Forget Rio’s problems and get behind our athletes
In the run-up to the Olympic Games in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro has often had the look of a track athlete clipping every single hurdle on the way to the finish line. Imagine almost any aspect of hosting a massive, international sporting competition and Rio has a silly or frightening or stomach-turning problem to match.
Incomplete venues and athlete accommodations? Check. Police and gang violence? Check. Total financial meltdown, necessitating a big bailout? Check. Pollution so egregious that public health experts are warning athletes and tourists not to put their heads under water, lest they contract some terrible illness? Bleh.
Making matters worse is that Brazil has also been the victim of terrible luck along the way. Few could have predicted the emergence of the Zika virus — which resulted in the withdrawal of some of the world’s most recognizable athletes and no doubt altered the travel plans of many potential paying customers — nor the deep recession that has stalled a once-sizzling economy. And the Russian doping scandal is just so much more fuel on the conflagration.
As one International Olympic Committee member told the Wall Street Journal, Rio is “the greatest challenge we have ever faced.” The life’s work of thousands of young men and women, the culmination of years of effort, sacrifice and perseverance, has been overshadowed by a seemingly endless parade of bad news.
The good news is that athletes are beginning to wrest the spotlight away from Rio’s hapless organizers. On Wednesday, Canadians were treated to the familiar sight of Christine Sinclair, as iconic an Olympian as we have, once again rising to the occasion on her sport’s biggest stage. Her late goal, which secured victory for a short-handed Canadian squad in the first game of the women’s soccer event, was but a small preview of the feats we can expect over the next two weeks. Canada has 186 women and 128 men competing.
As the Games really ramp up following Friday night’s opening ceremony, we know the athletes (the clean ones, at least) will once again remind us that for all the headaches that come with hosting an event of this magnitude, gathering the world to celebrate human accomplishment and the spirit of friendly competition continues to be a worthwhile and inspiring endeavour.
As those young men and women march into the stadium, let’s all take a break from shaking our heads and clucking our tongues and carve out a moment or two to appreciate just how much work they and their families have put in to represent us in Rio.
Oh, and go, Canada, go!