Sunday, February 26, 2006

Not So Great Britain

I think just maybe this is the reason that the Britsh Winter Olympic team has thus far managed to snare a single medal of any kind (silver in the women's skeleton bob) -

British Olympic boss Simon Clegg had said before the 2006 Games that the target was one medal "of any colour".

Got that? The sole aim was to win a single medal of any kind at all.

I am ashamed to be associated with this sort of attitude. No wonder our team's performance has been less than stellar. So why the heck have thousands and thousands of pounds been paid towards the team? What's the point if they're not aiming to win a gold in every discipline they enter? Why bother sending these 40 athletes to the Games if most of them don't have a chance of getting up in the medal table? Is that a good use of limited sports resources or should we just focus in on those athletes who are actually fit enough to compete at this level, instead of every Tom, Dick and Harry who can perform adequately in an obscure event?

The Olympics are not just about taking part.

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