Agony

Agony? Hardly, she should be holding her head high and have nothing to be ashamed about. Sure the disappointment is understandable, but three Olympic golds is nothing to be ashamed about and today she just got beat by a better wrestler.

Congratulations to them both!

Agony

Because the phrase "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat " was often used in the reporting of previous Olympics

Her 'agony' will be gone and turn into a humor and laughter when she appears in 'variety' shows on J-tvs.

Because the phrase "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat " was often used in the reporting of previous Olympics

Well not so much, it was actually the tag line from an American Broadcasting Company sports show.

“ Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition... This is ABC's Wide World of Sports! This was spoke by Jim McKay for the intro to the ABC sports show starting somewhere around 1961.

Our word agony comes from the ancient Greek work agon, or contest.

Oh....The good old days...the old NBC commercials; "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat" - Yeah I remember that and the bobsled accident video during the "agony of defeat" part of the commercial......indeed - the good old days

Her 'agony' will be gone and turn into a humor and laughter when she appears in 'variety' shows on J-tvs.

Yes, there will be an endless parade of olympic athletes on all the big three shows... talk-quiz-food.... and a slew of vaguely tied in commercials for every product under the sun... shade.... etc.

Yeah, why can't they be like other countries where the Olympic medalists are never shown on TV nor heard from again (until maybe the next Olympics) once the Olympics are done?

The agony of being on the podium ? Come on.....

Say goodbye to those Alsok commercials. Only gold counts in Japan.

Not agony. It's sports.

Sports help bring out the innate characteristics of a person and to learn in the spirit of healthy competition. The art of teamwork, of co-operation, of accepting defeat gracefully and displaying humility within victory, is what was taken to be the meaning of sport. It's about bringing forth a person's character. The spirit is present within a sportsman, and the game or match help to display it. In the end a sportsman who accepts defeat gracefully proves the magnanimity of his or her character through his or her game or match this showing the capacity to react to any failures in life.

The agony of being on the podium ? Come on.....

It's her first Olympics without her father, she wanted to get the gold in his memory.

It's the taking part that counts, isn't it,

From our (spectators) point of view, winning silver or bronze is a huge honor. But I've actually read comments in papers over the years from some Olympic silver and bronze medalists saying that it sucks. Gold is what they worked for during their countless hours, days, weeks and years of training. They have to put on a happy face on the podium, but after that, they probably put the medal in a drawer at home and never look at it again.

In a way, I can understand that. We all know Usain Bolt won the 100 meters in London in 2012. Does anyone remember the silver and bronze medalists in that race (without googling it)? Every athlete wants to be known as a Olympic gold medalist.

I read in some Australian papers last week the massive disappointment because the swimmers didn't bring home the expected number of gold medals. Out came all the explanations and what to do about it.

Personally, I think anyone who competes in the Olympics has achieved a milestone in their chosen sport, even if they finish last.

Have a good time and enjoy the occasion. That's what I say.

Well, every athlete can't win gold.

it was actually the tag line from an American Broadcasting Company sports show

Thanks DQ, you're right, now I feel even older

No one always wins gold medal. All players seem to have more or less agony even if won or lost.

Every time I hear that phrase I see that skier wiping out on the slalom course when I was a kid

'The thrill of victory. And the agony of defeat.'

I'm a runner. We talk about "The agony of da feet."

Yoshida-san has a BRONZE medal from the world cup (before Beijing Olympic) hanging on the wall in her room. And that's the only medal she has displayed in her room, along with the newspaper article that reported the defeat. She said that this bronze medal counts to her the most because that was the time when she went back to zero to begin a fresh start -- and then she won the gold medal at Beijing.

When she lost (after 119 wins), she cried and cried, but her mother told her that it means 119 people cried when she won all those matches. Told her to use the defeat to win the next time.

Of course, she was disappointed that she did not win the gold medal this time, but I am sure she is strong enough to use this to bounce back to win again.

I love this girl, she is a champion with or without a gold :)

I am sort of tired of seeing the replays over and over and over and over and over and over again.....and again and again and again....

Picture of the day : Saori makes Helen feel guilty of winning.

"The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat " was often used in the reporting of previous Olympics

Actually it was used in the opening of the 1970's US TV show "Wide World of Sports".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2AZH4FeGsc

I was actually up early this morning watching the disappointing match on TV. Soon after the loss, the uncontrollable grief appeared, and she had an immediate television interview with tears. I thought she would get it together for ceremony, but it was rather uncomfortable to watch her cry during the whole ceremony. I'm quite sure she gave her full dedication to her passing father.

If you try your best and are beaten by a better player, then you know next time the level you need to be at, and that drives to improve even more. That's what competition means, to strive together.

The agony term is really a misnomer and for me refer to Mr Agony, the guy who spectacularly wiped on the ski hill from ABC Sports back in the day, so, kinda yeah, not that

Watched this news first thing in the morning, and managed to hold back my tears... until she mentioned her late father and her disappointment in herself and I cried like a bitch

"Sports help bring out the innate characteristics of a person and to learn in the spirit of healthy competition. The art of teamwork, of co-operation, of accepting defeat gracefully and displaying humility within victory, is what was taken to be the meaning of sport. It's about bringing forth a person's character. The spirit is present within a sportsman, and the game or match help to display it. In the end a sportsman who accepts defeat gracefully proves the magnanimity of his or her character through his or her game or match this showing the capacity to react to any failures in life."

Very true. Sponsors and TV commercial makers don't like their stars tarnishing their image.

