Friday, 3 August 2012

The Olympics started last week

Nothing like an early morning rant, so buckle up! Mihir Bose, Nicky Campbell, Rachel Burden, FiveLive Breakfast - this one's for you!

Hey, journalists, the Olympics has not now finally started now the track & field is on. I know you say this every time, like to control the narrative, and expect us all to bow at the altar of the athletics, but it's bloody disrespectful to all the other athletes who have been winning medals for the past week, 285 of them!

What about showing some respect the rowers & cyclists, shooters, canoeists, judokas et al - they are not the "appetiser" for the main course - for most, this is their one time in the spotlight, it only comes around every 4 years, unlike the athletes who get plenty - and they tend to win more too!

Now, I'm not putting down the Athletics, but I will get as much pleasure from seeing Gemma Gibbons mouthing "I love you Mum" to the heavens as she won her semi-final, or Peter Wilson getting those last 2 clays then disappearing from view as his knees give way, or the bearlike unending embrace for the first two female rowing gold medalists from Sir Steve, or the big tough Kazakhstan weight lifting woman who cried and cried on the podium.

Of course I'll be hoarse from shouting on Ennis & Farah & Greene when the time comes, but I do not consider them the main course, and neither should you. The Olympics are about so much more than Athletics - they are about celebrating athleticism & athletes & young people in the form of their lives giving everything in pursuit of their best performaces, whether that be a British record but a place outside the medals (take a bow Zoe Smith), or a stunning Gold medal in World Record time (that's you, team sprinters).

They're about the sacrifices they have made to get there, trying to get everything in line to be at their best for a few minutes in July/August 2012, and the associated heartbreak (NOT tragedy, please, losing a sporting event is NOT tragic) when they don't make it (Poola, maybe Idowu) or let the occasion * adrenaline coursing through their veins get the better of them & cock it up (Zara, team sprint girls).

They're about refusing to settle for not giving it everything - Shanaze Reade in Beijing, the Men's Eight going for Gold and ending up with Bronze when they could have settled for Silver and "what if?"

So bring on the track & field by all means, but please, 285 medals have been won so far. They were not an appetizer.

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