The Rio Olympic Games have just ended. Like millions of others I will miss the intense daily dose of top class sporting endeavour. The Rio Olympics must surely be regarded as a tremendous sporting success - a human success - and certainly the Olympic flame burns brightly with Tokyo in 4 years time eagerly anticipated.
However despite my unequivocal statement above I feel a sense of unease. In almost every aspect of the games and particularly in respect of the massive and disproportionate medal haul by the GB team - I have a sense of conflict. I will illustrate what I mean by playing a devils advocate role too.
From Brazil (Rio's) point of view. The games have further raised the profile of the country - there have been infrastructure investment and improvements - and more Brazilians are and will be engaged in sport beyond just football and volleyball.
OR
Brazil has serious financial problems and particularly social problems with huge gaps between rich and poor. This was a showpiece event which the Brazilians' could not really afford and priorities were wrong. I spent some time in Brazil in 2015 and a week in Rio.(see my blog #RiodeJaneiro 26/5/2015). It was very clear to me that most Brazilians were resentful of the money being spent by corrupt politicians for the benefit of only the "rich elite". The promises being made were the same as the ones being made for the FIFA 2014 World Cup. The reality turned out to be national debt and no legacy. Attendances were generally poor in Rio and seem to bear out the wide malaise towards the games by the average Brazilian. On a wider Olympic point - the games have become too big - too expensive for most countries to stage without impacting negatively on the people who can least afford it.
The GB team did incredibly well. It was great to watch. There was a sense of national pride and the extra pleasure from watching your own nation succeed at the highest level and this added massively to the spectating experience. We got involved - we cheered - we clapped - we were proud. It is amazing that the GB team finished 2nd in the overall medal table - that we won medals in more sports across the board than any other country and the progressive and sustained improvement in UK sport performance is viewed by many nations as a surprise and as a target to try and replicate.
OR
The GB Team did too well - given the population size of GB - an embarrassment of riches. How was it achieved? It was achieved by professionalism and by virtually unlimited financial resources (largely provided by the National Lottery - (a tax on the poor !?)) which no other country have been able to match at this stage. It has ben achieved by a ruthless drive for medal success and only committing resources when this is a realistic achievement. Many feel the UK is ahead of the game and it shows in our results. Is this not a good thing? At one level yes of course - we are competing well and achieving success - why knock that? However why it is clearly wrong to be a drug cheat to get results is it not also questionable to compete with so many built in advantages that many other countries athletes start at a substantial disadvantage. Isn't the spirit of the Olympics lost? Shouldn't all athletes effectively be competing on a level playing field? They are not. UK competitors are massively privileged and helped. They are literally "professional" to start with. What they do is their full time job. No longer do they have to work and train. They just train with an income paid by GB. It doesn't end there. Kevlar bikes (prepared for each individual athlete) designed in a F1 wind tunnel costing thousands, the very best equipment, an entourage of dieticians, chefs, sports psychologists, world class coaches (recruited from around the world), best medical back up, state of art training camps etc etc. Not a stone unturned. This approach maybe inevitable. There was a time when only amateurs could compete in the Olympics - but the East Germans and Russians ended that - all their athletes were in the Army! But Britain has taken it to a new level - an extreme level of professionalism. It is a shame because many competitors are now disenfranchised from the Olympic dream. Increasingly - no longer is gods gifts (and determination) enough to win a gold - you will need the might of the GB type organised and funded machine behind you. Something is lost. It is too cynical. (to be fair to GB they point out many other countries throw money at the Olympics in order to win medals but the UK has used their money better - in a more sustained and efficient way and it is now paying dividends).
Time and time again we hear GB Olympians referring to the enormous - superhuman personal sacrifices they have made to be where they are. They have to be dedicated and single minded. It is hard enough to be the best in your class, best in your year, best in school, best in your city, best in your county, best in your country. To be the best in the world is truly incredible. All true. Hats off indeed.
