The winners and losers
The Olympics ended yesterday and our columnist lists her unconventional pick of winners and losers.
I OCCASIONALLY “followed” the 31st summer Olympiad via trending topics that popped up on social media.
I’d decided not to follow it on the telly as a form of private protest. Two days prior to the opening ceremony, I’d watched a documentary detailing how some host countries ( of both summer and winter games) have built the required infrastructure to the detriment of their own poorer communities or their already fragile environments.
All for a quadrennial event that lasts a mere 16 days.
While its origins and objective of uniting the world through sport are noble, hosting this event has in itself become a sport of one- upmanship and meeting exacting IOC standards. This has consequently left some hosts saddled with debts, displaced people, or irreversible environmental destruction. Think I’m exaggerating? Go Google “2018 winter Olympics + Mount Gariwang.”
However, I’d be a hypocrite to claim that the games, the competitors and the occasional ( melo) drama do not enthral me. I still recall how I was glued to the telly during the 1988 Seoul Olympics watching the late Florence Griffith- Joyner ( aka FloJo) both for her as- yet- unmatched jaw dropping 100m and 200m sprint records as well as her sports wardrobe that included shiny one- legged leotards.
Well, I was 16 then and had ( and still have) a weakness for shiny stuff.
And, of course, Whitney Houston’s soaring One Moment In Time, which still causes goose pimples close to three decades later, was a fitting soundtrack to an Olympiad that made “anabolic steroids” a sound bite when Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of his 100m sprint gold medal for having used the banned substance.
But over time and with growing professional commitments, I’ve only watched bits and pieces – often only the opening ceremonies. That, too, if I could stay awake. Otherwise, I’ve depended mostly on news headlines.
And there’s not been a dearth of headline- making news this time either. So in conjunction with the event’s end yesterday, I’ve listed my personal picks of winners and losers based not on medal hauls but rather for embodying the true spirit of the games – or not.
Winners Kindness towards an animal
Dutch dressage rider Adelinde Cornelissen’s horse, Parzival, was bitten by a toxic insect or animal, which resulted in fever and swelling in the head. This, however, subsided on the day of the event and Parzival was cleared for competition. Yet, Cornelissen was not thoroughly sure if her horse was fully fit and if competing might affect him. So she opted instead to quit to protect the 19- year- old Parzival, for which Rio is likely its final Olympics. Putting your ambition second to the welfare of an animal? That’s worth a medal to me.
Kindness towards a fellow competitor
During the women’s 5,000m qualifying heat, New Zealander Nikki Hamblin took a tumble four and a half laps into the race, tripping up American Abbey D’Agostino. Despite injuring her leg, D’Agostino got up but instead of running, she helped Hamblin up. Hamblin then returned the favour by running beside the struggling D’Agostino. They ended up second last and last but left a lasting impression on the rest of us who held back tears at proof that inherent goodness remains amongst us despite all other headlines that seemingly point to the contrary.
Herculean spirit in the face of unimaginable pain
There was no shortage of occasions where we winced in imagined pain for brave competitors who continued with their routines despite snapped Achilles tendons or worse still, ending up with dislocated knees! The true embodiment of a “fighting spirit”.
Losers Archaic, so- behind- with- the- times headlines
“Phelps ties for silver in 100 fly. Ledecky sets world record in women’s 800 freestyle.” In that order, with the first sentence being several fonts larger than the second.
This headline from the Colorado paper The Greeley Tribune rightly received the flak it deserved. Sure, Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time but highlighting his silver instead of Ledecky’s gold is flawed on so many levels that in this day and age, it warrants no further clarification.
Tiresome headlines
Hands up all those who gagged at the numerous “burqa vs bikini” headlines surrounding the beach volleyball events? I mean, who cares? And if we must focus on what female competitors wear and not on how they perform, shouldn’t this then be considered a victory instead for women of every stripe and persuasion?
Laying claim to winners without having supported them first
I can just imagine how infuriating it must be for some winners when national sporting associations or authorities who should have backed them and yet didn’t, steal their thunder only after they’ve won. Why lay claim now to someone else’s victory when you initially failed to recognise their abilities or offer them support?
And finally, I would like to extend my congratulations to all Malaysian competitors who strove to excel in their respective disciplines in Rio. Whether you returned with medals or not, your discipline, dedication and sacrifice to represent the rest of us at the world’s largest sporting event is a victory in itself.
Syabas and tahniah! Brenda Benedict is a Malaysian living in Bonn. She once fantasised emulating FloJo but quickly realised that her weakness for potato chips posed a pretty insurmountable hurdle. Follow her at facebook.com/SambalOntheSide.