The Summer Olympics have of course dominated the world of sports the last couple of weeks.
It is a world event which occurs only once every four years, and athletes dedicate their lives to just making the cut to be at the games.
There is heartbreak in not quite making the cut to just be at the Games, something Canadian sport fans can attest too as the men’s 7s rugby team came up short, and the men’s basketball team lost twice in win and advance contests.
Certainly there are athletes who headed to Rio knowing they did not have a chance to win. They might have put on the brave face and said the gold was their goal, but many had achieved their best just making the cut to be there.
Of course the Olympics are more than a gold medal. Yes that is the one that counts. A silver or bronze says you were close to the best, but close is not a win.
Perhaps bigger in the life of many of the athletes, bigger in essence than a silver or bronze in many ways, are those who set personal bests in Brazil.
To achieve the best in an athletic endeavour at the moment of the biggest sporting event there is speaks to the great dedication to the sport, and the heart to excel on the big stage.
And, then there are those who set national marks. It might not be a gold, but on those moments when you can achieve marks which lift you to the best in the history or your nation, and you achieved it on the Olympic stage is again a case of showing the true heart of the athlete.
This Canadian Olympic Committee was talking about the overall team flirting with 20 medals this summer, and they will come close to that, which is solid for a country with a modest population size, and more modest investment in athlete development.
Perhaps the biggest achievement at the Games from a Canadian perspective came from Saskatchewan athlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton.
Now there will be those who point to swimmer Penny Oleksiak who earned four medals, including a gold, which is a big achievement being the most medals at a single Games by a Canadian.
Others might suggest the biggest moment was Andre De Grasse grabbing the bronze in the 100 -metres, which is the premier athletic event, and had all eyes in the final as Usain Bolt won an unprecedented third straight Olympic gold medal in the big race.
Bolt winning was about as sure a thing as there was at the Olympics, but De Grasse is young, and running his way to the podium promises his best may yet to come, perhaps in four years.
But I’ll stick with ‘Theisen-Eaton’ as the highlight finish.
And I say that not because she is from Humboldt, although that she is from our province is rather cool.
Theisen-Eaton competed in the heptathlon with a total score of 6653.
The heptathlon for women and the decathlon for men, are, in my humble opinion, the highest level of athletic endeavour. The top athletes in both should be the most highly revered from the Olympics.
They are not. Bolt’s achievement for continuing to hold the title of world’s fastest man will be.
But Bolt is a sprinter. The best the world has ever seen, but sprinting is a singular skill, achievement.
The heptathlon is a multi-disciplinary event. The athletes cannot focus on a single skill serf, but must excel over a broad range of athletics.
If, after Theisen-Eaton’s achievement you are not yet aware of the event, here is a bit of background.
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ‘hepta’ (seven) and’athlon’ (contest), detailed Wikipedia.
“Women’s heptathlon is the combined event for women contested in the Athletics program of the Olympics and in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The IAAF World Combined Events Challenge determines a yearly women’s heptathlon champion. The women’s outdoor heptathlon consists of the following events, with the first four contested on the first day, and the remaining three on day two:
• 100 metres hurdles
• High jump
• Shot put
• 200 metres
• Long jump
• Javelin throw
• 800 metres
“The heptathlon has been contested by female athletes since the early 1980s, when it replaced the pentathlon as the primary women’s combined event contest (the javelin throw and 800 m were added). It was first contested at the Olympic level in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
What makes Theisen-Eaton’s accomplishment so notable is that headed into the second day she was in sixth. At the top level of a sport being that far out half way through things, the podium is a long way off.
But, Theisen-Eaton climbed to fifth after the first event on day-two, and from there she just climbed ever closer, finally finding her way to the bronze. It was a notable push to the podium in a sport which requires a rounded athlete with skills in multiple disciplines, which lifts them to the top in my books.
Now out of the sports at the Olympics which Iíd like to see more of, by that I mean some more akin to a league, or week-to-week events such as we see with curling, the list is rather short.
I already watch regular international badminton events, and rugby 7s is doing a good job of raising its profile.
But there is rowing. Coxed eight rowing is one. Maybe it’s the British side of the family tree at work, or the fact my sport tastes lean toward team sports, but there is something about the athletes working in unison to achieve success, success measurable by crossing the finish line first grabs my attention.
I mention measurable success because sports which rely on judges don’t hold my attention at all. While I have not read reports on questionable judging in Rio, I can too clearly recall my dadís words about showing stock in front of a judge is one man’s opinion on one particular day. That said there were often rumblings behind the scenes of champions selected because of friendships and other reasons not connected to what was being judged.
Judged sports bodies are doing a better job, but there will always be a cloud over decisions.
Back to sports I would like to see more profile for, team handball is the second one on my short list. Huge in Europe, and basically unheard of in North America, the game is at least on par with basketball at its top level, and I’d be interested in watching a top level league with Canadian teams.
Next week I just might tackle what sports I’d like to see in the Olympics which currently are not.
