People are amazing

People really are amazing.  As I write this (bar 2 glasses of red) I am indeed sober - this overwhelming affection for my fellow man is not substance induced, but born of the sheer respect I felt when watching the heroic, athletic display that was the final of the Australian Open. 

Djokovic and Nadal played some of the most incredible tennis the sport has ever seen.  But beyond that, they demonstrated just how athletic the human body (and in fact that mind) can be.    

By the end of the five hours and fifty minutes you could see, no, feel their pain and exhaustion.  This is for me what makes sport so compelling.  And what’s most exciting is that you get a real sense there is more to come, the bar keeps getting raised higher and higher - much to Murray’s dismay I'm sure!

From one display of sporting excellence, to another...

I've recently been made aware of another truly inspirational feat of athleticism.  I’d never heard of Diana Nyad before my brother sent me a link to her TED talk (much to my detriment since she's obviously awesome).  This incredible woman is trying to achieve something truly amazing.  In the 70’s Nyad was a world record breaking long distance swimmer.  Now, at the age of 62, this summer Diana Nyad will swim from Cuba to Florida.

I don’t know about you, but the only place I plan to swim is from one end of the pool to the other, so her intentions alone are most admirable in my book.  I can’t do her story the justice it deserves, so I'll leave that to her in the video below.  But you must watch it, that's an order.  If you aren’t inspired by this, then frankly I don’t know how to help you, Pal…