Well, Carl Lewis is not happy about the relay race.
Carl Lewis watched the 4x100m relay from his Houston home and couldn't contain his frustration. "It's so disheartening," he told USA TODAY Sports.
www.google.com
That upsets me greatly.
These Olympics have been exceptional for a number of reasons; holding athletes/coaches to a pre-COVID expectation feels a bit... harsh?
Not excusing poor performance/training, but speaking out so vitriolically against people who've experienced the most exceptional Olympic conditions since forever, particularly in an age where mental health is a hot topic, feels unnecessary and crude. Not saying he's wrong; if Lewis, all the way over here in the States, saw mechanical failures and thinks people all the way over in Japan should have done better, there was a better way to go about expressing his disappointment than calling their efforts a "clown show."
I have a soft spot for the Olympics. I see athletes achieving their dream just to participate, and I'd like to imagine they're each giving their all, but at the end of the day, someone's got to win, but even more, nay, MOST will lose. And I think of these athletes away from home, family and friends who more than likely wanted nothing more than to be there to support. I think of the year-long delay during which they likely weren't planning on extending their training regimen. And I think of just the pressure, the
international stage, they find themselves on... jeez, we'll NEVER know what they're going through.
As I've stated I'm a huge fan of Formula 1, and for quick passersby who think starting 15th versus 1st on the grid is "clearly" a 14-position gap of failure... do you know how big the gap is between two cars going nearly 200mph? Tenths of seconds. HUNDREDTHS of seconds. Despite the differences in standings being whole numbers, the differences in talent are often FRACTIONS.
Jerry Seinfeld did a bit that has always stuck with me and explains my sentiments perfectly:
So I will never hold an OLYMPIAN to an unreasonable standard of excellence. If they tried and failed, guess what? They still succeeded where countless hundreds and thousands failed. Work harder, get better, get 'em next time, but I will NEVER say they're not good enough and I certainly won't call their efforts "a clown show."
