Reckon silver is second rate? Watch this video:

That’s Australian athlete Sally Pearson after finishing second in the 110m hurdles final at the Beijing Olympics. If the mythical “Olympic spirit” resides anywhere, it’s in that three minute clip.

Pearson sprints for gold tomorrow morning Australian time, a much more assured and controlled athlete than she was four years ago. She’ll probably win it, too.

But amid all the bleating about silver medals, the head-scratching over performance, the navel-gazing over coaching structures and school participation, the demands to increase already inflated elite sports funding … well, the story of a wildly joyous athlete and her shock silver medal might still win in our book.