I guess you heard about that Australian Hyrox lady who kept racing after soiling herself. I find it a fascinating insight into the dynamics of validation, especially after her trainer jumped up saying people shouldn't judge because they weren't there. Dude, she joined a race and posted "Go hard or go home", she's the first one judging. And yes, sports often flirt with such extremes. If you take boxing or car racing, dying or killing for a win become real options. But those are socially allowed. Admired and validated. Embarrassing yourself, inconveniencing everyone else and ending up in a hospital bed for a gimmicky fitness race just aren't. She's a punchbag. Maybe it's unfair, but you don't get to write the rules of social validation. It's an amorphous, contradictory thing we all need to both depend on and defend against. I guess the lesson is that we all need to pick more consciously where we take our validation from. And keep in mind that one person's champion may well be someone else's moron.