Rio fails to medal as Olympics host
The Olympic Games left us with dazzling performances and heartbreaking defeats, smiles and tears, displays of true sportsmanship – and sour grapes losers.
Our primary focus, of course, are the competitions and the athletes themselves. But equally important, at least from a “lessons learned” perspective for future games, is how well the host city fared.
Here are some reflections on the games of the XXXI Olympiad:
1) No discussion would be complete without diving into the Ryan Lochte fiasco, but we’ll get to him later.
2) Rio de Janeiro fell well short in its quest to be a competent host. Expectations were low going in, and Rio didn’t disappoint. But not surprisingly, much of the media, wanting to appear politically correct, is singing Rio’s praises, stating that the city “pulled it off” with just minor hiccups. Wrong. Front-and-center on the global stage, Rio was the posterboy for corruption and incompetence. The city, awarded the games in 2009, had seven years to turn things around and showcase itself, and Brazil, as an emerging economic power, but it failed miserably. Consider:
• Mounds of floating rubbish where Olympic sailors competed had to be continually monitored.
• The Olympic village, which was not completed on time, was plagued by cascading waterfalls in stairwells from leaking pipes, flooded floors, blocked toilets, exposed wiring, gas leaks, broken elevators, holes in walls and mold. And some reports stated that building safety checks had not been adequately completed. You think?
Bottom line: This is what happens when the Olympics are awarded to a struggling thirdworld nation. Athens and Sochi had everybody on edge that things would not be ready and up to par, but both cities succeeded. Rio did not. Obviously, no Olympics, no matter where they’re held, will be perfect. But the sheer scope of Rio’s problems, and the city’s impotent leadership, should be enough to end the third-world experiment and mandate all future Games be held where competence and order rule the day – North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. Only then can we again award a gold medal to the host city.
3) Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are in a class by themselves, not just based on their longevity and record-setting achievements, but because they are class acts. Confident but not arrogant, they are fierce competitors who nonetheless lighten up the arena with their befriending demeanor.
4) Finally, we have the Lochte saga. What exactly happened we’ll never know. But several points are being missed:
A) No one can keep his mouth shut anymore. That simple, common sense act has, in fact, turned into a rare art form. Lochte and the other swimmers never filed a police report, so had they just returned to the Olympic village and chalked up their night to drunken rowdiness, a little lighter in the wallets but alive and well – and didn’t blab about it – the resulting firestorm would never have occurred. But they didn’t, and lives and careers will be forever altered. When will the Millennials ever learn?
Hope Solo got it wrong. The real cowards are American businessmen who tuck their tail between their legs and run away from the slightest controversy, instead of seizing golden opportunities right in front of them.
But where there are wimps, there are also risk takers. We have not seen the end of Ryan Lochte, and on that, you can bet gold.
Hope Solo got it wrong. The real cowards are American businessmen who tuck their tail between their legs and run away from the slightest controversy, instead of seizing golden opportunities right in front of them.