OR
As above - GB Olympians are funded (admittedly no athlete is getting rich on elite funding in itself and also funding has to be earned by potential and performance). Training and preparing is their job. They are privileged. How do their efforts compare with that of a Care Worker or Production Line worker? How does it compare with a police officers who risks their lives or a soldier on a tour of duty who doesn't see his family for months. How does it compare with a nurse giving of self or a junior doctor who has spent years studying only to be abused by the government and too many of the public. Elite athletes are being paid for something they love doing, to pursue a dream. They are healthy. Is making sacrifices really the reality compared to most peoples lives? and even if it is, it is likely a far greater sacrifice is paid by family who have to defer to the athlete pursuing a personal and all consuming (and possibly self obsessed) shoot for the top.
Medalist are doing it for their country. They drape themselves in the Union Jack. They are representing us. All true.
OR
The primary motivation is personal glory - and possibly the riches that will flow from their status. There is a call for Olympians and their coaches to be awarded honours. The Prime Minister has announced their will be no limits on how many can be awarded. Sponsorships will flow. Media and appearance work will be inevitable. They are the new X Factor stars. Are they not being over feted - over stated - given the massive privileges they have already received?
Our Olympians motivate us. They are role models that hopefully young people will wish to emulate. They encourage us to participate in sport - to be like them. Anyone can achieve their goals if they work hard enough. This is the Olympic legacy. It is why we can justify a £4 million investment to achieve every Olympic medal. It is worth it for the public good it engenders. It popularises engagement in sport and a healthy life style - vital in our increasingly obese world.
OR
As someone who has been involved in sport all my life as a recreation I have a problem with this thinking. It is true it will of course motivate some. My concern it will demotivate just as many. Sport in everyday life is not about being a superstar. It is about keeping fit, improving, friendly competition, your local club - part of your social life. It is worth doing at a low level - an ordinary level - sport for all. It is about sustainability and routine. You do not have to be a champion to be heroic - for it to be important and personally worthwhile.
So I will finish in the way I started this blog. I really enjoyed the Olympics. I am glad GB did well. I loved watching Sophie Hitchon, Adam Gemili and Jade Jones efforts - the fantastic Brownlee's and what it meant to Andy Murray . I was enthralled by the womens hockey team - still am - but actually they are all full time paid professionals with Rolls Royce back up that few others in the world can match. It takes the shine off. Are our Olympians really so heroic now - is Mo Farah quite as exceptional as he would have been in a bygone era when he would have been an amateur holding down a day job as athletes from most countries still are. I have a sense of unease about values and the Olympic spirit and what it means and that is a shame - but probably the inevitable way of the world. Where does it stop? Will it ultimately be all about money and resources made available by political will determined by the prized reflected glow of medal success and overt nationalism?
Pierre De Coubertin - founder of the modern Olympics -
FOOTNOTE - Paralympics - everything GB has done for our Olympic competitors we are bringing to the Rio Paralympics. Why not? What is wrong with full time lottery funded professional Paralympians with cutting edge equipment, resources and back up? (Kevlar wheel chairs that cost thousands.) There is nothing wrong except the disparity in resources in Paralympics between countries is even more extreme. The gulf between GB elite funded Paralympian's and representative of other countries is much wider than the Olympics. (GB with justification can point out that we are in the vanguard of the development of Paralymics - indeed we started it at Stoke Mandeville. We can argue it is GB leading the way in the fight for parity between the Olympics and Paralympics and this is something to be proud of.) However the reality is we are sending a massive and well funded team to Rio. We are bound to achieve a sack full of medals while many other countries Paralympians participation is in doubt it seems because they might not even have the cost of the air fare and will have to make their own way through competition. This is a stark illustration of the unfair resource differences. The GB team will fly out on chartered aircraft with training camp facilities of the highest quality. This is a sad state of affairs and such resource disparity diminishes the value of our inevitable medal haul. It also is quite likely that GB dominance will discourage and dissuade other countries and their citizens from participating in future events. The Olympic ideal is being undermined and GB is inadvertently leading the way because winning is becoming everything.
