Yvonne Visser's Travel Diary
January 20, 2006
At the Winter Olympics, all that glitters isn't gold
In less than a month the Olympic Games will begin and soon all the media
talk will be about the medal count.
It's the tally that will determine if our nation is successful or not --at
sport, politics, funding and spirit.
There is never any grey area. It's medal or no medal, success or failure.
Can you quickly come up with any fourth-place competitor's name in the last
Olympics?
Or perhaps anything other than gold?
It is what the media feeds and counts on. It also provides unlimited fodder
for sponsors, hindering or helping secure the financial future for present
and future Olympians.
So let's talk total medal potential. Some sports are able to produce multiple
medals in a single competition. I am not talking about a hockey team which
garners one medal for each member because that is still only counted as one
medal.
I am thinking of sports that have multiple distances or races, such as speed
skating, where one competitor could skate 500m, 1,000m, 5,000m and more.
In sports such as bobsleigh, skeleton and luge, each athlete has one shot
at the prize. One medal, one event, one try. This has a ripple effect in so
many ways, especially in funding from sponsors and Sport Canada.
The Canadian national skeleton team has garnered 48 world cup medals in 25
world cup events and seven world championship medals in the last three years.
Now that's domination and an incredible legacy at one medal chance per week.
Other than speed skating, I don't know of another Canadian winter sport that
produces medals like this one.
Yet this sport is relatively unknown in Canada.
When the tally of medals garnered at these Olympics is displayed on the TV
screen many, many times in February, I would like you to think twice before
making a statement, either in your mind or out loud, either negative or positive.
It seems the general public tends to "trash talk" or get behind
the athletes, depending on how the media portrays their performance.
Whether they win or not, think about the amount of effort and preparation
each and every athlete puts into each performance.
Remember each athlete strives for their best performance and will be judged
by themselves first, harshly or not, then the media, sponsors, teammates and
peers.
If there is any frustration or disappointment, the athlete will try to weather
it, not to appear weak or upset in front of the teammates who have yet to
race.
The athlete often does not tell you (through the media) what exactly their
goals are, for fear to sound pompous, or indeed to be judged ruthlessly and
fail in front of you.
A goal of a "personal best time" could mean a gold medal for one
or it could mean a top-10 placing for others. To be able to handle the unbelievable
stress, and perform at their best is victory in itself
This is not an "excuse", the choice word used when athletes don't
perform at their best, as I feel that Canadian athletes are ready to win.
It is an understanding that we should applaud the courage that it takes to
stand in front of millions and be judged, medal or not.
I am so proud to wear the Canadian Maple Leaf on my jacket, as I know that
I represent a nation of fair and friendly people, with the knowledge that
we, as a society as a whole, appreciate these qualities. One month to the
games. Get your cable connections and a new battery for your remote control.
Yvonne Visser is a Nanaimo massage therapist and former Olympian who
is part of the health care team with the Canadian Olympic Committee tending
to athletes in Alpine, snowboarding, skeleton, bobsleigh, and luge at the
2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. She is currently on tour with the Canadian
skeleton Team in Latvia. Her column will appear every week in the month of
January.
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