The drama that has been made of her loss is very disturbing and an eyesore. All great thing come to an end and She was bound to loss to at some stage in her career and I found her uncontrollable crying on the prodium during the medal awards as arrogant and took the joy away from the other girls especially the gold medal winner. The media and she the Yoshida herself are making it look like it was a God given Right for her to win gold.

The woman is a champion and has won more than her fair share of golds in the past, so it is simply disgusting the display she made and also that the media made about her silver. "Agony"?? WHY? Silver is nothing to balk at, and all this takes away from the American woman's victory. Instead of celebrating it and Yoshida's silver, we see countless tears and complaints about 'agony' and 'loss' (doesn't help that Icho said something along the lines of "silver means you lost"). It's pretty hard to keep my respect for Yoshida with the behaviour in the interview and on the podium. Lots of people fail to win gold, or even any medal at all, but they keep it together (especially after having won so many in the past). I understand feeling bad and even maybe crying a bit at the point of losing the match, but seriously... that was TOO pathetic at the ceremony, and I feel sorry for the other winners.

I LOVE JAPAN TEAM <3

going apoplectic after not winning a gold is not sports, sportsmanship, let alone the Olympics. Something is seriously broken there

"The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat"

I fondly remember watching ABC's Wide World of Sports as a kid. It was always shown after the Saturday morning cartoons. Those were the days ...

Actually it was used in the opening of the 1970's US TV show "Wide World of Sports".

Which Droll Quarry mentioned many posts before yours

The photo doesn't visually make sense. It's a mock up of two separate shots.

drilucifer:

You make an excellent point. Sports does not help develop an athlete's character, but rather, help bring out the innate characteristics of a person. One way sports help revel a person's character is by how a certain sportsman will react to loss. A sullen loser shows how he or she is incapable of handling defeat gracefully and any setback both on and off the field. On the other hand victory can reveal whether a person can be humble and thankful achieving what they want to, or whether they will be vain and arrogant about it.

Japan's done really well in the wrestling - and silver's hardly an embarassment in her case...

himajin: "It's her first Olympics without her father, she wanted to get the gold in his memory."

And? So she's just going to cry and show the world she's a poor sport because she thought she should get it since her father died? Do you think her father would approve more of her uncontrollable blubbering if it meant not getting the gold, or a proud silver winner who's not perfect, but does her best?

Otsukaresama, Yoshida-san ! Nothing at all to be ashamed of !

Dre. Hund that photo is one shot. It was taken on the wrestling mat right after match. That's the referee in the background. They both were crying at the same time.

I just saw her on TV bawling her eyes out, saying "gomen nasai" repeatedly and then scowling while on the podium. Bad sportsmanship, if you ask me.

her uncontrollable blubbering

Is it worth posting twice for critisizing some athlete even if whose behavior happened to disgust you?

Wrestling requires tremendous strength and stamina -- it takes everything out of a person, and even winning can feel like agony in the seconds after the match.

Great photo.

Cry baby. You're there to compete, not to win.

It really does reflect badly on this country when a loss sends players and athletes into hysterics.

Soccer, baseball and rugby fields, to name just a few, are virtual kindergartens who have skipped nap time when on the losing end.

And? So she's just going to cry and show the world she's a poor sport because she thought she should get it since her father died? Do you think her father would approve more of her uncontrollable blubbering if it meant not getting the gold, or a proud silver winner who's not perfect, but does her best?

Just relaying the reason I heard on TV didn't say I endorsed it.

Just saw footage of this. Unsightly and a disrespectful to others. Some are not great at controlling their emotions but this was a bit OTT.

Anyway, those Japanese women kick arse in the wrestling.

Oh, the agony of a silver medal, lol

What a baby, WAaaaaaH.

Yu yu where are yu

DieRealityCheck: "Is it worth posting twice for critisizing some athlete even if whose behavior happened to disgust you?"

It is when you've watched more replays and feel more disgusted than in the previous comment. Yes, even in those two hours I started hearing the excuses (like the one Himajin relayed) and the defensiveness, etc. So, it can be added to, yes. She should apologise to the other medalists, not her father and the fans -- she didn't do badly at all getting silver, but she sure was a bad sport after the match.

Poor old Saori, cheer up! There is no shame in finishing second for once. Sure, some Japanese would consider that she has "let them down" as they "expected" her to win Gold - but they are not true sports fans anyway, just dumb glory-hunters whipped into a frenzy by the local media. Most will be super proud of the great effort.

clamenza, Saori Yoshida no longer works for ALSOK, so she wouldn't have been appearing in any new CMs for them anyway. I am sure she will do fine if she decides to retire from competition. She can coach, she can be a commentator, she can appear on various TV shows. Gold, silver, I don't think the number of opportunities will change. Well done Japan women's wrestling team!

Oh....The good old days...the old NBC commercials; "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat" - Yeah I remember that and the bobsled accident video during the "agony of defeat" part of the commercial......indeed - the good old days

Twas ABC, not NBC. The "agony of defeat" clip was of Yugoslavian ski jumper Vinko Bogataj during the 1970 Winter Olympics in Oberstdorf, Germany falling in the chute during his second run and tumbling off the edge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKEDD1i4oGk

clamenza, Saori Yoshida no longer works for ALSOK, so she wouldn't have been appearing in any new CMs for them anyway. I am sure she will do fine if she decides to retire from competition. She can coach, she can be a commentator, she can appear on various TV shows. Gold, silver, I don't think the number of opportunities will change. Well done Japan women's wrestling team!

Seeing as how she showed the requisite penance for the old guard, Im sure she'll get a job doing something, somewhere.

But as many posters have pointed out, what a shame she decided to make the medal ceremony about herself and taking the moment away from the other two medalists.