However despite my unequivocal statement above I feel a sense of unease. In almost every aspect of the games and particularly in respect of the massive and disproportionate medal haul by the GB team - I have a sense of conflict. I will illustrate what I mean by playing a devils advocate role too.
From Brazil (Rio's) point of view. The games have further raised the profile of the country - there have been infrastructure investment and improvements - and more Brazilians are and will be engaged in sport beyond just football and volleyball.
OR
Brazil has serious financial problems and particularly social problems with huge gaps between rich and poor. This was a showpiece event which the Brazilians' could not really afford and priorities were wrong. I spent some time in Brazil in 2015 and a week in Rio.(see my blog #RiodeJaneiro 26/5/2015). It was very clear to me that most Brazilians were resentful of the money being spent by corrupt politicians for the benefit of only the "rich elite". The promises being made were the same as the ones being made for the FIFA 2014 World Cup. The reality turned out to be national debt and no legacy. Attendances were generally poor in Rio and seem to bear out the wide malaise towards the games by the average Brazilian. On a wider Olympic point - the games have become too big - too expensive for most countries to stage without impacting negatively on the people who can least afford it.
The GB team did incredibly well. It was great to watch. There was a sense of national pride and the extra pleasure from watching your own nation succeed at the highest level and this added massively to the spectating experience. We got involved - we cheered - we clapped - we were proud. It is amazing that the GB team finished 2nd in the overall medal table - that we won medals in more sports across the board than any other country and the progressive and sustained improvement in UK sport performance is viewed by many nations as a surprise and as a target to try and replicate.
OR
The GB Team did too well - given the population size of GB - an embarrassment of riches. How was it achieved? It was achieved by professionalism and by virtually unlimited financial resources (largely provided by the National Lottery - (a tax on the poor !?)) which no other country have been able to match at this stage. It has ben achieved by a ruthless drive for medal success and only committing resources when this is a realistic achievement. Many feel the UK is ahead of the game and it shows in our results. Is this not a good thing? At one level yes of course - we are competing well and achieving success - why knock that? However why it is clearly wrong to be a drug cheat to get results is it not also questionable to compete with so many built in advantages that many other countries athletes start at a substantial disadvantage. Isn't the spirit of the Olympics lost? Shouldn't all athletes effectively be competing on a level playing field? They are not. UK competitors are massively privileged and helped. They are literally "professional" to start with. What they do is their full time job. No longer do they have to work and train. They just train with an income paid by GB. It doesn't end there. Kevlar bikes (prepared for each individual athlete) designed in a F1 wind tunnel costing thousands, the very best equipment, an entourage of dieticians, chefs, sports psychologists, world class coaches (recruited from around the world), best medical back up, state of art training camps etc etc. Not a stone unturned. This approach maybe inevitable. There was a time when only amateurs could compete in the Olympics - but the East Germans and Russians ended that - all their athletes were in the Army! But Britain has taken it to a new level - an extreme level of professionalism. It is a shame because many competitors are now disenfranchised from the Olympic dream. Increasingly - no longer is gods gifts (and determination) enough to win a gold - you will need the might of the GB type organised and funded machine behind you. Something is lost. It is too cynical. (to be fair to GB they point out many other countries throw money at the Olympics in order to win medals but the UK has used their money better - in a more sustained and efficient way and it is now paying dividends).
Time and time again we hear GB Olympians referring to the enormous - superhuman personal sacrifices they have made to be where they are. They have to be dedicated and single minded. It is hard enough to be the best in your class, best in your year, best in school, best in your city, best in your county, best in your country. To be the best in the world is truly incredible. All true. Hats off indeed.
