The Tears and Toil Behind the "Flying Fish" Olympic Gold Medals

The Tears and Toil Behind the "Flying Fish" Olympic Gold Medals

The 2016 Rio Olympics have officially begun, and top athletes across the Olympic events have been locked in closely fought contests over the past several days. As always, the athlete drawing the most attention is the "Flying Fish", Michael Phelps. He has now won the 22nd gold medal of his Olympic career, a record for the world and for history. What force is driving the "Flying Fish" behind the scenes?

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(Video: https://youtu.be/Xh9jAD1ofm4)

Earlier this year, the internationally renowned sportswear brand UNDER ARMOUR released an advertisement titled RULE YOURSELF (#ruleyourself), modelled on the "Flying Fish" Phelps. The ad portrays, from a darker angle, his gruelling road to Olympic gold: from endless training to cupping therapy, and from repeated disappointment to the loneliness beneath the spotlight, it shows just how hard the path to his Olympic medals has been. The closing tagline, "It’s what you do in the dark, that puts you in the light!", captures the core spirit of the whole film superbly and leaves a deep impression.

From its camera work to its colour grading, the RULE YOURSELF ad carries a touch of bitterness throughout. Perhaps the message UNDER ARMOUR wants to convey is that the road to success is never easy, and that final success inevitably begins with the bitter discipline of RULE YOURSELF!