verging_on_random

Dreams of Olympic glory

August 21, 2008 on 7:38 pm | In Uncategorized |

I thought this was rather touching.

The Republic of the Philippines has about four times Australia’s population … read on.

“Citius, Altius, Fortius”- those are the three Latin words meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger” on the Olympic Motto.

I wonder if anybody in this world does not know about Olympic Games. From my school days in primary grade, my teachers already injected the significance of the Olympics in my young mind. Almost every four years, I give a keen attention to one of the world’s anticipated event—always putting my hopes high that my beloved country would bring home a “gold”.

Then it happened again.

This year in Beijing, since the start of the Olympics, I am tracking the performance of Philippine Athletic Delegation to China. At least two times in every single day, when I wake up in the morning and before I sleep at night (sometimes, during lunch at work too), I visit the Beijing Olympics Homepage— wishing to be surprised for a news of the Philippine team bagging a medal (to wish for a gold is way far too high L). I am waiting for a medal for Philippines. Even just one medal….

But is it truly luck which does not favor the Pinoy delegation?

Prior to this year’s Olympics, Filipinos have pinning their hopes, after 84 years of not getting a gold medal, on Filipino boxer, Harry Tanamor. Since 1924 when Philippines joined Olympic Games, Filipino athletes have won only nine medals, with boxing athletes bagging two silver medals and three bronze medals. In 2004, Tanamor was able to reach the quarterfinals in Athens game. This year, he had to win five matches to bag a gold. Unfortunately, Filipinos had another big upset when boxer Tanamor suffered an immediate defeat from losing to Manyo Plange of Ghana, on August 13

Now, with only a few more days before Beijing Olympics end, I am wondering if I should put the blame on the Pinoy athletes for not wining, or to the country where they came from– embodied by Philippines’ ever grueling politics which I am not proud of.

I watch several clips of amateur Olympiads from other countries (especially those coming from Southeast Asia- our “neighbors”) garnering medals everyday. I am happy for the showcase of skills and talents as well as the spirit of sportsmanship from the athletes’ stories.

But I could not push back my sadness, thinking that I know my country can do better.

Is it that hard?

Filipinos around the globe struggle daily to be recognized.

A medal would have been dearly welcomed amidst the chaos of military conflict in Philippines right now.

In the end, I could just sit and wait—wishing that Philippines might get a “gold” during my lifetime— even just ONE.

Do Australians and people from other wealthy nations really get pleasure from buying Olympic medals? Because clearly that is what contemporary sport has become.

And now we will be bombarded with demands for even more money to be given to the sports industry, because we aren’t winning as many medals as we thought we had paid for and *shock horror* we might not win as many as the poor bloody Brits.

Sport has become a wretched joyless business in the developed world.