The REAL Olympic Spirit.

[MADDOG]

OK, If you are from Equitorial Guinea, read no further. If you are interested in EVERY Olympic result, and not just placings, read no further.


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I was just watching the Olympic coverage, and saw saomething which melted my heart.

This swimmer from Equitorial Guinea had to swim alone in his heat of the 100 meters freestyle because the other 2 competitors got disqualified for false starts. But this guy had never seen water or something, because the World record is 35 seconds, and it took him 1:52 to finish, and by the end he was hardly moving and close to sinking.

But far from being booed out of the pool, the entire crowd cheered for him and made him feel like the hero he was just for being there.

That is what the olypics are all about. It's moments like that which make it all worth while. I doubt I'll be able to tell you in 20 years who one all our gold medals, but I will never forget seeing this guy flailing about hoplessly, and the crowd cheering him home like a gold medal winner. To me, he's the biggest champion so far.

MADDOG

 

[Jester]

That is, by far, the best thing that I have ever heard of coming out of the Olympics (don't really watch 'em).

Kind of helps re-affirm your hope for humanity.

Way to go!

 

[Patryn]

Wow. That's about all I can say.

 

[MADDOG]

Champion!

Did anyone see it yet?! It MUST have been on the news over there by now! It turns out the guy was a soccer player or something, and he was part of a FINA sponsored program to promote swimming in non swimming nations.

In the whole of Equitoreal Guinea, there are like 2 pools and the longest is 20 metres long.

Now the guy is looking for a good coach and he's aiming for Athens. What a hero!

MADDOG

Oh, and the World Record was 48ish seconds (Now 47:80ish), not 35, so he wasn't as far off as I thought.

 

[Wizard]

I just saw that on the news..................What a guy............

 

[Expertise]

Once in a long while do you see something that laudible. Even less often at the Olympics.

BTW got your stuff and I will try and get it off to you in the next couple of days. No product, sorry. Weight made the shipping of it kinda' hellish and our posties were unsure of customs restrictions.

 

[April]

COOL!!! They're gonna show it on my local news in a few minutes!

 

[FlamingoBlue]

Its guys like you Maddog ....

that are the real heros. Men that are sensitive and kind and not afraid to admit it. What's a sweet guy like you doing hiding behind such a fearsome name. anyways?

blue

 

[Sonora]

That was so cool!

I saw a feature NBC did on this guy while I was working out last night. Made me work a little harder!

 

[RonG]

The feature on the guy was pretty cool but I can't believe he is really the best swimmer they could have found. Heck, I would smoke that guy, he can't even kick with his feet above water.

When I lived in Atlanta before and during the Olympics, there were all kinds of folks like that who weren't athletic but were going to be in the games. Know why? They were politically connected or extremely wealthy nabobs from impoverished countries using the Olympics as an egostroke vacation, normally at the expense of their governments that should be spending money on medicine and food.

Yes, Eddie the Eagle was funny and the spot on this guy was sympathetic but a lot of these yoyos are parasites. Did you see why this guy from Equatorial Guinea swam alone? Because the other two pieces of flotsam who were entered on wild card exemptions (non-qualifiers who get to participate at the whim of the Samaranch and the rest of the IOC extortionists) chose to intentionally false start so they wouldn't have to swim two laps. But they are sucking up the free food and hospitality in the Olympic Village (your Aussie tax dollars at work).

So, yes he seemed quite sincere. But there is nothing noble about most of these hopeless folks.

 

[ManOSafety]

Right On

When I first heard about the swimmer, I felt the same way. That this is what the Olympic spirit is supposed to be about. Sure, it's awesome to see someone representing your country do well. I'll never forget seeing Michael Johnson's 200 meter final, smashing the world record in Atlanta and the American hockey team in Lake Placid, but...

Since most of the entrants in the games probably realize that they truly have no chance of winning their event, hoping for a personal best performance or a country's best performance, it can be inspiring to watch the struggles that some of the athletes have to go through.

Having said that, however, I'm considering moving to Equatorial Guinea now so that I can become the national champion in swimming, I'm pretty confident I can swim the 100 meter freestyle in a blistering 1:45 or so.

 

[OUTSIDER]

What a top bloke that swimmer is they'v nick named him Eric the eel or some such thing.

 

[Whispersecret]

That man has courage like I'll never have. I can't imagine swimming that length in front of a huge live crowd and the TV cameras, knowing that I was a shitty swimmer. Did you see the underwater shots of him? He wasn't even using his legs! My six-year-old has better form.

Anyway, I admire the guts it took to do that in front of the world. Those other two schmucks should be laughed at.

 

[Magic Merlin]

MADDOG, thanks for this thread.

In the 1984 Lake Placid Winter Olympics there was a lone skier from Egypt. He was young guy, in his early 20s, who was living in New Jersey at the time with his parents. He was not a good skier by any means. He came to represent Egypt through his father who being an Egyptian national got the Egyptian Olympic committee to sponsor his son in the winter Olympics.

As the son was only a beginning skier and would never win any medals in the skiing events, a lot of questions were asked as to why he was allowed to participate in the Olympics. It was even a more amazing thing that this kid came to the attention of the public, because of his obvious lack of skiing experience and skill. Yet, his run down the giant slalom course was shown several times on television during that Olympics.

