Because he now has the evidence of his superior performance in form of a medal. What such athlete may fail to recognise is that although the fastest among his peers, he may not have performed at his personal best.
The athlete with the silver medal will ultimately work harder in pursuit of a gold medal and will believe that there's more to come from within.
Same logic applies to everything we do. Athletes who have been consistent at the top, aim to beat their own records and not the ones set by others afterall once you've beaten them all, whats next?
We only get better when we compete inwardly (i.e. to be the best we can be) and not against those who challenge us!
©2011 A.Akingbade
