I wonder if anyone else is bothered by the closeness of the Games to the French Open? Just over 2 weeks between the finish of the tennis to the Opening Ceremony on July 27! That wasn't enough time for me to catch up on missed sleep. When I'm awake and alert, I must contact the Grand Poobahs of both organisations to see what can be done to make the times more convenient for me ..... ahem.
The Games finish within a few days and the Paralympics Games are from Aug 29 to Sept 9. Even though that's not enough recovery time for me, I would rather see one group follow another. The paralympic teams are well classified in respect of kinds and degrees of ability for their events, so they don't need to be classified out of the general excitement and the pleasure of the opening and closing ceremonies.
I've sat up until the finish of the day's events, around 6am our time and am usually up again around 10am. I've had a cold and a gastric wog, so sleep was a bit evasive anyway. I've snatched it on and off during the day, which has worked pretty well. It's really enjoyable learning to like games that I have previously disliked but I still can't revel in soccer and hockey. Maybe in Rio??
My biggest problem, like everyone else, has been with the attitude that only gold medals matter. I don't mind the athletes showing their feelings but when they sob bitterly because they won a silver medal instead of a gold, something is very wrong. I am disgusted with the swimming commentators, who seemed to have a formula, "I know that you wanted the gold. You must be very disappointed. What went wrong?" They were swimmers themselves; what motivated them to speak like that?? Well, the coaching staff, for a start, I think. Coaches boasted about our swimmers and predicted who would win gold and how many. They gave them names, like Golden Girl, which they couldn't live up to. Boost, not boast.
I gather that there is to be an enquiry re why Australia didn't do well in the swimming. I hope that common sense runs the show. I hope that the swimmers aren't told that it is "their own ego" and that money is not touted as the problem. Although, I would like to know if it is true that our coaches get more money for coaching overseas athletes than they get for coaching our own. Anyone know? I frequently heard that our swimmers had to "toughen up". What is your opinion about this?
Despite the above problems, I think that in general, these games have been excellent. I get the shivers when I think about the sacrifices most athletes have made and the super hard work they have put in. I applaud them and I congratulate the parents and families who give so much time, money, support and effort, behind the scenes.
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