Olympic Thoughts 31.7.21

BMX Racing is bizarre. It’s like watching a live-action, multiplayer version of the old arcade game ‘PaperBoy’. Why do they have their seats set so low to the ground? I’m guessing it helps avoid impact-induced testicular injuries, but it may be a technical issue I’m not aware of.

Speaking of the BMX – I thought BBC Radio 5Live went a bit over the top with their emotional reaction to Beth Schriever winning Gold. Yes, it’s an amazing achievement that she had her lottery funding cut and still managed to make it to the top of the podium, but you have to remember that there were countless other athletes in multiple sports who were in a similar situation and ended up nowhere. If you’re going to launch into “Never give up on your dreams, kids” rhetoric then you have to also point out the reality that it’s rare.

Rugby Sevens is a perfect example of how a successful sport can be tweaked slightly and made much more exciting and watchable. I like Rugby Union, and will tune into the Six Nations and World Cup and enjoy myself, but sometimes the matches get bogged down into a scrum-fest and look like an hour-long game of ‘tactical shoving’. The 7s has all the best elements of the sport, but is faster, more skilful and more thrilling.

I’m still not sure about ‘dressage’. It’s good that all athletes in all disciplines get a chance to appear at an Olympics, but there’s something about watching posh twits riding dancing horses that doesn’t really seem like sport to me.

The archery competition has been awesome, but I’d like to see it taken back to basics, where everyone has to shoot using a bow they’ve made from a nearby tree. Nowadays it looks like they’re using scientific instruments from CERN, and I wonder if it’s taken away a bit of the skill. It’s become a bit like Formula 1, where the cars are so good that literally anyone with a driving licence can win a Grand Prix. The technology in archery is so exact that whichever country can afford the best equipment will take Gold, regardless of who is standing behind the bow.

RC 31-7-21