Along with soccer, basketball is a global sport. As you read this. young people somewhere in the world are happily passing, dribbling (运球) and shooting. It’s enormous fun and a joyful way to spend time with others.

Basketball is a game for everyone. Unlike golf or tennis. it doesn’t require great wealth or a lot of space to play. After all, not many people have a golf course-sized backyard, and tennis equipment is expensive. Basketball, by contrast, just needs a wall with a hoop and a ball.

So after its invention by Canadian-American physical educator James Naismith in 1891, the sport took off within US citizens, who quickly became attracted to the game because it suited their circumstances. Today, 127 years later, basketball remains one of the most popular sports in the US, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) has an increasing appeal for fans around the world.

The success of basketball as global phenomenon is undoubtedly related to the way African-Americans play the game. “The basketball court reflected some of the major cultural shifts in America, such as from forbidding African-Americans to play basketball to allowing them to play in the NBA,” the LIVESTRONG website noted.

From the 1950s onwards, segregation (隔离) rules, which had prohibited African-Americans from playing basketball in NBA games, were no longer used in the US. In 1950, when Earl Lloyd started to play for the Washington Capitols, things began to change. Since then, most of the greats of the game have been African-Americans, like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

It’s not difficult to see that there’s a strong link between political liberation and basketball. Something of this is expressed in a quote from the US author John Edgar Wideman. He makes a connection between basketball and hope: “When it’s played the way it’s supposed to be played, basketball happens in the air; flying, floating, raised above the floor, letting the oppressed (受压制的) people of this earth imagine themselves in their dreams.”

It’s not often an athlete receives a personal best and then leaves the track with a sense of disappointment.But after Karsten Warholm ran the second-fastest 400m hurdles (跨栏) in history earlier this year, the man couldn’t help but think what could have been.

The 24-year-old dragged his trailing (落后) leg on the final hurdle in Stockholm in August to finish in a world-leading 46.87 seconds—0.09 seconds shy of Kevin Young’s world record, a mark he has moved ever closer to throughout his career.Young’s world record, set at the Barcelona Olympics, has stood for 28 years, the longest-standing record in men’s track running.

“Being really happy and really disappointed at the same time—it’s a strange feeling,” Warholm says as he reflects on his season.“I was really, really happy of course with the race in itself.But stumbling (绊倒) into the last hurdle and just looking at the time, knowing that most likely I spoiled my chance of a world record right there.I think I’ve never felt that way before.”

Young recently said he feels it’s “about time” his record is broken, and a glance at the all-time list suggests he might not have to wait much longer.Warholm has run four of the 10 fastest times in the event’s history, while his two closest competitors, Rai Benjamin and Abderrahmane Samba, make up the only other athletes to ever run under 47 seconds.

Between those three, the race for the world record is very much on.“This is going to be really, really tough competition,” says Warholm, who took the world title last year.“I think in 400m hurdles we are in for a real treat because everybody wants this right now.I think it’s going to be like the moon race between the United States and Russia – it’s going to be crazy.”

It will take more big leaps than small steps to win in hurdles’ version of the Space Race, but as with any contest—athletic or cosmic (宇宙的)—it is competition that helps boost progress.“It’s really important to have competition, somebody pushing you and somebody keeping you on your toes, I really like that,” Warholm adds.“I’m thankful for my competitors – even though I want to beat them, of course.”

My parents love tennis and they' re members of a tennis club. My older brother was really good at it and they supported him — taking him to lessons all the time. So when I announced I wanted to be a tennis champion when I grew up, I just intended for them to notice me. My mother laughed. She knew I couldn't possibly be serious, I was just a 4-year-old kid!

Later, I joined the club's junior coaching group and eventually took part in my first proper contest, confident that my team would do well. We won, which was fantastic, but I wasn't so successful. I didn't even want to be in the team photo because I didn't feel I deserved to be. When my coach asked what happened in my final match, I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe I'd lost. I thought I was the better player. But every time I attacked, the other player defended well. I couldn't explain the result.

After that, I decided to listen more carefully to my coach because he had lots of tips. I realised that I need the right attitude to be a winner. On court I have a plan but sometimes the other guy will do something unexpected so I'll change it. If I lose a point, I do my best to forget it and find a way to win the next one.

At tournaments, it's impossible to avoid players who explode in anger. Lots of players can be negative, including myself sometimes. I felt angry and nearly broke my racket! But my coach has helped me develop ways to control those feelings. After all, the judges have a hard job and you just have to accept their decisions.

My coach demands that I train in the gym to make sure I'm strong right to the end of a tournament. I'm getting good results: my shots are more accurate and there's a chance that I could be a champion one day with hard work.