Olympics. Ultra Rubbish
What the fudge is Golf doing in the Olympics? What would Justin Rose rather win, Olympic gold or The Masters green? I think (emphasis on think) I know the answer.
Those following me at the moment will know that I am a keen runner and thus I have the biased opinion that more running should be in the Olympics — specifically, ultra running.
Close to the Pin, far from the Pinnacle
The popular thought is that the Olympics should be the pinnacle of your sport. At the moment, ultra marathons are run by a group of amateur athletes. Sometimes you could be doing your Sunday morning shopping and that guy or gal you drive past with the supposed “all the gear but no idea” could be the world champ who is 70 miles into a 100 mile footrace. Often there is less glamour at the worlds toughest and longest races than at a 10km fun run in London’s Hyde Park. For the world’s best ultra runner the Olympics would certainly be the pinnacle of their career.
What is Value?
A further point, strengthening my case is that the Olympic values are; Friendship, Respect and Excellence. The ultra running community encompass all of these points. Every ultra runner I have met, read about and studied has the utmost respect for their fellow athlete’s, they are some of the friendliest people and they truly represent excellence, not just in their field, but their lives. Ultra running’s pin up boy, Scott Jurek, is a prime example:
EXCELLENCE
He has won :
2x Badwater Marathon — 135 mile footrace in 49 degrees celsius heat
3x Spartathlon — 150 mile footrace from Athens to Sparta
7x Western States — 10o mile footrace in America
RESPECT
Every time he finishes one of these races, he waits behind until the last finishers come in. Sometimes, he will be there for hours, clapping at the finish line.
FRIENDSHIP
Scott as well as other ultra athlete’s, have formed deep friendships in the sport. You only have to read, Christopher McDougall’s book, Born to Run to see how ultra running brought together a community of Mexican tribesman and a group of American athletes (including Scott) to form continuing friendships.
I have nothing against Golf as a sport, in fact I play a lot of golf and love it (and hate it at the same time). But it really isn’t the pinnacle of someone’s career. I get the fact that for Olympic TV ratings are something that need to be adhered to, but I honestly believe that sports like golf are not the answer. People want to see passion, pain and perseverance. Nothing will get viewers salivating like the winner of a 100 mile race grabbing gold.
