OLYMPICS: In ancient times Boxing at the Olympics was deadly. Boxing bouts had no rest periods and there were few restrictions. Hitting a man when he was down was OK! And boxers went at each other until one surrendered or died! But killing a man was not considered the ‘done thing’. So they decided to proclaim the dead boxer as the winner, in the absence of being able to hold his hand up! Then Olympic honours would be bestowed on the corpse in a solemn ceremony!
It was in Olympia in A.D.67, when the Roman emperor Nero decided to contest in the Chariot race. In the middle of the event he fell off his chariot and was left behind and could not complete the course. Nero who is infamously known for ‘fiddling while Rome burned’ was all powerful. And so the Olympic judges were pressurized to declare him winner of course!
In 1896, in the first modern-day Olympics held in Athens the Greek Marathon runner Spridon Belokas won the Bronze and became a hero in Greece. But then he admitted to ‘hitching a ride in a horse drawn carriage’ during the race and was disgraced and stripped off his medal.
The 1932 Olympic Games, 80 years ago to this year, is known for many things. There was only one City that put in a bid to host the Games because of the effects of the Great Depression. So it went to Los Angeles. This was also the game when French athlete Jules Noel’s discuss throw went further than that of the other competitors. But the judges were distracted by the pole vault event which towered nearby.
Because of this the throw was classified as “unofficial”. The judges apologized and let Jules throw again and it fell short of the previous mark with Noel’s throw ending up in fourth place – with no medal! Apologies!
Judges lost count of laps
There was also the 3000 metre steeple-chase for horses. The race was fiercely competed and entered its final lap or so the riders thought! The Judges, however, had lost count of the laps and the race went on for another lap. And the American rider Joseph Mc Cluskey who would have won a Silver had the race ended in the earlier lap, ended up winning only a Bronze. The judges apologized again!
During another eraway back in the 6th Century 510 B.C diet was always a key guiding principle in the training of Olympic athletes. But here is one type of dietary regime that blows one’s mind: wrestler Milo of Croton from Italy reportedly ate 40 pounds of meat and bread at a single meal and washed it down with eight quarts of wine. And Milo became the most famous wrestler, winning six Olympic championships. The fables go that he once carried a bull on his shoulders and is said to have burst a band wrapped around his brow by inflating the veins of his temples!
Twenty years ago at the Barcelona Olympics, those of us who were glued to our television sets watching the 10,000 metre event, saw the tussle between Moroccan Khalid Shah and Kenyan Richard Chelimo. They were about to lap another Moroccan Hammou Boutayeb. Then a strange thing happened and the jaws of the viewers fell in disbelief! Boutayeb blocked Chelimo for an entire lap. The officials entered the track and dragged Boutayeb out but the damage was done to Chelimo. The Moroccan Shah ended up winning the race and was all set to be awarded the Gold.
Shah awarded Gold
Olympic officials conferred and concluded that there may have been collusion between the Moroccans. Shah was disqualified and the Gold was awarded to the Kenyan. Shah appealed the decision and won. The Gold had to be retracted and awarded back to Shah.
These and other stories are culled from Sports Spectacular, a compendium by the Bathroom Readers’ Institute.
The stories include how in ancient Greece the theology of Zeus held sway. Zeus was said to believe that he was the king of the Gods and would have wanted only men to participate. Women were not welcome. And married women were even forbidden to watch the Games and if they did ‘they risked being thrown off the cliff of a nearby mountain.’
Arab women will compete
Contrast this with today when even Arab women for the first time from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Brunei will compete. There will be a Shooter, a swimmer, a sprinter and a Table Tennis player from Qatar; an 800 metre runner and a Judoka from Saudi Arabia; and a 400 metre runner for Brunei.
The long road of the Olympics is studded with such historical stories that tantalize the mind. It is also full of contrasts in human endeavour and a reflection of the changing times.
Today, as UK’s Financial Times reports, Olympic athletes are trading their personal physical data in exchange for the latest gadgets that record sleep, diet and exercise patterns. This data will be used to fine tune the US Dollar 60 Billion weight loss market. The monitoring will include deep sleep, blood sugar levels, and effects of work outs and of night time snacks.
Modern communication and Social Media technology will also play a huge role. In an age when viewers do not have the patience to wait for a prime time broadcasts, digital social media coverage will expand beyond bounds. For instance NBC will live stream every Olympic event on the web. The 900 million monthly active Facebook users will also have a field day, as would users of Twitter as they follow athletes of their choice.
There are other innovations too.
For instance returning to the Olympics will be mixed double tennis (Andy Roddick and Serena Williams will pair off for the US as will Leander Paes and Sania Mirza for India).
Bolt to watch
Watch Usain Bolt the ‘Jamaican Bolter” who is aiming to become the first person to win the 100 and 200 at consecutive Olympics. He was beaten in the Olympic trials by fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake -that makes the contest an even more exciting prospect. Bolt stands tall at 6’ 5” (Yes six feet five inches) and has a stride of 10 feet!
In 2010 he had a multi-year contract with Puma said to be around US Dollars 10 million (Rs 1.3 Billion) a year! An Olympic athlete put it well: ‘without Bolt we have no sport!”
Phelps – Ryan battle
And one of the great rivalries will be seen in the 200 M free and the 400 where US’ Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will face off with no one in the world within 1 1/2 secs in the 200 and 2 1/2 secs in the 400 of them.
Also watch South African Oscar Pistorius the 25-year-old who is making history as the first amputee athlete to compete in the 400 m and 400m relay. At the age of 11 months he had a double amputation. He now runs on carbon-fibre prosthetic limbs. Named the “blade runner”, his prosthetic limbs have been approved by the Olympic Committee. He earns about US $ 1 million a year from endorsements.
