Entertainment, TV, Celebrity, Culture

Follow @2Paragraphs
  • Daily Edition
    • Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA]Hillary Clinton Says Real ‘Pro-Life’ Advocates Need These 5 Things
    • Rep. Lauren BoebertLauren Boebert Slams Joe Biden Blooper, “We Like Babies”
    • Ted CruzTed Cruz Stuns Liberals With Savage TikTok Interrogation, “Go Ted!”
  • Business
    • Sen. Elizabeth WarrenSen. Elizabeth Warren Laughs at Bank CEOs Doing Their Own Stress Tests
    • Randi ZuckerbergRandi Zuckerberg Sarcastically Mocks Crypto Boys Club
    • Daymond JohnDaymond John Drops Elon Musk Icebreaker on Twitter, ‘Money v. Meeting’
  • Culture
    • Penelope CruzPenélope Cruz Stuns in Strapless Corset Mini Dress, ‘Looks Like Teenager’
    • David Hasselhoff’s Daughter Flaunts Curves in Bikini, ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’
    • Lili ReinhartLili Reinhart Strikes Sexy Pose in Satin Bra, ‘Marilyn Monroe 2.0’
  • Sports
    • Naomi Osaka, US Open 2020Naomi Osaka Flaunts Bare Belly in Crop Top, Reveals Victoria’s Secret Collab
    • Gov Greg AbbottTexas Gov. Greg Abbott Picks Alabama Over Houston, Fails Politics 101
    • Michael_Jordan_and_Barack_ObamaBarack Obama Knocks Out #1 Seed Purdue In NCAA Round 2, ‘A Crime’
  • Food
    • Jennifer GarnerJennifer Garner Reveals Her Favorite ‘Dry January’ Treat at Home
    • Dark ChocolateAre Dark Chocolate Fears Overblown? Cadmium, California, and “Ouch, Ouch” Disease
    • Wendy's restaurantWendy’s New Riddle Stumps Social Media — “Chili in Philly?”
  • Interviews
    • Cranberries_in_a_bucketDo Cranberries Really Help UTI? A Doctor Answers With New Evidence
    • Lauren Lovett The Speech Ring InventorVideo: The Speech Ring Inventor on Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking
    • Surge first out gay superhero in the moviesFirst Out Gay Movie Superhero Surge Speaks on Humor, Responsibility
  • Cool Stuff
    • Ice-T on LAW & ORDER: SVU (Virginia Sherwood/NBC)Ice-T’s Wife Flaunts Brand New Range Rover With Front Seat Refrigerator
    • Bergdorf Goodman 5th Avenue store in NYCChristian Louboutin Reveals 3.5″ Spring Mules With ‘Vibrant Red’ Nail Polish
    • Cardi_BCardi B Says She Hit Jackpot With $30,000 Chanel Slot Machine Bag
  • Contact
  • Privacy

The People’s Olympians: Not So Much Faster, Higher, Stronger

by 2Paragraphs in Daily Edition, Sports | August 1, 2012

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Linkedin
  • Reddit
  • Email

With punishing training routines, allegations of doping, and a worldwide fascination with pushing human capability to its limits in the Olympic Games (“Faster, higher, stronger” is, after all, their motto), it is nice to be reminded that at heart the games are a celebration of our common humanity and indomitable spirit. This was displayed in spades this week by Niger’s Hamadou Djibo Issaka, whose abominable performance in a series of sculling events included a finish in single sculls repechage that was a minute and forty seconds behind the winner. (The race takes about seven minutes). But perhaps Issaka can be excused, for his arrival in London marked the first time he had seen a regulation sculling boat. In fact, the 35-year-old father of two and former competitive swimmer took up the sport only eight months ago, learning to row on a wooden fishing boat in his home town of Niamey before entering training programs in Egypt and Tunisia. Issaka joins a small and exclusive club of utter Olympic failures that for some reason seem to warm the heart. This long line of Quixotic competitors has as its spiritual founder ski-jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, a British national and former downhiller who was working in a Finnish mental hospital when he received the news he had qualified for the 1988 games. In 2001 Trevor Misipeka joined the endearment club, when due to clerical errors, the 290 pound Samoan shot-putter was forced to run the 100-meter dash at the World Athletics Championships.

