Beijing and the End of the Olympics

11 Tuesday Aug 2015

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AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO

Beijing being awarded the 2022 winter games marks, if not the end of the Olympics, the beginning of the end.

While the handing of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was a gesture of enormous cynicism, giving China the Winter Olympics was one of deep resignation. No one else wanted them.

Sure, Almaty bid for them, but there was no chance that the International Olympic Committee, the fattest of the fat cats, was going to hand their jewel to a nation with more yurts than 5-star hotel rooms.

(I would have loved to have seen the games in Almaty, and though we’d have to hold our noses and look past Kazakstan’s deplorable human rights record, let’s face it, we’ve gotten pretty used to it.)

The IOC’s problem is the cities most suited for the Olympics – the big, rich metropolis in the U.S and Europe with all the best stadia and restaurants – want little to do with them. Boston – as sports-besotted a city as exists – turned its back on the chance to bid for the 2024 games, after polls showed the citizenry had no interest. When people have a say, the Olympics are unwanted. So they’re going to places where the people have no say.

Meanwhile, the spectacle of the games has lost its luster. Once upon a time, the Olympics gave us a glimpse of the remote and exotic. Sapporo! Sarajevo! Lillehammer! But now travel is cheap, and people are bored. Every inch of the globe has been scrutinized by Trip Advisor and documented by Instagram. The picturesque has lost its appeal.

If Beijing, a city 100 miles from the mountains, a city with no snow, a city that just held the summer games, can host the Winter Olympics, why can’t it host every Olympics? It has the money, it has the facilities and it has the hunger for whatever legitimacy the games still bestow. Why shouldn’t the Olympics stay where they’re wanted? Maybe they’ll become like Wimbledon and The Masters – a sports fixture rooted in one spot. More likely, they’ll just fade in relevance as the world loses interest. Even China will realize it’s not worth the money.

I hope not. I’m still a sucker for the Olympics. I love the pageantry, the silly rituals of torch lighting and the nations all marching into the stadium in their quasi-native garb. I still think there’s some value to having the world united and paying attention to something that’s not war or famine. But I think I’m an outlier.

In 1904, the Olympics were held in St. Louis, trading on the popularity of the World’s Fair held in that city. World’s Fairs used to be a big deal, a showcase of people and goods from around the globe. Now they barely register (hands up if you know where this year’s Expo is being held). Sadly, it’s not too hard to see the Olympics following them into oblivion.

How to win an Olympic medal

12 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by percivalhenry in Sports

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Olympics, sports

What sport is the easiest to earn an Olympic medal in? I’m voting for doubles luge.

I’m not saying it’s an easy sport – I’m sure its hard not to flip over and it certainly looks uncomfortable – but I am saying that given how few people are competing in it globally, if you’re taking part, your odds of winning a medal are relatively high. Some sports, because of global popularity and ease of access are certain to attract more competitors, and some of them will be freakish athletes. The more popular the sport, the larger the pool of athletes and the harder it is to stand out. The more obscure and inaccessible the sport, the fewer chances a superior athlete will land there and the better chance an average athlete can succeed.

What sports are the hardest to medal in?

(I’m going to leave out soccer, which is the world’s most popular sport, but at the Olympic level, participation is constrained by some arbitrary rules concerning age.)

1, Running. OK, I will cop to some personal bias here, but in terms of universality and ease of access, I can’t think of a more wide open sport – the number of people who have been in some sort of footrace in their lives probably dwarfs the number who haven’t. It’s contested in every country and requires literally no equipment (not even shoes – ask Zola Budd).

2, Boxing. Contested everywhere. Even by people who don’t know it’s a sport.

3, Basketball. Some equipment required, but it’s immensely popular around the world, including in high population countries like China, Russia, Brazil and the U.S.

4, Volleyball. There are apparently 220 national volleyball associations, the most of any sport. If it’s played in more countries than there are countries, seems like its going to be hard to medal.

5, Table tennis. Any sport that’s big in China is going to be hard to crack. But ping pong is popular around the world

What sports are easiest to medal in? In reverse order this time:

5, Equestrian. What percentage of the world population A, owns a horse that B, is willing to jump C, with you on it?

4, Synchronized swimming. Not only do you need a pool, you need a culture that appreciates Esther Williams movies.

3, Ski jumping. The ski jumping complex at Sochi cost $265 million. Don’t expect one at your neighborhood rec center anytime soon.

2, Bobsled. There are just 17 bobsled tracks in the world and an individual sled can cost up to $100,000. This is not a mass participation sport.

1, Doubles luge. There’s the same problem bobsled has, with only 17 tracks in the world and none in China or India. There’s the risk of maiming, which probably limits its popularity. And then you have to convince someone to do it with you. I’m guessing the total field of doubles luge athletes is under 5,000 worldwide, or fewer competitors than in your average Central Park road race. So if you’re one of them, congratulations. Your odds of medaling are excellent.