Winning at all costs?
One of the better columns on sport IMO is written by ex-Wallaby Peter Fitzsimons and appears each Saturday in the Sydney Morning Herald; today's had this little warm and fuzzy laced with the usual amount of Fitzsimon's sarcasm:
Aren't those Norwegians a weird bunch? Take the situation in the Winter Olympics. During the women's team cross-country event, a champion Canadian skier by the name of Sara Renner broke her pole. One of the blokes who was with the Norwegian side and who happened to be on the spot and had a new pole, handed it to her so she could keep going. Canada went on to win the silver medal, and Norway came fourth. I know, I know. Staggering. Disturbing. Any self-respecting member of the Australian team would surely have sledged the Canadian skier, before teasing her by holding the new pole just out of reach, and then protested to the judges that she was breaching the rules by trying to get new equipment mid-race, and that would show everyone what sport was all about. At least, though, the Norwegian good sport, Bjoernar Haakonsmoen, has been appropriately awarded. At a ceremony in Oslo this week, he was presented with 7400 cans of maple syrup, gathered by grateful Canadians.
Recent columns have also taken potshots at the Australian women's 4x400 relay team that won the gold at the CG through a protest, even though the English wiped the floor with them and won by about 100 metres. (The English were DSQ'd on a technicality - lining up in the wrong order at a baton change which apparently would have gained them about a one-tenth of a second advantage).
It's heartening to see that even in Australia, the "winning at all costs" mentality is not met with universal approval. A couple of people in Wellington should take note.
Aren't those Norwegians a weird bunch? Take the situation in the Winter Olympics. During the women's team cross-country event, a champion Canadian skier by the name of Sara Renner broke her pole. One of the blokes who was with the Norwegian side and who happened to be on the spot and had a new pole, handed it to her so she could keep going. Canada went on to win the silver medal, and Norway came fourth. I know, I know. Staggering. Disturbing. Any self-respecting member of the Australian team would surely have sledged the Canadian skier, before teasing her by holding the new pole just out of reach, and then protested to the judges that she was breaching the rules by trying to get new equipment mid-race, and that would show everyone what sport was all about. At least, though, the Norwegian good sport, Bjoernar Haakonsmoen, has been appropriately awarded. At a ceremony in Oslo this week, he was presented with 7400 cans of maple syrup, gathered by grateful Canadians.
Recent columns have also taken potshots at the Australian women's 4x400 relay team that won the gold at the CG through a protest, even though the English wiped the floor with them and won by about 100 metres. (The English were DSQ'd on a technicality - lining up in the wrong order at a baton change which apparently would have gained them about a one-tenth of a second advantage).
It's heartening to see that even in Australia, the "winning at all costs" mentality is not met with universal approval. A couple of people in Wellington should take note.
Labels: opinion
posted by Rob Crawford at 8:01 AM
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