四年一度的奧運競技場，是全球頂尖運動員圓夢登峰的神聖場域，誰會不放手一搏，全力追求榮耀？
但在1988年的奧運帆船競賽項目，一名眼看著就要奪牌的選手卻放棄爭冠，幕後故事感動世人，也為他摘下一枚比任何金牌都珍貴的獎牌。
這位選手是出生於1955年的加拿大籍選手勒米厄(Lawrence Lemieux)，33歲時正當生涯顛峰期，在第24屆韓國首爾夏季奧運會上，代表加拿大參加帆船單人組項目。
當天的比賽在釜山近海舉行，勒米厄的表現絕佳，已經處於第二名的位置，只要加把勁，坐二望一絕不是問題。
但實際上，比賽當天的天候狀況不佳，海象差到賽事幾乎快要被取消。就在勒米厄全心操帆時，一陣狂風大浪襲來，也在海上進行雙人組賽事的新加坡選手船隻遭風浪打翻，兩名船員落水，情況非常危急。
勒米厄沒有一絲猶豫，馬上伸出援手，也不管自己還在比賽中，立刻趨前救人，並且將落水船員送上隨後持援而來的救護船後，他才再回到比賽。
經過這一番折騰，勒米厄當然沒能獲得任何獎項，拿下第22名。不過他無私救人的胸懷，卻為他贏得奧委會頒發給他的特優運動員精神獎章(Pierre de Coubertin medal），隨後國際帆船競賽協會(International Yacht Racing Union)也通過認定他奧運項目中第二名的地位。
這起救人義舉在多年後，每逢奧運期間都會再被傳誦。2012年，勒米厄接受媒體專訪，記者問他對於當時放棄奪牌機會而勇敢救人的義舉，有沒有任何一點點後悔？
勒米厄說在那個當下，他完全沒有其他的想法，只有一心救人，不過他也補上一句，「一個人努力不懈在國際賽事中打拚，卻得不到多少讚譽，但是一個念頭的救援，25年後仍舊為人傳誦，這倒是滿諷刺的事」，勒米厄的英雄心聲，說來另有意趣。
Lawrence Lemieux’s ultimate sacrifice
Sports is all about winning. As they say, nobody ever cares about the second man to land on the moon. Nobody cares about the person who came second. They also say that you don』t win the silver but you lose the gold.
But, then again, there are people like Lawrence Lemieux who rise above themselves and remind us that sport is not just about winning. Sportsmanship triumphs everything, it triumphs an Olympic gold, it triumphs billions of prize money because a victory is remembered for at most a decade while sportsmanship is remembered for a lifetime.
Here is Lemieux’s story.
「The first rule of sailing is, you see someone in trouble, you help him,」 says Lemieux. So, when he saw two sailors in a bad situation, one barely hanging on to the boat and other swept further away due to bad waves, he naturally went ahead and saved them heroically.
But, it was not just natural. It was not just a sailing trip gone bad. Lemieux was in the midst of his 1988 Seoul Olympics Finn Class race halfway through and was in second position with a medal almost certain.
Lawrence Lemieux had a choice. He could go on and finish his race and etch his name in Olympic history or he could go on and save two unknown sailors who were competing in a difference race. Lemieux made the choice that makes us talk about him even today.
He went towards the Singapore Sailing boat that was torn apart. He dragged the first sailor Joseph Chan into his boat as he was too injured to climb aboard. Then, he rescued the other sailor Shaw Her Siew into his boat. After that, he turned his boated against the wind and waited for help to arrive. A Korean Navy boat came and took Siew and Chan with them. Lemieux later resumed the race and finished in 22nd place out of 32 boats in the race.
When asked about his heroic and selfless act, Lemieux commented
「My thought process was: do they really need help because a lot of times you are able to save yourself.
「But I couldn』t understand if they were saying yes or no. I just had to go. If I went to them and they didn』t really need help, c』est la vie. If I didn』t go, it would be something you would regret for the rest of your life.
「But I wasn』t thinking that at the time. It’s only now, in retrospect, you think that way. At the time, you just go.」
Immediately after the race got over, the International Yatch Racing Union decided to give Lemieux the second place which he would have obtained if he had not abandoned the race. He was also awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship. The medal has been given to only 12 athletes till date.
Asked if he ever regretted missing an Olympic gold, Lemieux said that he would the same thing if the same situation ever arose again. Lemieux never made it to another Olympics but he saved the lives of two men.
Lawrence Lemieux showed the whole world what the Olympics was all about. The Olympics is not all about winning. Yes, people from hundreds of countries come to the Olympics to win a medal but that isn』t what the Olympics is about. It is about courage, it is about self sacrifice and sportsmanship. Mr. Lemieux embodied what the Olympics is all about.