Why Does Everyone Love The Smiling Nicola Adams?
Apart from formerly working on construction sites and as a tea lady behind the scenes on UK TV’s Coronation Street, she is Britain’s only boxer to have retained a gold medal in consecutive Olympics. That is a very good reason in itself. But there is something else magical about her. It’s that smile. It’s infectious.
Greatest Long Distance Runner Always Smiled
A smile adds value to an athlete. People remember stars that smile more than stars that don’t! Here’s Elizabeth Egan, former head of High Performance Sport, University of East London (and author of Altitude Training Travel Guide) talking about how a smile adds value to an athlete’s worth. “It’s interesting the power of a smile & personalities in sport. ……. but if you ask the general public ‘who is the greatest distance runner of all time?’ they will probably say Haile Gebrselassie despite the fact that he has lost all 3 of his world records, two of them to his fellow countryman Kenenisa Bekele”. Gebrselassie always had a big smile. Everybody loved him. Everybody remembers him (partly because of his wonderful smile – it’s infectious!).
Elizabeth Egan
Brazil’s Greatest Footballer Always Smiles
Ask who was Brazil’s greatest footballer ever and most people will say Pele but in fact, Brazilians will tell you it was Garrincha. But he didn’t have Pele’s smile & friendly style. People remember Pele. Here is that beautiful photograph of Pele and England’s 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore smiling as friends, after their epic 1970 battle. It is such a great photograph, I put it on the cover of my sportsmanship book (the last image at the bottom of the cover). People remember the smile.
New Snooker Superstar Plays With A Smile On His Face
Meet Sunny Akino from Thailand. Just 22 years old and he gave the most fantastic snooker performance seen in years, two weeks ago against his hero, the 5 times world champion, 44 year old Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ O’Sullivan. Read the full story here. Sunny continuously smiled and thanked Ronnie for the game and Ronnie (smiling too) says all of Britain loves Sunny because, on top of being a world class snooker player, ‘he played with a smile on his face’.
Smiling Improves Your Running
Dr Noel Brick (University of Ulster) and colleagues studied the impact of smiling on running and its positive impact. Previous research has supported the beneficial effects of relaxation training on running economy. This research explored the benefits of periodic smiling and found it may improve movement economy during vigorous intensity running. Read the summary findings.
Try To Smile As Much As You Can
They used to give medals for poetry in the Olympics. The last gold medal for poetry was awarded in London 1948 Olympic Games. Here is a 60 second poem about smiling. It should be read out at all games and remembered throughout your life. Try to remember this invaluable little poem about smiling, narrated by Malcolm Weaving, from the Campaign For Courtesy
My very good friend, former Irish rugby international hero, Ollie Campbell told me that every student in every school across the world should be allowed to hear this beautiful poem. So sit back and enjoy it.
Malcolm Weaving
So there, you have it. A lifetime Tip – use your smile. It’s an international language and will help you to get more things done, make more friends and oil the wheels of life. We don’t know who wrote this poem. If you do – please tell us. Or also tell us how a smile helped you – we’d love to hear your story. Remember ‘smiling is infectious’.
It really is.
Try it. Smile more today.
See the TED Talk about smiling by Ron Gutman
—end—
If you like this poem, you might also like this other, even shorter, poem about sportsmanship. It is visually beautiful with amazing ornate graphics & makes a great Christmas gift or birthday present if you print it and frame it. We don’t know who wrote that poem either and have a 10 year ongoing discussion about it. Let us know if you know.
PS If you like this post, you might also enjoy
The 2017 Top 10 Sportsmanship Moments
You might also like the other poem about sportsmanship
or How Sportsmanship Can Save The World – my TEDx Talk
Thank you to John Bustard for alerting me to the research supporting Smiling Improves Your Running . Here’s the full reference:
Brick, N., McElhinney, M., & Metcalfe, R. S. (2018). The effects of facial expression and relaxation cues on movement economy, physiological, and perceptual responses during running. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 34, 20-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.09.009
Former Irish and Lions rugby fly half hero, Ollie Campbell, just told me that The Smile Poem is absolutely fantastic. Every school should hear this every day!”
Ollie went on to tell me that, in his familiy’s house, “If the children can’t recite The Smiling Poem over Christmas they won’t be getting any presents!!!!!!!!”
I cannot remember anymore who said it “You are never fully dressed without a smile.”. That’s true for oh so many situations in life. Long time ago I too was a professional athlete. Walking to the start zone – smiling – made a big difference. Aside from easing inner stress and tension – it helps to project confidence and boosts the excitement for the upcoming competition. Now, don’t get me wrong – being focused and centered (in the zone) is as important. But putting on a smile makes it harder to get hijacked by your amygdala .
Here’s a short video a dear friend of mine asked me to do with him at a spontaneous run in during a business trip in the US: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC4AyCgQKv8. Not related to sport, but as important.
Excellent video – very relevant as it’s largely about empathising, being human and SMILING!
Plus that is a really great little video Tom. Thanks for sending it.
What was your sport and what level did you compete?
I was a professional swimmer competing on national and european level.