go for gold

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɡəʊ fə ˈɡəʊld/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɡoʊ fəɹ ˈɡoʊld/
• Rhymes: -əʊld

Verb

go for gold (third-person singular simple present goes for gold, present participle going for gold, simple past went for gold, past participle gone for gold)

1. Alternative form of go for the gold
   • 1986, William J. Baker, “An Athlete Growing Old”, in Jesse Owens: An American Life, New York, N.Y.: The Free Press; London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, →ISBN, page 210:

     For the first three-quarters of the essay, [Jesse] Owens introduced the leading American athletes who would be going for gold. Then he turned to "an unhappier aspect of the games this year": the specter of black athletes using the Olympics as a forum of protest against America's treatment of its black citizens.

   • 2008 December, Michael Phelps, with Alan Abrahamson, “Courage: The 200 Individual Medley”, in No Limits: The Will to Succeed, New York, N.Y.: Free Press, →ISBN, page 184:

     Laszlo [i.e., László Cseh] was second, Ryan [Lochte] third. Both these guys went faster in Beijing than I went for gold in Athens; even so, I had touched more than two seconds ahead of each of them.

   • 2012 September 19, Bob Casey Jr., quoting Albert Carey Caswell, “The Legend of Latrobe”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 112th Congress, Second Session (United States Senate), volume 158, part 10, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14444, column 3:

     Mr. President, in honor of Arnold Palmer, and the presentation of his [Congressional] Gold Medal to him on September 12, 2012, in the U.S. Capitol, for a lifetime of service to his Nation and contributions in the game of golf which has earned him the title of "The King", I ask that this poem penned in his honor on this occasion by Albert Caswell be printed in the Record. […] As this Gold Medal upon you we now so bestow / Because, on the fairways of life you've always gone for gold! / The Legend of Latrobe!

   • 2014, Reshma Patil, “Prologue: Beijing: ‘Where is India?’”, in Strangers across the Border: Indian Encounters in Boomtown China, Noida, Uttar Pradesh: HarperCollins Publishers India, →ISBN, page 4:

     Beijing bureaucrats promote cricket for one pragmatic reason alone. China will feel obliged to go for gold if cricket ever becomes an Olympics game.

   • 2024 July 2, “50 Reasons Why You Can’t Miss the Paris 2024 Paralympics”, in Paralympic.org‎^[1], Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia: International Paralympic Committee, archived from the original on 2024-07-30:

     Several Paralympic Winter Games athletes will be swapping snowsuits and skis for summer clothing in Paris. Look out for Italy's Para snowboard athlete Veronica Plebani who goes for gold in Para triathlon.