I’ve been following the longest debate in our sport: Should we go to the Olympics or not?
As comrade Socrates said: Guberniev my friend, but the truth is more precious.
Last September, Dmitry and I discussed the possibility of going to the Olympics live on and disagreed. His position is well known and has been expressed on several occasions. Mine is that every action must have meaning. The meaning of modern sport is victory, not participation. Dima likes to quote phrases from songs – here’s one of my favorites: “The winner takes all, the loser is small.”
Winner takes all. That’s my motto, not just the ABBA girls’ motto.
After that argument, I had a good season and won exactly what I wanted to win. I don’t suffer from false modesty: if there were an Olympics, I would compete for a medal in the most fashionable color. But only if a number of conditions are met, which are discussed below.
Right now I’m watching the qualifying competitions for the Olympics. Athletes from certain sports have decided to qualify for Paris. Their right. Adults. They probably took into account what those selected would experience at the Games: increased attention, possibly hostility, insults. Maximum emotional pressure every day. Well, the neutral colors of the sports uniform will seem a little strange, although against the background of other issues they are trifles.
I now particularly focus on kayaking and canoeing. It is a little difficult for me to understand why Russian rowing does not participate in the selections, while the kayakers and canoeists decided to participate, but that is their business.
Why am I interested in this particular sport now? Rowing, like skiing, is a technical sport, in this sense we are close to it. Can someone explain clearly: are trainers, doctors, masseurs and equipment preparers also allowed in Paris? And not just any ones – but precisely those needed to win. I know for sure that in our country you can immediately forget about prices if a full team of specialists does not go there. To make it easier for ski lovers to understand, here is an example: if I ran for my native Kamchatka region, in which the entire support group consists of one coach (he also prepares skis), then my chances of winning skiers from Tatarstan or Tyumen, in any race, would be zero. No matter how wonderful a person and master Kamchatka coach Dmitry Vladimirovich Borodin is, the team wins in technical sports. The athlete is just a cog within her. We won at the Beijing Olympics thanks to a well-chosen and well-played support group. My question about Paris: will there be such a group of canoeists there? Will this happen in other sports?
Otherwise, it is a form of tourism. I still don’t understand why and who needs it. Even participating in the Olympics does not bring reward or fame. If initially you count not on victory, but on participation, you are a hundred years late, it was important in the time of Baron de Coubertin, but then the sport was amateur. And now – openly professional. Have you heard that track and field athletes have broken the last taboo and for the first time in the history of sports they will pay prize money to the winners of the Olympic Games? De Coubertin would probably cry.
The only thing that could change my opinion is if one of our athletes in Paris made a very loud performance – coming out with the flag and coat of arms of Russia, spitting on all the IOC bans. “Provocation,” international sports officials will say. I don’t care what they say! We must fight against stupidity. The restrictions imposed on the participation of Russian athletes constitute both the greatest stupidity and the greatest injustice in sport in recent years.
I am sure that Israeli athletes will particularly agree with my statement. I will be happy to hear their opinion.
The comparison with the neutral performances of Tokyo and Beijing is incorrect. The IOC deprived us of the right to the anthem and the flag, but the emblem of the Russian Olympic Committee in the colors of the flag was completely acceptable. And most would see it as a compromise, not a humiliation.
And most importantly, no one has artificially reduced our chances of winning by removing the necessary specialists.
Is it really not obvious that the IOC leaders and their Western allies specifically want the humiliation of the Russians at the Olympic Games? Yes, our best can really upset them. I hope they disappoint. But this situation in world sport is not normal.
A question that comes to mind more and more often as an Olympic relay champion: why does Russia even need to participate in the Olympic Games in its current form? I carefully read everything I found on Goodwill Games. About how the determination, abilities and money of one particular person brought the Olympic movement out of the woods in the 1980s. And they secured its place in history. This is what inspires me.
But let me pause here. In the second part of this column, I would like to speculate (some would say fantasize) about Goodwill Games 2.0. Stay on our wave!
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Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
