"Nine Gold Medals," by the American singer-songwriter David Roth, is based on a story about a 1976 race held by the Special Olympics (a sports organization for competitors with intellectual disabilities). While competing in the 100-meter dash, a young runner accidentally stumbles and falls to the ground. Rather than continue the race without him, however, all of the other athletes turn around and lift the fallen runner to his feet. They then walk across the finish line arm-in-arm in a powerful display of kindness and empathy that, the speaker declares, epitomizes the true spirit of the games. Compassion and camaraderie, the poem insists, are far more valuable than winning.

• Read the full text of “Nine Gold Medals”

• “Nine Gold Medals” Summary

• “Nine Gold Medals” Themes

  • 

    The Power of Empathy and Compassion

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-33

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Nine Gold Medals”

  • Lines 1-8

    The athletes had ...
    ... about to begin.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-12

    The loudspeakers called ...
    ... of the gun.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-16

    The signal was ...
    ... to the ground.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 17-20

    He gave out ...
    ... here's what occurred.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 21-24

    The eight other ...
    ... to his feet.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 25-28

    Then all nine ...
    ... nearer the mark.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 29-33

    That's how the ...
    ... words ever will.

    

    

    

    

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• “Nine Gold Medals” Symbols

  • 

    The Nine Gold Medals

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “The athletes had come from so many countries / To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze”
    • Lines 29-30: “That's how the race ended, with nine gold medals / They came to the finish line holding hands still”

• “Nine Gold Medals” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “come,” “countries”
    • Line 10: “race,” “run”
    • Line 15: “stumbled,” “staggered”
    • Line 18: “dreams,” “dashed,” “dirt”
    • Line 19: “standing,” “story”
    • Line 20: “strange”
    • Line 24: “lifted,” “lad”
    • Line 30: “holding hands”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “come,” “countries”
    • Line 10: “one hundred,” “run”
    • Line 15: “youngest among,” “stumbled”
    • Line 17: “frustration,” “anguish”
    • Line 26: “one hundred”
    • Line 31: “nine smiling”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 13-14: “The signal was given, the pistol exploded / And so did the runners on hearing the sound”
    • Line 18: “His dreams and his efforts dashed in the dirt”

  • Parallelism

    

    

    

    

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    Where parallelism appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “for the gold, for the silver”
    • Lines 7-10: “the final event of the day was approaching / The last race about to begin. / The loudspeakers called out the names of the runners / The one hundred metres the race to be run”
    • Line 13: “The signal was given, the pistol exploded”
    • Lines 16-17: “he fell on his knees to the ground. / He gave out a cry of frustration and anguish”
    • Line 18: “His dreams and his efforts”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 27: “And the banner above”
    • Line 31: “And the banner above”
    • Lines 32-33: “Said more than these words ever will / Said more than these words ever will.”

• “Nine Gold Medals” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Games
  • Spectators
  • One hundred metres
  • Pistol
  • Anguish
  • Special Olympics
  • (Location in poem: Line 4: “All building up to the games.”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Nine Gold Medals”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Nine Gold Medals” Speaker

• “Nine Gold Medals” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Nine Gold Medals”

• More “Nine Gold Medals” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Song Performed — Hear a version of "Nine Gold Medals" as sung by the writer himself, David Roth. 

    • An Interview with Roth — Check out an interview with the songwriter, who talks about his career in music and his approach to the artform. 

    • The Special Olympics — Read more about the organization behind the poem's "games."

    • David Roth's Website — Check out more Roth of songs, videos, and projects. 

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