photo and tried very hard to control his emotions. He had honoured the promise to his wife.

Stories like these always make me so grateful for what I have. Sometimes we concentrate so much on other things that we lose focus on the important things in our lives.

I am so lucky that I have an awesome wife who I can share everything with. She is both my best friend and the love of my life. Sometimes I tend to concentrate on all the problems surrounding me like work pressures or bills to pay and I forget just how blessed I really am.

Thanks Matthias, for showing me how lucky I am.