(Stanza VI)

The eight his feet.

strangely enough, the eight other athletes who were ahead of him stopped in
theirtracks. Though they had trained hard for so long to compete with one another
and win medals, the fall of one athlete changedItheir minds. Theynow returned one
byoneand helped the fallen one stand up on his feet.
(StanzaVu M.Manish
Thenall on the mark.
Then all the nine athletes joined hands and walked to the finishing line together.
The hundred metre race was reduced to a walk. But still it was special for the great
display of human compassion,cooperation and sportsman spirit. It could not have
been more specialin any way.
Stanza V
That's how .Every will.
All the runners reached the end point together by holdingeach other's hands.
The race ended with all of them as winners. They stood in smiling faces under the
banner that declared, it as a 'Special Olympics'. Those smiling faces touched the
heart of everyone present there. It delivered something special, a great feeling and a
great lesson. They were rewarded with a gold medal each. All of them were smiling
and their smile said more than the Words could say.
5. Essay
Write a critical appreciation of the poem "Nine Gold Medals" by David Roth
1. Introduction
,/David Roth's "Nine Gold Medals tells the true story of the 100 metre race at a
1976 event held by the Special Olympics. As the race begins, the poem's speaker
recounts, one runner stumbles and falls over. \Instead of trying to win the race as
might be expected, however, the other runners turn around to pick their fallen colleague
up, and all nine competitors end up crossing the finish line hand in hand. The poem
praises this act of kindness,suggesting that the runners display of empathy is a far
greater victory than merely winning the race would have been.
2. Nine people waiting for the sound of the gun
The first stanza starts by telling us how there are many athletes present to
participate in the Specil Olympics. They have come from all over the world and in
numerous countries. The medals they are competing for are gold, silver and bronze.
 50

Further, it tells us the rigorous training these athletes go throughntfor many months i
order to partake in these events for winning a medal.JFurther, the second stanza
takes us through the large audience which is present there as it cheers on for the

We see how they cheer on through the day and enjoy merril Finat
participants. the most awaited events
is one of
the last event arrives, which is race.) It
who are going to participa.
announcers have announced the names of the runners vis
participating and all of them
inthis hundred-metre race In total, nine people are them are now waiting for the
to win as they line yp behind the starting point. All of
sound of the gun.
falls
3. Differently-abled athlete experiences when he
the runners
As the pistolexplodes, it is a signal for the race to begin. Thus all
occurs
charge ahead along their particular tracks. However, an unexpected incident
to the
The shortest athlete stumbles and staggers and eventually, falls on his knees
ground.JThe next stanza takes us through the emotions the differently-abled athlete
experiences when he falls. UHow frustratingit is to go through this after training
rigorously for such a long time.J As he falls, he sees his dreams and aspiratiors
come crashing down.) Thus he lets out a cry becaUse of the pain and
frustration.However, the scene does not end there. Astrange thing happens after he
falls The other athletes who are ahead of him stop and return one by one They do
so to help him out and make him stand up on his feet. JAt this point they see past al
their hand work and training throughout these years.
4. The sportsmen stand together under the banner 'Special Olympics'
After picking him up, they join hands and start walking towards the finishing line
together. So we see how they reduced the hundred metre race to a walk. However,
it was better because we got to see the grand demonstration of human compassion,
team work and sportsmen spirit.JFinally, the last stanza tells us that as the athletes
ended the race together, hand in hand, they allwin nine gold medals. Everyone gets
one as they deserve it. With their smiling faces, the sportsmen stand together under
the banner of Special Olygpics'. Seeing al these, athletes smileheartly that touched
the heart of the audience.Un other words,the gesture delivered a special message
as well as a great lesson. So the poet feels this mere poem cannot do justice to the
whole experience.
5. Conclusion
\The poem "Nine Gold Medals' tells us about the spirit of sportsmanship and
compassion. Moreover, it explores human kindness and empathy. All in all, all the
athletes justified the true meaning of Special Olympics)