The Olympic Games are a decidedly nationalistic event. Whatever the sport, everyone cheers for athletes from their own country. We keep medal counts to see which country is ahead. We can even be a little unsportsmanlike if we suspect some slight or favoritism involving a competitor from another country.

In all of this fervor, it is easy to overlook the individual effort and commitment of the athletes who represent our countries.

In a column in Wednesday’s Journal-World, Scott Russell, a former All-American javelin thrower at Kansas University, offers a glimpse of the difficult road that many athletes travel on their way to Olympic competition. Russell is from Canada and is representing that nation at the Olympics, but because he’s a Lawrence resident, it’s easy to put our nationalistic tendencies aside to appreciate his story.

After two previous tries, Russell, now 29, is elated just to be part of the Olympic Games. He missed qualifying for the 2000 games but he recalls that it was far more disappointing to miss the 2004 games. He had trained for four years and was expecting to make the team, but came up short.

After his last throw, his last chance to make the 2004 team, he failed to qualify and his Olympic dreams came to an abrupt halt. The next Olympics was four years away. Russell was ready to quit, but then he threw for a new Canadian record. It was back to training and his effort paid off this year. It was eight years after his first Olympic try, eight years of training, eight years of his life, but now he is at the games.

As we watch the Olympics, we get various glimpses of individual triumph and defeat. Parents in the stands cheer then cry as they watch their children realize an Olympic dream. We get a feeling for how much of their lives an entire family has committed to this goal. Some of them have mortgaged their homes or put their personal lives on hold to chase a dream that is all too elusive for most competitors. A slight misstep turns a gymnastics routine into a nightmare. One missed hurdle cancels out years of training for a big race.

Then there are the athletes who travel to the Olympics with no expectation of winning or even reaching the finals in their events. There’s lots of talk about the honor of representing their countries or the simple thrill of competition, but it’s hard to imagine how that is enough to inspire the kind of sacrifice and dedication that marks these athletes’ lives.

It’s natural to feel some national pride in our Olympic team and especially in their victories, but we shouldn’t forget the individual effort and determination that brings the also-rans, as well as the winners, to this international arena every four years.