Michael Phelps and the other gold medalists haven’t been the only winners at the Beijing Olympics. Despite the incessant focus on being first —measured in ridiculously tiny fractions of a second or the cockeyed impression of a gymnastics judge — there’s still more than enough victory to go around. The notion that a superbly conditioned athlete who comes in last in a race is somehow a “loser” may be how the Olympic games are played — but the game of life is different. Unlike the Visa commercials, life accepts everything. Character can be shaped and strengthened as much by one career-ending misstep on a diving board or clipping a hurdle as by a little piece of metal, no matter how precious or shiny. A half century ago, “Wide World of Sports” observed that the thrill of victory doesn’t exist without the agony of defeat. For competitors, sport is the challenge that pushes them to their limits. For those of us watching, sport is storytelling.