So far during the 2012 London Olympics, I have observed two atrocities.
The first has to do with Jordyn Wieber of the U.S.women’s gymnastics team. In case you haven’t heard, Jordyn, the reigning world champion, did not qualify for the individual all around event due to a ridiculous rule. The rule states that only two athletes per country can advance to the individual all around event.
During qualifying, Jordyn came in fourth out of all the competitors; however, two of her America teammates finished ahead of her meaning that she didn’t qualify for the individual all around event. Jordyn, you are a victim of the system and you deserved to go through. I guess the Olympics are in the business of rewarding mediocrity.
The second has to do with the eight female badminton doubles players who were disqualified from the Olympics after trying to purposely lose matches. They tried to lose their matches so that they would have a more favorable matchup for the following round which they had already qualified for. What they did was not illegal. Some say it was unethical; however, I believe that it was simply strategy. As far as I’m concerned, strategy is a part of every sport. There is nothing wrong with utilizing strategy to put yourself in a better position. It’s perfectly legal and I say that the eight women should be reinstated.
Brad E.S. Tinnon
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Photo courtesy of JL08
2 thoughts on “Atrocities at 2012 London Olympics”
Jordyn and her team knew what the Olympic rules were all along. By only performing 3rd best for the USA, her teammates beat her out fairly. If Jordyn would have come in 2nd and beat out a lesser known teammate, this would not even have made the news.
I agree that the badminton teams should not have been disqualified. The pool system promotes the potential for this type of display. It happened in table tennis before, and as result it is now single elimination. However, If I was a spectator and badminton was the only ticket I could get and I saw that shenanigans… I would not be happy.
Very good comments Allan. I never thought about it before, but what you said about Jordyn is very profound. If she would have come in 2nd it never would have been an issue. Front runners always get the attention. To promote great competition, I still think they should change the rule. As for badminton, the real losers are the spectators. I too would be unhappy if I saw a less than stellar effort. This rule needs to be changed as well.