WINNING is the best thing about the Olympics as the difference in weight and value between the first, second and third prizes of gold, silver and bronze evince. But not everyone triumphs, and when they don’t, they are at least expected to demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship.
The latter is more observed in principle than practice, however. Contrast, for example, the reaction of Chinese swimmer, Fu Yuanhui, upon learning that she won bronze after the women’s 100 metre backstroke final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Dutch sprinter, Dafne Schippers, after her second place finish in the 200 metres.
Given the good news by a reporter, Yuanhui cupped her face with her hands, widened her eyes in amazement to say: “I came third?!” and went off muttering “In that case, it’s not bad at all!”
It was not bad either for Schippers, who finished fifth in the 100m earlier, but she shrugged and scowled at the interviewer’s probe of what the feat meant to her. “Nothing. I came here for gold.”
Between the two reactions, and no less remarkable, was a rower’s near-speechless response to his post-competition pose. Questioned by a reporter on the source of his laid-back attitude after hectic competition rewarded by a podium finish, he managed to say: “I left all my powers in the water.”
Romance at the Games
Everyone else, from losing athlete to analyst and the aficionado, managed to come away with something from the gold rush in the course of the 17-day competition across 28 sports. While the athletes raced into history, and spectators erupted in lusty cheer, pundits updated the record books and viewers raced against time to catch highlights on TV.
And what a spectacle the Games offered from its August 5 launch. Added to the multinational colour was the multicultural connection, specifically marriage proposals. The first came early in the Games when Brazilian women’s rugby sevens player, Isadora Cerullo, was asked for her hand in marriage by her girlfriend, Marjorie Enya, in front of a boisterous stadium after the Brazil squad had been knocked out of the competition.
It was followed by Chinese diver, Qin Kai, who proposed to his teammate and girlfriend, He Zi, during the medal presentation ceremony of her silver medal dive in the women’s springboard. She had tears in her eyes after, though many noted that it took a while for a smile to replace the look of shock on her face.
Moments after winning a silver medal in triple jump, American Will Claye leapt into the stands, dropped to a knee and proposed to his longtime girlfriend, hurdler Queen Harrison. British race walker, Tom Bosworth, chose the night after his 20km race to propose to his boyfriend against the more serene background of Rio’s Copacabana beach and later tweeted a photo of the occasion.
Another proposal ensued when Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin finished her high-scoring freestyle dressage test. As she earned her second Equestrian gold, cameras zoomed in on her long-time partner in the stands holding up a sign saying: “Will you marry me now?”
Every proposal was greeted with a ‘yes’, prompting a global outpouring of emotion as many celebrated the colourful and grand romantic gesture. Critics, however, insisted that the act put vast amounts of pressure on the would-be spouse and detracted from his or her sporting achievements. Others viewed it as a publicity stunt or sexist act that undermined the sunject’s sporting prowess.
But experts thought post-win engagements or wedding dates believable as high-performance athletes often put their personal lives on hold, given the intensity of training focus required to succeed in the Olympics (a nod to suggestions that the golden moment outweighs the athletes’ accomplishments).
For related reasons, gymnast Simone Biles grabbed the headlines. The five-medal winner (including four golds) flirted on the social media all through the Games with self-confessed admirer, Brazilian Olympic gymnast, Arthur Mariano, and American movie star, Zac Efron.
Probably the athlete to feature most in photographs with fellow competitors, the Rio 2016 breakout star caused more than a stir through selfies with her ‘Brazilian boyfriend’ and disclosure of Efron’s life-size poster before asking the actor to visit the athletes in Rio. He obliged.
Efron said he was in the audience cheering on Biles and teammate Aly Raisman as they won gold and silver in the floor exercise final. Afterwards, Biles said on Twitter: “Just call me Mrs. Efron already.”
Controversy and the Games
Despite fears of a troubled Games, on account of political upheaval in Brazil and public disenchantment with costs and security before the Games, the athletes came prepared. After meticulous preparations, nothing would douse the flame of ambition.
The crowds yelled, and the records fell. The United States of America dominated from start to finish, ending the competition with 46 gold medals, 37 silver and 38 bronze for a total of 121. The latest model of consistency after its London 2012 feat of 29 gold medals, Great Britain edged rising superpower, China (which finished with 26 golds of a 70-medal total) for the second position.
Host Brazil lugged a creditable 19 medals with seven of them gold while Kenya, with six golds and 13 in total, led the African charge. South Africa’s two golds out of 10 medals and Ethiopia’s one of eight followed by Ivory Coast’s one gold and one bronze left Nigeria, with the men’s soccer (football) bronze, wallowing with the minnows at 78th on the medal table.
