‘Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater.’

The first ever London Marathon, held in 1981, was defined by an epic battle between America’s Dick Beardsley and Norway’s Inge Simondson. For kilometres upon kilometres, the two battled and toiled for first place and it wasn’t until around a kilometre or two to go that they both came to the realisation they would end their incredible race together, hand-in-hand and propping up what sport should be about: sportspersonship.

‘Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater.’ – Emil Zátopek, Olympic runner

On Tuesday 8 August, in Carey’s centenary year, at a competition within our gates, we saw the same result for three of our top Senior School athletes. After a well fought House Cross Country by the three students and great competition throughout for the leading place, Greta (School Captain and hockey champion), Alice (House Captain and athletics extraordinaire) and Ruby (Sports Captain and rowing legend) finished the House Cross Country race hand-in-hand to secure an equal first place.

Sport is such a vital part of our fabric at Carey. It teaches all of us about fairness, respect and integrity. Watching our students grow throughout a season and their time both in skill, confidence and teamwork is a privilege each season. Showing care and recognising their efforts no matter their ability and using sport as an authentic method for handling disappointment and controlling frustration provides such an effective avenue for shaping the students we hope to see out in the community. Many students have gained my admiration over the years for never giving up on their aspirations to be part of a First Team or for just doing their very best.

Greta, Alice and Ruby are great leaders of our School and fierce competitors. I was so proud of these three students as all of them have led a sporting team over the years with great passion and fierce competition and to celebrate Carey’s 100 years in this style was simply brilliant!

Christian Gregory
Deputy Head of Senior School – Student Wellbeing