The Olympics have reached the finish line and I have to say I got quite emotional watching those brilliant young athletes on the podium.

It’s such a powerful moment, seeing them standing in the limelight as they’re rewarded for years of sacrifice, commitment, discipline and training. But there are always spoilsports out there, and if medals were awarded for being a killjoy, Piers Morgan would scoop gold – which is the only medal that matters, apparently.

As is tradition, he’s been in a Twitter storm, this time for saying we should “stop pretending bronze is an achievement worthy of national celebration”.

It made me so angry.

He reportedly backtracked and posted a message of congratulations to 13-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown who won bronze – and I should think so, too. I watched the talented skateboarder and couldn’t believe someone so young was performing at that level representing Team GB.

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She may not have scooped gold but still broke records as she’s now Britain’s youngest summer games medalist, which is an incredible achievement.

Then there’s husband and wife Laura and Jason Kenny, Olympic cyclists, who scooped silvers. Jason became the most successful British Olympian overtaking Sir Chris Hoy while Laura has previously won four golds – they looked elated and are true exemplars of determination and grit.

The author, broadcaster and champion table tennis player Matthew Syed – someone I much admire – was among the many who took a swipe at Morgan’s cheeky comments, which I was delighted to see. He also spoke about today’s culture and the contrast between hard working Olympians and the “celebrity mediocrity” that often seem to be more celebrated. Sadly, it’s true, and a combination of social media and reality television has helped cement that.

It got me thinking about unsung heroes in other walks of life who don’t get the recognition they deserve. Let’s look at the bright minds in the business community for example.

That’s where you’ll find the real influencers of today, but you won’t always know it because they don’t always shout about it, have a huge social media following or prominent public profile. Yet like sportsmen and women, many of today’s business leaders, particularly the ones I’ve had the good fortune to work with, are almost certainly deserving of medals.

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They’re hard working, dedicated, disciplined, methodical, and so personally invested in what they do. They're in it for the long haul, often sacrificing personal time for their businesses and often they are motivated not by the prospects of their own success, but by their people.

I recently worked with a business leader whose company was proving a real challenge. It was a hard slog, taking immense amounts of time and money, and as a result he had started falling out of love with a business he was once passionate about.

The obvious choice would have been to cut his losses and walk away but he refused because he genuinely cared so much about his people, so he fought tooth and nail to make it a success and keep their jobs safe. His staff will probably never know the efforts he went to at a time when liquidation may have been a more attractive, even sensible, prospect.

Now that’s commitment. Give that man a medal.

I’ll leave you with a task for the day. Take a look around you. Your bosses, your colleagues, the team members you delegate to. Your family. Your friends.

Who would you award a medal to in your life? Who doesn’t always get the recognition they deserve? Look around you and appreciate them because they are the real heroes.

Laura Gordon is a CEO coach and group chair with Vistage International, a global leadership development network for CEOs