I cheered Kirani James on last night as he ran for his country. Not only did he win gold in the 400m, it was the first for Grenada.

It reminded me again of how much appearing and especially winning at the Olympics can mean to small, poor and/or war torn countries. My daughter and I reflected on it last week as we watched the track and field events begin and female athletes appeared for the first time ever to represent their countries.

That is not to minimize the experience or achievement for other athletes, but I think another “layer” was certainly evident when James spoke of his country.