Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Faster Higher Stronger

The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius" - Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger".

Note that it does not say "Faster, Higher, Stronger, X"

where X is "scored higher by judges for those they think looked most elegant while prancing around the arena"

Also, it's not "who has the most money". The UK has invested heavily in cycling, bikes that cost thousands and velodromes that cost millions. And it has reaped many rewards. But in addition to Pursuit and Sprint and Madison and Keirin, if there was an olympic cycling competition to determine who could carry the most family members on a single iron bike while navigating heavy traffic on potholed roads, I think the developing world would stand more of a chance.

1 comment:

Faisal said...

Indeed, and I find many of the sports to be nothing more than contrived shows.

The best overall athletes, I feel, are mountain climbers. Sprinters and swimmers count for something, too. Throw in a couple of team sports (one for footwork and coordination like football, one for hand coordination, like basketball or volleyball) and you have an olympiad.