Pity Clap

According to Urban Dictionary, a pity clap "occurs when an athlete finishes well after most of the competitors in a race. Usually given to the last place swimmer in a 500 yard freestyle. The audience intends it to be a polite gesture, but for the rookie swimmers it is a sign of failure."

I feel that this is a pretty accurate description! The pity clap is well known as a sign of failure in the track community. The audience collectively feels the need to cheer on the last runner as they make their way to the finish line, but in reality it sucks to be pity clapped because you know that you were so far behind everyone else that the spectators all felt the need to cheer you on an help you finish the race. It is almost comical, because unless the first place finisher is breaking a record or performing an amazing feat of strength, the last place finisher almost always gets more or equal applause to the first place finisher if they are far enough behind. 

Rarely does anyone want to receive this applause, even if it does help them finish off their race, because it just serves as a reminder of how many people are watching them race around the track as the slowest competitor. Just last week for example, My team was competing against the top 5 teams in the state all in one meet; nearly every race seemed to be stacked with crazy good runners. For the 4x8 though, all of the normal varsity runners except for me were either injured or unable to come to the meet, which meant that we had a JV team going up against some of the best teams in the state all competing for a chance to better their times and gain a spot in the coveted Drake Relays. This was a rather daunting task, and I was the anchor. When I received the baton our team had already been lapped by the first two teams, and though I made up some ground, we still got dead last by at least 300 meters. I was pity clapped into the finish line, but I just laughed it off. We all did our best, and that is all we can hope for!

Getting pity clapped sucks, but it is not the end of the world, and it just shows that the spectators want you to do the best you can, no matter what place or ability level you are at. Any good athlete knows that they will be put into situations in which they are inferior to their competitors, and that is something that we all must come to terms with! Enjoy the meets where you get to run against runners who are better than you and use the opportunity to push yourself. The pity clap is not always a bad sign, treat it as applause for your effort and triumph in pushing yourself to do our personal best for that day.