As usual with Games, and in tandem with the human element in split-second assessment, controversy lingered. Refereeing decisions in the technical scoring of events, notably boxing, drew blatant condemnation.
Feeling robbed of qualification in the men’s bantamweight quarter-finals, Irish boxer, Michael Conlan, ‘awarded’ the judges of his 56 kg fight the two-finger salute with a foul-mouthed rant for good measure. Conlan, who won bronze at London 2012 and hoped for a better finish in Rio, was beaten by Russian Vladamir Nikitin despite dominating. He called amateur boxing’s governing body AIBA ‘corrupt’.
It was the second disputed win for Nikitin at the Games after he squeezed through the round of 16 bout over Thai fighter Chatchai Butdee.
Underperformance cause and effect
In the end, the long-limbed duo of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, who both announced their retirement from the Games, stood out. The Jamaican reached a triple treble with a repeat of Beijing 2008 and London 2012 golds in the 100, 200 and 400 metre relay races while the American stretched his unprecedented haul from the pool when he led the U.S. to victory in the 400-meter medley relay at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
Phelps finished a career that covered five Olympics with 28 medals, 23 of them gold. Next best is a handful of athletes on nine gold medals including Bolt.
While the world ponders the fate of the Games after the exit of the super athletes, none should bet on their feats remaining unsurpassed. With constant improvements in training, diet and genetic engineering, the Olympian of the future looks set to run faster, throw further, jump higher and lift stronger.
The bet, instead, is on Nigeria. Rated the largest economy in Africa until recently, the country attracted mostly negative press en route to a hard-earned men’s football bronze in Rio. From rumoured official encouragement of self-help in sponsorship to pre-tournament logistics, Nigeria’s contingent stewed in endless fiasco.
Considering antecedents, the continental powerhouse and potential giant in nearly everything else was overrated. How on earth could the country compete keenly in Rio when the transportation of 22 footballers from a training camp in ‘nearby’ Atlanta, USA stretched the national psyche and purse?
The arrival of Team Nigeria kits for the Games less than 48 hours to the closing ceremony illustrated the haplessness that fetched the sympathy of Japanese philanthropist and football enthusiast, Katsuya Takasu. The uproar generated by camping logistics and the Japanese plastic surgeon’s $390, 000 succour to the Dream Team VI and its handlers at the end underscored a poverty of thought.
Through official ineptitude, mainly, the sight of foreign competitors unpacking odd-shaped sport equipment at Rio de Janeiro’s international airport or assembling them at competition venues probably confounded the average Nigerian as much as the terminology in technical events.
What, for instance, is the difference between Foil, Épée and Sabre in Fencing, and what exactly is a Vibration dampener used for in Archery? Few, for that matter, would know what Arabesque stands for in Gymnastics or what a Kip represents in Trampolining.
While Asian entrants matched their North American and European counterparts on the Olympic stage, gear for gear, move for move and whoop for whoop, the African, nay, Nigerian competitor stuck to popular, time-tested events where technique or equipment seemed to matter less.
Solution for 2020 and beyond
Elite participation in football and athletics require more than typical Nigerian spirit (or brawn). The appointment of neophytes into administration by quota system or the release of funds two weeks before a four-year competition depicts a shocking lack of ambition.
As their victors showed to triple treble, double double and other multiple medal effect, better technique marks the difference. Rio, and possibly Tokyo in four years, would always present a bonanza for officials and a jamboree for Team Nigeria regardless of official posture.
It is an outcome substantiated by Tosin Oke’s experience. The triple jumper spoke of his frustration at obtaining a refund for transportation from his base. He succeeded in ‘chasing’ Team Nigeria officials for a refund in Rio more than his original dream of Olympic gold.
Compared to the industrialised nations that led the Rio 2016 Olympics medals count, Nigeria punched below its weight. It may help to adopt an objective approach similar to Great Britain’s. In the wake of a disastrous showing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where Team GB won a single gold medal and finished 36th overall, the country instituted a ruthlessly efficient, however controversial, sports funding program.
British officials base their funding decisions on a sport’s likelihood of winning medals on the biggest stage. If a sports program fails to produce the expected number of medals at the Olympics, funding is cut while programs that exceed quotas are rewarded with additional money.
Without commensurate revamp of methods and funding, a rehash of American-born Nigerian sprinter, Regina George’s self-help towards Rio 2016 sponsorship on personal fundraising website, gofundme.com appears plausible in four years.
To the Olympic motto of ‘faster, higher, and stronger’, as proposed by Pierre de Coubertin upon the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894, the Nigerian sports fan may meanwhile add ‘hopefully’.
