Talk the walk
July 31st 2008 07:49
Nathan Deakes and a great sporting moment
(Picture: Getty Images)
Long-standing Orble bloggist "Sports Insider" insists in this post that many of the events at the Olympic Games will not be worth the television time. Indeed, he (she?) claims that some Olympic "activities" are "non-sports" and promises to reveal them over the coming month.
Sports Insider has chosen race-walking as his first target, claiming it is "over-umpired" and interpreting the disqualifications - which are admittedly an unfortunately prominent feature of the sport - as a "fiasco" because walkers are penalised for going faster.
It doesn't take much knowledge of race-walking to know that competitors are disqualified on technical criteria involving ground contact and leg straightening. Walkers at the front, middle and rear of the field can equally be disqualified on these technical grounds. It could be argued that they are over-reaching, in the way, say, that a gymnast may step outside the line in a floor exercise. But to claim walkers are penalised for going too fast is wide of reality.
Last year Australia's Nathan Deakes won the 50km walk at World Championships in Osaka, and the image of his tear-streaked face nearing finishing line glory goes down for me as one of the great endurance sports memories by an Australian, up there with efforts by Derek Clayton, Willi Sawall, Rob de Castella, Steve Moneghetti, Lisa Ondieki, Tani Ruckle, Kerry Saxby, Simon Baker and Jane Saville.
Sports Insider claims race walking is not a sport, and the people involved in it are not sports people. To which I ask if Sports Insider really considers himself a sports fan?
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Comment by Sports Insider
A sport needs to have a clear result, a final score or even a time. When judges are handing out medals based on their scores, it isn't sport.
If you are able to convince anyone that Synchronized Diving is a sport, then maybe the IOC will have you in their little clique.
For walking, it doesn't seem to fit in with their "Faster, Higher, Stronger" motto. Walking is what the elderly do for exercise, it isn't a race to see who the greatest and fastest in the world is.
With China censoring a lot of what happens, sports fans can only hope that all filming of Walking, Synchronized Diving, Equestrian - Dressage, Trampoline Gymnastics and many other events is not broadcast.
Hopefully you, and anyone else, can have some fun while the 5-Rings Circus Show is on in China and are welcome to try to post some reasons why many of the things that will be shown are not sports.