Perhaps the most famous Olympic embarrassment cum triumph of recent memory is that of Eric “the Eel” Moussambani, who at the 2000 Sydney games set a world record for the slowest 100-meter freestyle at one minute and 52.72 seconds—more than a minute behind the gold medal time in that race and slower even than the medalists in the men’s 200-meter race! Much like Issaka, the Eel had taken up swimming only three months before the Olympics, practicing without a trainer in a 20-meter long pool in Malambo (of the Olympic-sized pool, which he saw for the first time when he arrived in Sydney, Moussambani says “I was terrified. I did not imagine it could be so big”), and qualifying for the games as part of an Olympic Committee program to encourage athletes from poorer countries to participate. The celebrity won by athletes like these has generated controversy within the global athletic community, with many pointing out that much more qualified athletes lose a spot in the games to these relative newcomers. On the other hand, it is in some measure refreshing to see an athlete whose performance is all spirit and no technique—a reminder that among those muscles which raise us to ever greater heights is the human heart.

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Linkedin
  • Reddit
  • Email

Guns Sales Rising: Colorado Killings Inspire Mini Arms Race

Enigma

Load More

  • Recent
  • Trending
  • Popular
  • Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA]Hillary Clinton Says Real ‘Pro-Life’ Advocates Need These 5 Things
  • Rep. Lauren BoebertLauren Boebert Slams Joe Biden Blooper, “We Like Babies”
  • Ted CruzTed Cruz Stuns Liberals With Savage TikTok Interrogation, “Go Ted!”
  • Ivanka TrumpIvanka Trump Prays at Wailing Wall in Jerusalem in Bright Red Dress
  • Donald Trump in 2016Trump Time Bomb — 6 Ways He Could Be Indicted Before Primary
  • Donald Trump Behind BarsNY Lawyer Compares Trump’s Arrest To Jesus’s Crucifixion, Starts Twitter Firestorm
  • Kevin McCarthy and Donald TrumpKevin McCarthy Called Out for Trump Defense, ‘Outrageous Abuse of Power’
  • Donald Trump with Melania TrumpTrump’s Top Campaign Voice, Daughter of NFL Star, Has Complicated Ron DeSantis History
  • Donald Trump in 2016Donald Trump’s Escape From Mar-a-Lago Via Underground Tunnel Titillates Twitter
  • Sen. Marco RubioMarco Rubio Falls In Line, ‘Prays’ Donald Trump Won’t Be Prosecuted
  • Marjorie_Taylor_Greene_(51771572120)‘Marjorie Taylor Greene Is So Dumb’ Trending Has It All Wrong
  • Mitt RomneyMitt Romney Sounds Off on MAGA, ‘No Blood Being Shed’
  • Pete Buttigieg,Pete Buttigieg Trolls MAGA Investigators After ‘Alarming’ Mistake
  • Kamala HarrisKamala Harris Claims ‘Momentum’ After Questions About Her Future
  • Josh HawleyJosh Hawley Enrages Liberals With Stark Choice, Demands GOP Loyalty
2paragraphs on APPLE NEWS | 2paragraphs Amazon Shop | SEE MORE 2paragraphs ARTICLES
  • About 2paragraphs
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Dedication
  • Map
  • Fresh
  • Law
  • How-To
  • Personal
  • Books

© 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC

  • Buffer
  • Diggit
  • Email
  • More
  • Facebook
  • Flattr
  • Google+
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Stumble
  • tumblr
  • Twitter
  • VK
  • WhatsApp
  • Yummly
  • Xing