Outdoors: Norm O'Reilly's Olympic Diary - Day 23 / 24

Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 10:00 PM

Olympic Diary: An Administrator's View of the Athens 2004 Olympic Summer Games

The Games are in full-swing and the last two days have gone by in a blur. At the Canadian Team administration office, things are getting very busy again as athletes are moving out and athletes who competed at offsite venues are moving into the village to enjoy the lifestyle and partake in the closing ceremonies. There is quite a contrast right now between those athletes still competing and those who have finished their events. Coordinating all of these moves is quite a challenge and has made the work more exciting and fun with the main challenge being to keep the athletes who are finished from bothering those whose events are still to come.

There is very little sleep now as the combination of events, work and Athens are consuming all of my time. Once again, I missed a post and once again I must apologize but when you sit down to write and keep falling asleep, it just isn't going to happen! The village atmosphere and nightlife are changing daily. It is packed... about 15000 people are living here and another 10000 or so come in and out every day. The cafeteria is crazy. An amazing 1800 people worked the cafeteria today serving just over 60,000 meals! Out at the venues, things are also changing, empty seats are gone at most venues and the atmosphere is incredible. At the main Olympic complex, there are over 100,000 people there at any time. Just walking around brings feelings of being in an incredible place, a place of celebration, a place of competition and a place of humanity. It is really hard to describe, but I'll try. Between the many venues (Olympic Stadium, Aquatic Complex, Velodrome, etc.) at the main complex, there are vast open spaces and cultural symbols. Lighting fills the spaces between restaurants, pubs and sponsor houses. People of every background are speaking every language and all are happy. It is a unique place. To be part of it with others or to walk alone and observe brings wonderful feelings inside and the Olympic spirit becomes evident.

Perhaps the best way to describe the feeling is about a story from weightlifting a few days ago. In the men's 85kg class, Greek legend Pyrros Dimas was competing in his 4th Olympic Games vying for his 4th consecutive Olympic gold medal. Pyrros is a great legend and the stands were filled with excited fans hoping for an unprecedented 4th consecutive gold medal. It was electric. Throughout the competition, it was clear that Pyrros was no longer his dominating self but he was still in contention for gold. Fans supported him wildly and emotion filled the arena. On his final lift of the competition, Pyrros had positioned himself so that a successful life would mean a 4th Gold. As he pushed the bar high over his head, he faltered and just centimeters from success, he failed dropping the bar. He won bronze. The crowd gasped and was silent. Pyrros took off his shoes and walked off the stage (signaling his retirement). The Greek fans lost their emotion and most were crying and cheering at the same time. Later, during the medal ceremony, the crowd was so boisterous and supportive that it took 25 minutes following Pyrros' reception of his bronze medal for the silver medal to be given out.

Following is a picture of the village at night during his final lift as thousands gathered outside to watch.



Here's another view of the Olympic Complex - note the McDonald's on the right!



A quick note from feedback to my post from a friend of mine who is one of Canada's experts in Paralympic sport:

"... you're right about the "usually compete at the Paralympic Games" part, but there have been Paralympic exhibition events since 1984. The 1500m men's wheelchair race has been contested as a demonstration/exhibition since that time, while the women's

800m race is a somewhat newer addition (I want to say 1996, but I'm not one hundred percent sure about that). The IOC has determined that there would be no more demonstration sports at the Games, but has maintained these "exhibition events." As you might imagine, there is much controversy regarding these events in the Paralympic movement -- they only show off one discipline of many, and while they show off the athleticism and potential of Paralympic athletes, it does not illustrate the breadth or scope of the movement. Given how far the Paralympics have progressed in the last decade or so (including the agreements that the IPC now has with the IOC about the staging of the games), there are calls to re-examine the role that these events might play (i.e. the purpose in 1984 may well be different in 2004)."

These are expert points that enhance my original point that Olympic sport is not equal for all. Thanks!

One other key point brought forward by a reader it the drastic contrast that exists between the media coverage of Olympic sport during the Games and the other 3 years and 50 weeks when the Olympics are not on. It was pointed out that this may not be the same in many countries of the world and perhaps it is linked to our poor performance and limited resources. Certainly the point about the volume of press is bang on, but some further analysis would be required to link it to any other construct (performance, funding, resources, etc.). There are intuitive examples however that support the role of culture, funding and mainstream support in performance success. Consider the country of Australia, about 40% of our population with a similar history. In the 1970's, Canada and Australia has similar results at Summer Olympics but today Australia is one of the dominant nations in the world, easily outperforming us on many fronts. Why? Is it culture? Is it their extensive Australian Institute of Sport program? Is it the media? Is it a desire to incorporate sport as part of a strategy to promote the nation? The options are many and truly solving it is both interesting and very challenging.

I am very excited about the next two days as the triathlons are on and I'll be attending both. Hope to have time to write.