Ten Year Old Boy Inspires Most Heartwarming Event at the Olympics

What do you remember most about the track and field events at the London Olympics?

Usain Bolt was a huge story as the fastest man in history won the 100 and 200 meter runs again.  And, certainly the U.S. domination in many other track and field events grabbed headlines, too.  But, one of the most meaningful medals, in my opinion, was presented to Canada...by a 10 year old boy.  Here's what happened:

Canada's 4x100 men's track team was ecstatic.  They had just won the bronze medal in their event...a proud moment as seen in the picture below.

But, the medal was taken away.  Track and field officials reviewed a tape of the race and one of the runners for Canada had briefly crossed into another team's lane.  This meant an automatic disqualification -- the bronze was gone, devastating the team members including Justyn Warner.

Watching these events unfold thousands of miles away in Newfoundland was 10 year old Elijah Porter, and he went through the same gamut of feelings as did his countrymen...joy, pride, and then tears and devastation.

But what young Elijah did next is something that has inspired more tears....tears of pride by not only Canadians, but from people worldwide.   He drafted a hand written letter to the four members of the team basically telling them to hold their heads up high because no matter the circumstances, Canadians persevere.

He even included one of his most valuable possessions in the envelope...a soccer medal that he had received from a camp.

The body of the script of the letter follows the picture -

Dear Justyn, Gavin, Jarred, and Oluseyi, I'm Elijah Porter. I'm ten and I live in Newfoundland, Canada. When I heard what happened on Aug. 11, I knew it was wrong. The rules were not right. But, at last, I realized how good you were. We're Canadians. We persevere. We create better lives for each other. The cold didn't stop us from living in the north. We didn't lose the War of 1812. We adapt and survive. We have earned our freedom. Someday, if I become a biologist, if I get rich, and, if I remember, I will donate money to the summer and winter Canadian Olympians. I hope you like the medal! Elijah Porter