Second prize feels hollow for Whittaker
THE optics were dreadful. Ben Whittaker stood on the podium for what should have been the proudest moment of his life. But something was wrong.
The 24-year-old’s head was bowed, and the silver medal had gone from around his neck to the palm of his hand, by his side. There was no applause for his opponent and the cameras clicked, sensing scandal. At best, it was a seriously ordinary look.
We had seen it this summer from the England football team, quickly stripping their medals at Wembley following their Euro 2020 final defeat. From some, there was little sympathy. ‘If you don’t want second prize, then you should have finished first,’ being the rather simplistic argument.
But this was different. This was the Olympics. The pinnacle of a gruelling cycle where a medal of any colour is to be cherished. Under the bright lights of the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the Wolverhampton lad grappled with his emotions.
To many watching on, Whittaker looked like he was disrespecting the Games and, perhaps more importantly, Arlen Lopez, the brilliant Cuban who outclassed him over three rounds to take light-heavyweight gold.
As he approached the press moments later, the medal was in his pocket. A quick-thinking GB Boxing official had a word in his ear and out it came.
The first question was obvious. Why? ‘Every boxer doesn’t go in there to receive a silver medal,’ Whittaker said, emotions still raw. ‘I woke up this morning truly believing it was my time. I had the West Midlands and the country behind me — I just felt a failure and unable to celebrate silver.’
Gradually, it began to make sense. These were not the actions of a spoiled brat who cannot take losing, but a man who feels like he has let everyone down. And when asked if he felt he should apologise, Whittaker was quick to front up.
‘Of course,’ he said. Then he repeated the f-word. ‘I was doing it for everybody at home and I felt like a failure. I should have put this beautiful silver medal round my neck and smiled because this is not just for me, it’s for the country. In a few years, it will probably feel like a great achievement, but I was so upset I couldn’t enjoy it.’
He went on, sensing that what he had just done may not have gone down well with the millions watching around the world.
‘I wasn’t trying to take the shine away from Arlen’s moment,’ he explained. ‘But it hurt me so deep, and I felt so embarrassed. I will look back on it later and think “What was I doing?”.’
Some had wondered whether Whittaker was miffed with the judging, following a 4-1 reverse. The reality was that he was lucky to get the one. From the off, he struggled to get his jab going. His 28-year-old opponent was too wily, too powerful.
Southpaw Lopez already had gold from Rio, at middleweight, and quickly set about his task. Whittaker is slick and can escape trouble, but when you spend almost the entire fight on the back foot, the decision is only going one way.
‘No complaints,’ he said. ‘I didn’t have the right game-plan and he was a lot better than I thought — he’s now a two-time gold medallist, which says it all. I remember watching him in 2014 when I was still on local hall shows and I never thought I would get the chance to box him, which shows how far I’ve come.’
It is a journey he should be proud of. Whittaker has been wonderfully open at these Games. He has spoken of his difficulties with ADHD. Of how he tried to hide it by playing the gangster.
There has been humour. The tale of how he used to hide in the toilets while working as a steward at Wolves so he could warm up his pie under the hand dryer. His bold claim that should he win, he wanted to become the mayor of Wolverhampton.
This is a likeable young man, who is just that — a young man.
That he was at further pains to point out the reasons for his behaviour speaks volumes.
‘Even when I’m playing FIFA with my mates and I lose, I’m not talking to them for the next few hours,’ he added. ‘I’ve been like that since I was a kid — please accept that I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to anyone.’
Super-heavyweight Frazer Clarke was also overcome with emotion after his bronze medal. The 29-year-old’s departure from GB Boxing to join the professional ranks has left him devastated.
He fought bravely, falling to a third-round stoppage against Uzbekistan beast Bakhodir Jalolov, who he had agreed to fight despite two unhealed cuts above his eyes. When the realisation dawned that his amateur career was behind him, Clarke choked back tears.
‘I can’t put it into words,’ he said. ‘This team ... I’ve spent more than a quarter of my life with them. I’ve met amazing people. As close a family as I’ve ever had.
‘I’ve got four or five dads in there, four or five mothers, sisters, uncles. They are all fantastic people.’