Olympic games and new Cold War
What is obvious during these Olympic games in Rio? Difference between poor and rich is at its height, glamour is just a front while real life is hidden from world media, who drag their cameras to poor area only when they’re pushing some political agenda (impeachment of Brasilian president), or when they find some impossible connection with Donald Trump, world’s leading stage clown.
Cold War is again at its peak. Russian athletes, many of them already legends in their sports (Yelena Ishinbaeva, Maria Sharapova…) were suspended from Olympic Games before they even started. Reason, using of illegal substances. In so many cases these bans were at least doubtful. I don’t want to go to details, but suspending of Sharapova because she was using Meldonium (or something like that) was a staged attempt to disqualify someone who had potential to represent Russia at highest level. This substance was banned month before Sharapova was tested, and everyone from tennis world knew she was using it for her heart condition. It looked like one of many doping cases , but hipocrisy of World Antidoping Agency didn’t stop with her. Slashing of Russian athlete team showed world that there is no even attempt to hide influence of other great power in decisions which influence world sport. Sergei Shubenkov, Antonina Krivoshapka, Maria Kuchina, Ivan Uhov, Viktor Lebedev are just some names of possible medal pretenders who were kicked out from OG before it started.
On the other side, we have every four years stories about American athletes and their doubtful behavior outside of sport arenas, for example brightest of them all, Michael Phelps, who was even photographed when he was smoking marihuana or crack. And that Phelps, even with the fact that drugs stay in body for months, was never suspended. And that wasn’t enough, so his sponsor, accidentally a company who produces time measurement devices for swimming competition, made “mistake” during 100m race at Beijing OG and he was declared champion, despite fact that he came second, which was confirmed later. Explanation was, his rival, Serbian swimmer Cavic didn’t press button harder so Phelps won.
What about NBA players at OG? Does World Antidoping Agency test them just like other players during the year? NBA does not allow testing for players during their rookie year (?!) and after that players are tested once per year, during pre-season camp! So, is that hipocrisy too, or just normal rules which only apply to U.S.A. athletes?
Rest of the world should do something about this, or soon we will have Americans-only Olympic Games, since they kick out everyone who is capable to be a decent competition.
Do not think that I want to minimize great achievement of great athletes like M. Phelps, because one medal more or less do not darken his greatness , but I don’t wanna see in 10 years some documentary during dinner time where some absolute champion admits that he was taking drugs to achieve all those medals. We already have one Lance Armstrong, and his actions destroyed so many promising bikers. Who remembers those behind him at all those Tour dè France’s? Do you know their names?
And last ,but not the least, is ignoring all the rules of International Olympic Committee, by bringing all those not recognized countries to Games, making it a stage for political speculations. It is not important anymore is someone a member of UN, it is only important if they are ally of U.S.A.. So, stop destroying a tradition which made even Hitler hangs his head in shame, and give us clean, spectacular couple of weeks of pure sport. After that you continue your wars, since you can’t do anything better for this planet.