Being an avid skiier myself, I will never forget watching this kid on TV, as he struggled down the same course and racing against the same times as the world's best skiiers of the time. His runs were not shown live, but rather were shown on tape delay. He was magnificent! The people that stayed and watched him come down the course were cheering him on wildly. They loved him. No, he did not set any records. His times were about 7 times greater than the next closest racer.

But the crowd absolutely loved him. He got to ski in the Olympics. He represented his homeland. He got to experience one of the greatest sporting events in history. As he finished the race his father was waiting for him with the biggest smile a father could have. The whole event will always stand out in my memory as one of the most memorable times of any Olympics I have ever seen. The kid, his father, and the crowds were so happy just to see the determination and the kid finish the race. Absolutely magnificent, the true Olympic spirit.

 

[Siren]

Yes it is inspiring but....

 

[MADDOG]

Re: Yes it is inspiring but....

just go to an impoverished third world nation and compete for them...how great is that? I am now an Olympian.

That's a fucking Brilliant idea! I'm so going to look into that!

But seriously, I still think this guy is a hero, regardless of the politics that got him there.

And Expertise, THANK YOU man!

MADDOG

 

[Magic Merlin]

Sorry, I totally disagree with you Siren. Its not like these are everyday common occurrences. These havve been rare, one time events. I mean, when was the last time you saw an Egyptian skiier? Really, when was the last time? 1984

I felt pretty much the same way as you did, until I saw the run by the kid from Egypt. Was his style and technique that of an accomplished skiier? No. He was a mediocre skiier at best. Hell, I could have done a lot better than him myself at the time, but to watch him struggle running the course. To watch him pick him self up after each fall and continue. Undaunted. Unfazed. That was what made it a beautiful thing to see. As I said, I felt pretty much the same as you did, until I saw this kid in the 84 Olympics. IT was just one of those things that as I watched him struggle and risk embarrassment, I learned to appreciate the moment. And the determination that he displayed to finish was what myself and millions of others enjoyed. He was an Egyptian national, but happened to live in the US at the time.

Would I like to see this occurring all the time in the Olympics? No. But in the spirit with which MADDOG started this thread, I have to appreciate what the Egyptian skiier and the swimmer from Equitorial Guinea went through. And it reminds me that the true spirit and reward of competition does not only come from the end result, the finish, but comes from the dedication, the months and years of hard work to accomplish something. And it reminds me that the sole end result of competition is not just to win, to be Number 1, but the real result of competition is striving to do better, to do your best against those that challenge you and your abilities.

The "Real Olympic" spirit is more about the challenges and struggles faced along the path to the final competition, than it is about that last event itself.

 

[Siren]

It's Ok Merlin....

 

[MADDOG]

I do see your point Siren, but I think there is an important distinction. If the presence of athletes such as these was keeping more deserving athletes out, I too would be against it. That would be wrong and completely unfair.

However this guy was in a heat with 2 other swimmers of simmilar ability - well out of the way of the more "deserving" ones. His presence did not affect any serious contenders challenge, and he was not there instead of anyone with real ability.

So I'm glad he was there.

MADDOG

 

[wolfie69]

What a guy!!!

I have not seen anything like it since the Jamaican bobsled team....This is what the olympics are supposed to be about.

This fellow goes on a short list of exceptional competitors... it takes no guts to compete when you know you have a chance, but to get in there and do it when you know you have no chance......now thats is courage!!!!!!!!!

 

[wolfie69]

I just read what Siren had to say

Siren.... the emphasis of the media is on the gold, silver and bronze. Winning those you get sponsers, some countries give you rewards.... ect.. but that is not the Olympic spirit.... the olympic spirit is to compete and do your best.... If only those people who have a chance to win competed there would onlybe a few atheletes for each sport... If you look closely there are many countries competing that have a snowballs chance in hell of winning any medal...yet those countries continue to compete and try.


Olympic spirit is "trying" your best.......

 

[Siren]

Oh my that is a bold statement to make....

 

[RonG]

I am still surprised how many people still buy Samaranch's stuff about the Olympic ideal. He has been putting a big publicity machine on this for years in his own vainglorious quest to earn a Nobel Peace Prize to erase the stain of having been a Franco fascist in Spain. The Olympics are a really well conceived athletic/entertainment extravaganza, nothing more, nothing less. The constant cat and mouse games of steroids vs. detection/testing, crooked and preordained judging of sports like gymnastics and boxing, the money chase (drive the bidding up using unscrupulous tactics then criticizing the way the funds are raised), are all a bit much for me. Go back to Jim Thorpe, Johnny Weismuller, etc., and maybe you can talk about an amateur spirit (btw, amateurism was a common athletic pursuit in almost all sports at that time as a social norm, the Olympics weren't any different). But the modern games are about money and athletic excellence and throwing these tokens in there to distract is silly.

That being said, I was so moved by the swimmer to pen a National Anthem for Equatorial Guinea on the Literoticans and Olympic Sports thread. Hope you all like it.