OR
As above - GB Olympians are funded (admittedly no athlete is getting rich on elite funding in itself and also funding has to be earned by potential and performance). Training and preparing is their job. They are privileged. How do their efforts compare with that of a Care Worker or Production Line worker? How does it compare with a police officers who risks their lives or a soldier on a tour of duty who doesn't see his family for months. How does it compare with a nurse giving of self or a junior doctor who has spent years studying only to be abused by the government and too many of the public. Elite athletes are being paid for something they love doing, to pursue a dream. They are healthy. Is making sacrifices really the reality compared to most peoples lives? and even if it is, it is likely a far greater sacrifice is paid by family who have to defer to the athlete pursuing a personal and all consuming (and possibly self obsessed) shoot for the top.
Medalist are doing it for their country. They drape themselves in the Union Jack. They are representing us. All true.
OR
The primary motivation is personal glory - and possibly the riches that will flow from their status. There is a call for Olympians and their coaches to be awarded honours. The Prime Minister has announced their will be no limits on how many can be awarded. Sponsorships will flow. Media and appearance work will be inevitable. They are the new X Factor stars. Are they not being over feted - over stated - given the massive privileges they have already received?
Our Olympians motivate us. They are role models that hopefully young people will wish to emulate. They encourage us to participate in sport - to be like them. Anyone can achieve their goals if they work hard enough. This is the Olympic legacy. It is why we can justify a £4 million investment to achieve every Olympic medal. It is worth it for the public good it engenders. It popularises engagement in sport and a healthy life style - vital in our increasingly obese world.
OR
As someone who has been involved in sport all my life as a recreation I have a problem with this thinking. It is true it will of course motivate some. My concern it will demotivate just as many. Sport in everyday life is not about being a superstar. It is about keeping fit, improving, friendly competition, your local club - part of your social life. It is worth doing at a low level - an ordinary level - sport for all. It is about sustainability and routine. You do not have to be a champion to be heroic - for it to be important and personally worthwhile.
So I will finish in the way I started this blog. I really enjoyed the Olympics. I am glad GB did well. I loved watching Sophie Hitchon, Adam Gemili and Jade Jones efforts - the fantastic Brownlee's and what it meant to Andy Murray . I was enthralled by the womens hockey team - still am - but actually they are all full time paid professionals with Rolls Royce back up that few others in the world can match. It takes the shine off. Are our Olympians really so heroic now - is Mo Farah quite as exceptional as he would have been in a bygone era when he would have been an amateur holding down a day job as athletes from most countries still are. I have a sense of unease about values and the Olympic spirit and what it means and that is a shame - but probably the inevitable way of the world. Where does it stop? Will it ultimately be all about money and resources made available by political will determined by the prized reflected glow of medal success and overt nationalism?
Pierre De Coubertin - founder of the modern Olympics -
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.
FOOTNOTE - Paralympics - everything GB has done for our Olympic competitors we are bringing to the Rio Paralympics. Why not? What is wrong with full time lottery funded professional Paralympians with cutting edge equipment, resources and back up? (Kevlar wheel chairs that cost thousands.) There is nothing wrong except the disparity in resources in Paralympics between countries is even more extreme. The gulf between GB elite funded Paralympian's and representative of other countries is much wider than the Olympics. (GB with justification can point out that we are in the vanguard of the development of Paralymics - indeed we started it at Stoke Mandeville. We can argue it is GB leading the way in the fight for parity between the Olympics and Paralympics and this is something to be proud of.) However the reality is we are sending a massive and well funded team to Rio. We are bound to achieve a sack full of medals while many other countries Paralympians participation is in doubt it seems because they might not even have the cost of the air fare and will have to make their own way through competition. This is a stark illustration of the unfair resource differences. The GB team will fly out on chartered aircraft with training camp facilities of the highest quality. This is a sad state of affairs and such resource disparity diminishes the value of our inevitable medal haul. It also is quite likely that GB dominance will discourage and dissuade other countries and their citizens from participating in future events. The Olympic ideal is being undermined and GB is inadvertently leading the way because winning is becoming everything.
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