Citius, Altius, Fortius: Faster, Higher, Stronger

Write about a young nobleman whose greatest wish is to become an Olympic long jumper

Citius, Altius, Fortius: Faster, Higher, Stronger 

Being a nobleman’s son has its benefits. You enjoy many advantages and you realise from an early age that your Christmas stocking will always be full of goodies. George was born in Norfolk and he lived in a stately home which could have been the setting for Downton Abbey. He used to get spooked with the portraits that were peering out at him in the hall and and on the landings. His father would often say, ‘You should be proud of your ancestors, George, as we go all the way back to the Tudors’. 

His father, the Earl of Bevinton, told his son that it was a great privilege to be an Earl. He said, ‘an Earl is above a viscount and a baron’. He would regale his son with stories about the occasions when the reigning monarchs had paid Royal visits including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The first Latin, George ever learned was Singulare Aude which meant ‘Dare to be Unique’. It was written on the family coat of arms. As a child George found these stories interesting and he so much wanted to please his father by following in the footsteps of his noble ancestors and not besmirch the family name or blot the family escutcheon.

So following in his father’s footsteps, George attended Eton, a boarding school near Windsor in Berkshire. Here he learned another motto, ‘Floreat Etona which he learned meant ‘May Eton Flourish’.  On the way to the College his father said, ‘So did you realise that Eton College was founded in 1440 by Henry VI? The monarch allocated funding for seventy poor boys who would receive free education and free accommodation.’

He went on to recount the number of famous Prime Ministers who attended Eton College beginning with Robert Walpole in 1721. He then mentioned Harold Macmillan, Anthony Eden and William Gladstone. These names meant nothing to George and all he could think of was that tomorrow morning he would not waken up in his own bed but in a room in a boarding school. By the time his father reached the gates of the College he had arrived at the current one, David Cameron, who became PM in 2010, after Gordon Brown resigned. He was glad his father did not have time to launch into his tirade about the Conservative Coalition with the Liberal Democrats. 

George was assigned to accommodation called Durnford House and he had his own study-bedroom. The Tudor house was a red brick listed building and was very impressive with its four floors, slate roof, and Bath stone dressing and quoins. George thought it looked very foreboding and formal. He hoped it was not going to be rules and regulations and ‘stiff upper lip’.  The House Master, Mr Giles was a kind and capable man and he helped the first-year boys to settle in. George was an only child and he soon made friends and began to relax after a few weeks of homesickness. He was delighted to find out that there were plenty of sporting activities and he showed a great aptitude for sport. He excelled in football, rugby, rowing and cricket. However, he enjoyed gymnastics more than anything. His teacher spotted his talent and believed that he could have a career in gymnastics. He was the best long jumper he had ever seen. He spoke to the Headmaster of the College and said, ‘the Bevington boy shows great promise. I think he could become a professional athlete’.

‘Well’ replied the headmaster, ‘I will speak to his father. You know he is an Earl. I was at Oxford with him. I think he probably has other ambitions for his son and heir’.

The sports teacher said, ‘I suppose the Earl will want a high flyer, not a long jumper’.

Meanwhile young George was mapping out a career for himself in athletics. He found out that Bob Beamon beat the world record at the Olympic Games in Mexico City, 1968 by jumping 29 feet and2½ inches. He would watch the video clip and marvel at this athlete who seemed to literally take flight over the rectangular sand pit. He just flew down the runway like a bolt of lightning and when he soared over the jump, he reminded George of one of the flying reindeers he saw stuck onto some windows at Christmas. Even the measuring equipment could not take the proper measurement and tape measures had to be used to ascertain the distance. 

George decided he wanted to become a professional athlete. He had a vision of himself competing in the Olympic Games and his new motto was ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ which meant, ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’. After he had completed his GCSEs, he decided it was time to have an action plan. Of course his father wanted him to go to Oxford and he wanted his son to get into politics.

The Headmaster had broached the subject of his son’s prodigious athletic ability. ‘That’s all very well’ his father said, ‘but I want my boy to go into politics’. 

‘He has great talent for the long jump’, the Headmaster said. And he added, ‘his teacher thinks he is Olympic material and has assured me that your son has his heart set on an athletic career’. The conversation ended with Mr Bevington saying, ‘all young boys dream of being Olympic champions. He will want to be something else next year’. 

The Headmaster communicated this information to George’s teacher who in turn spoke to the young athlete. He said, ‘it is only natural that your father would like you to pursue a career in politics. So often the parents want their children to complete their unfulfilled dreams. But you could persuade him George, to come round to your point of view. After all, it is your life and you have the right to pursue your dreams’. 

When his father came to collect him at the end of term, George was almost afraid to verbalise what was in his heart. But he kept recalling the image of Bob Beamon leaping to victory like a thunderball and somehow he got the courage to broach the subject with his father. The Earl listened and he could see the fire in his son’s eyes and he reminded him of his late wife, who was probably the most determined woman he had ever met in his life. Obviously his son had inherited his mother’s iron will and although he did not agree to give his son his blessing to pursue a career in athletics, he conceded that he would at least consider the possibility of him becoming a professional athlete.