SPROTS: The Sydney Olympics--Mexico

Athlete emeritus and active sports fan Miles Seeley takes a tolerant view of critics of the Olympics:

"I have been watching quite a lot. As a horseman, I was gratified with the unusually complete coverage of the 3-day event, and watching superb horses perform was most pleasing. As a former swimmer, I thought the events were thrilling. Athletes have gotten bigger and stronger, and records fall. Many contestants from many countries now share the glory, and you may note that many of them train in the US.

Gymnastics is a different story. My daughter once competed in the sport (summer camps and all) but was hurt and switched to ski racing and dance. The mens' competitions I enjoyed, but somehow the women came across as weepy and whiny, and the US women simply fell a lot. I look forward to Track and Field, events that are always exciting because in most of them only pure speed counts."

My comment: An ability to run fast is a hangover from primitive man and has no use today, but it does no harm. Speed for speed's sake does not move me.

John Wonder is less tolerant. A classical scholar, he despises the Middle Ages, a dark age in which sports critics live darkly:

"I do not understand this false dichotomy between physical and mental prowess. Both are to the glory of homo sapiens. How do you think the human race got where it is without physical dexterity? I am afraid this false elevation of one over the other is the invention of the medieval church.I would say "more power to Hercules" and "more power to Socrates".

My comment: John: When you visit our house, I will show you the mural room, which shows how Christianity developed out of the Hercules legend. Remember that Hercules went mad and died a miserable death. Muscular people are not necessarily healthy or live to a ripe old age. How muscular was Socrates and how fast could he run? Tails were useful once, but modern man scarcely needs one.

Now back to the Sydney Olympics. Their main result for Mexico has been an unnecessary humiliation. A poll showed that 80% of Mexicans thought it was the result of a plot. It would not have been so bad if Segura had been disqualified in the tunnel just before he emerged into the stadium. After he ran around the stadium waving the Mexican flag, and then lay or in ground embracing it, President Zedillo called him an congratulated him in the name of Mexico.

Then 11, 14, or 18 minutes passed (accounts vary) before the judge went up to him and told him he had been disqualified. During that time, the Pole, who was in second place, had gone up to the judge and allegedly complained that the Mexican had cheated. Cheating consists of "floating," i.s. running in which both feet are in the air at the same time. Judges were placed all along the route warning runners who "floated."

The Mexican response was to study in detail movies of the runners, concluding that many of them "floated." Mario Vázques Raña, chairman of the Mexican Olympic Committees and a member of the Pan American Olympic committee, stayed up all night in Sydney examining the movies before lodging a complaint with the chairman of the games. He repeated the ritual statement that "the judge's decision is final," knowing that the committee would not support him. He became angry when the Mexican TV man asked him if he had done all he could. There was talk of the Mexican teams returning whatever medals they had won and leaving Australia.

The TV man interviewed Segura, a nice, simple young man, who was philosophical about his defeat. He had been thinking about running as PPD candidate for mayor in his home community San Mateo Atenco, a small town near Toluca, the capital of Mexico State. Mexico City council might now name him director of sports. TV interviewed his family. Like all the people of San Mateo Atenco, they thought Mexico had been cheated.

Meanwhile the national pride of some Colombians was boosted by the fact that a Colombian had won a Formula One race in which drivers of large armored cars drive wildly around a course. Mario Augusto Gutiérrez asked what sportsmanship was involved and rightly raised the question of the vested interests behind these competitions. He might have quoted the Formula One scandal in which the British Government has been entangled.

Ronald Hilton - 9/23/00