The Olympic Spirit

 

olympics

 

It’s hard to pick up a newspaper without glancing at some well meaning article about the Olympics being overly expensive, overly commercial, the UK already has enough debt, I’m leaving the country to avoid this over-hyped, fiasco…. e.t.c. et.c.

Even a great sporting fan like me, has reasons to be disappointed at some aspects of the Olympics. The UCI annoyed me with the removal of the iconic 4KM pursuit – replaced with a presumably more TV pleasing, better for sponsors, Omnium event. It means there is no individual cycle event between the 500m sprint and 30 mile time trial.

Wada annoyed me with the decision to over-rule the BOA lifetime ban on drug cheats at the Olympics. I thought if people cheat to secure some pieces of silver, at least we could keep them out of Olympics which is supposed to have higher ideals. (I know some drug cheats may be sincere in their repentance. But, with some former drug cheats, you do have an uneasy feeling the only thing they really regret – is getting caught.)

Maybe, I’m a hopeless romantic conjuring up images of fairplay, ‘Chariots of fire nobility’, and amateur sportsman just grateful for the opportunity to compete with the Olympic spirit.

Yet, for all the excess commercialism, vulgar sponsorship deals, (even rumours of Duran Duran being the lead singers in opening ceremony) the Olympics still remains the Olympics. It has the potential to offer the highest ideals of sport. Given the gross commercialism we see all around, this ideal may seem a fanciful notion. But, it doesn’t change the fact that the Olympics is special. It really is a great event which brings so many nations together in the pursuit of sporting excellence. I know when I go to an Olympic event, I will be caught up in the spirit and excitement of the event, it won’t be a time to ruminate on the ills of how modern capitalism have seeped into every aspect of sport. If you want to find something to criticise in the Olympics, you can fill all the newspaper columns from here to the Leveson inquiry.

If you want to capture the spirit of the Olympics and why so many people will be captivated by the games, it might be more difficult in this cynical age. But, sometimes you just have to put aside the imperfections and enjoy the Olympics for what it is, and what it can offer.

Of course, I didn’t get tickets to the Olympic velodrome, but at least I can go and watch the time trial and road race. The time trial is my event, it is a pure sporting contest – It is you against the clock and may the best man win. There are no tactics, no refereeing decisions to rely on. It is a race in the spirit of the Olympic motto ‘faster, higher, further.’

It is also a reminder that the Olympics is not so divorced from everyday life. Anyone can get on a bike and see how fast they can cycle. Anyone can enter a 10Km race and see how much they can transcend their previous bests.

That is part of the appeal of the Olympics – if only we could run or cycle a little faster, it could be us competing against the best in the world. The Olympics is the greatest leveller. No amount of money can buy the talent and effort of the Ethopian runners (well actually, oil sheiks in Qatar did buy quite a few African runners, but stay with me I’m on a roll)

The Olympics will throw up controversy, we may have reservations about supporting former drug cheats, we may get disgusted at the blatant commercialism of so many aspects, we may despair at the way politicians try to ingratiate themselves into the picture, but that is not what the Olympics is about, it is about the potential for the human spirit.

The Olympics will be expensive, over-hyped and imperfect. But, the Olympics will inspire and motivate people in a way that clever newspaper columns will never be able to. Put aside the inevitable imperfections, and just sit back and cheer on all the African (I mean Qatar) runners.

And it does help, Britain has a great chance of winning quite a few medals in the cycling.

Related

Photo Credit (top) Vancouver winter olympics –  Evan Leeson



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