Thursday, September 27, 2012

Hoping for Gold


In this photo from the Barcelona Olympics, the contestant is clearly anticipating his final scores. The suspense he feels is portrayed well through his stance and facial expression. The anticipation and hope behind this expression are inspired by the will to win. He wants to win for himself, his team, and his country. All of the encouragement received up to this point depends on these results. This one point determines if he is the loser or the winner.  



His hands in a prayer motion are a symbol of his hope and possibly his faith. It is as if he is praying for a win; and praying not to disappoint his country, or more importantly himself. Making it to the Olympics and coming so close to achieving all your dreams is some serious pressure captured in a split second snapshot. The clinched jaw forcing a nervous smile, the tight, anxious stance, the tense facial expression, and the prayer positioned hands all suggest that this contestant has a lot riding on the results. The results could make or break him. Working as hard as he did to get as far as he did in this sport could potentially destroy his confidence or satisfy his thirst to win. Another compelling aspect of this photograph is the number of people in the crowds behind him. This dense crowd suggests that this event is more than just a qualifier, but possibly a final. A final would imply that a lot more is at stake than just simply a qualifying race which would occur rather early and attract less of a crowd. The large crowd also means that he is putting on this show for all of the audience. They are all there to see him either win or fail. As mentioned previously, hope is another key component in this photo. The contestant himself represents his country, and the hope his country has for a medal due to the "USA" printed on his uniform. Overall, this photograph represents, hope, hard work, anticipation, and inspiration through his body language, the crowds, and his representation of his country. 

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