FAIRMONT —
The Olympic Games — despite the ideal of being pure sports competition — will never escape problems that exist in the real world.
In the 2012 Summer Games winding down in London, featuring thousands of athletes from 204 competing nations, nationalism has certainly been on display — as it has been throughout history.
It’s simply a fact, despite the Olympic Charter’s statement that “the Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries.”
Such things as doping charges, questionable rules and officiating controversies remain a part of the competition. Even badminton got into the headlines in London. Four women’s doubles pairs — the gold medal favorites from China, plus two from South Korea and one from Indonesia — tried to lose their last group matches to give themselves better quarterfinal matchups. They were disqualified and sent home.
Hosting the Olympics is also incredibly expensive. In London’s case, The Associated Press reported, $14 billion in Olympics-related infrastructure improvements were made in a country battling recession and cutting debt.
Nevertheless, the overriding theme of this and every staging of the Olympics is saluting success.
Take American swimmer Michael Phelps, who capped a two-decade competitive swimming career, at age 27, as the most-decorated Olympian ever with 18 golds — twice as many as anyone else — and 22 medals overall.
In his finale at the London Games, he earned a gold medal in the 4x100-meter medley, the last of his 51 races and 9,900 meters of swimming in four Olympics.
“I’ve been able to do everything that I wanted,” he said. “If you can say that about your career, there’s no need to move forward. Time for other things.”
His mother, Fairmont State graduate Debbie Phelps, said her son is “a true sports fanatic” who now “needs time for himself first.”
Olympic champions — such as Fairmont’s Mary Lou Retton, the all-around women’s gymnastics gold medalist in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles — indeed make a total commitment at a young age to just have a chance at reaching their dream in the very limited time frame available to them.
This year in women’s gymnastics, 16-year-old Gabby Douglas won two Olympic gold medals — in all-around and as a key part of the United States’ team title.
“Life is going to change for me in a big way,” the 4-foot-11 gymnast said. “I heard cameras and camera crews are at the airport waiting for me. And it’s going to change in a big way that I’m not going to, you know, be prepared. But I’m so glad to go home and just see my family and my dogs.”
Douglas, who is from Virginia Beach, Va., was billed as “America’s sweetheart” before the London Games.
“It is definitely fitting because everyone says they love my smile, so why not use it on the (gymnastics) floor? For me to come in with that role to play, it was definitely a great experience,” she said.
At age 14, Douglas left her family in Virginia and traveled to Iowa to focus on training.
“I wasn’t the richest, you know, girl on the block or, you know, my friends were like, ‘Look, I got new Ugg boots’ and, “My mom and dad bought me this car,’” she said. “So, you know, my family and I have struggled kind of over the past years, and it was kind of hard at times.”
Now she will always be remembered as an Olympic champion.
Such stories transcend all the negatives, and there are hundreds of them every four years when the world’s best athletes gather.
The only thing better would be to have Olympics staged in the United States.
“We think the games need to come to America, and the sooner, the better,” Larry Probst, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said Saturday at a news conference in London.
A USOC panel will soon look into whether the federation should bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics or the 2026 Winter Games. The United States hasn’t hosted the Olympics since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and hasn’t hosted a Summer Olympics since 1996 in Atlanta.
A winning bid by the U.S. would be another success story we’d love to report.
Opinion
Stories about achieving success are treasured part of Olympic Games
- Opinion
-
-
A complete commitment: When fathers become dads
On the third Sunday of June each year, we observe Father’s Day. This is extra special to Fairmont because the first celebration was observed here in The Friendly City. Over the years of annual observance, the role of father has taken on many new and varied duties.
-
What’s the solution for funding highways?
There was a time when the federal government put substantial highway dollars in the states to match funds for projects.
That was two wars and a recession ago, though. That was when Congress had its differences but could pass a bill or two every now and again. -
Valley Falls great recreational area, but don’t ignore the rules on safety
The signs at Valley Falls State Park couldn’t be more clear:
“Danger. Rocks are slippery. Hazardous currents and rapids. Swimming and wading prohibited.”
The signs also note that alcoholic beverages are prohibited and that the minimum fine for violating the rules is $167. -
Following court decision, let’s move on, see FGH ‘grow and thrive’
We don’t think anyone would argue the point that our community and its leaders need to be forward-thinking, forward-moving and focused on the bricks that will pave the pathway to the future.
Sometimes there’s a disagreement about that future. And sometimes those disagreements have to be settled. -
Gary Price strong as superintendent, in position to bring stability to schools
“An evaluation of a superintendent is not intended to find fault, but is a measuring tool to see how effective one is doing and see if any improvement or concentration in any area needs to be worked out to make one better.”
This was Marion County Board of Education president James Saunders reading a prepared statement prior to going into discussion about the status of Superintendent Gary Price. -
Livelihood of people at center of Patriot Coal case
The bankruptcy of Patriot Coal is far more complicated than many of us will ever understand.
What complicates it is people. This isn’t just about paperwork and reorganization. The livelihood of workers and those who spent years in the mine are at stake here. -
Relay for Life: A reason to give thanks but much work to be done
The annual Marion County Relay for Life was held Friday inside the Falcon Center on the shared campus of Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College — moved indoors for the first time because of weather. It was held three weeks after Mannington’s Relay for Life, also a growing, annual event held this year at Hough Park.
-
Judge’s ruling about Patriot Coal is ‘tragic’ and a ‘travesty’
We wonder how many readers were angered when they read the top story in the Times West Virginian on May 30.
-
D-Day reminder of ‘great and noble undertaking’ made during World War II
It was nearly 70 years ago that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was offering the following words to soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force:
-
All must invest time, effort and funding to keep our children safe
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare — watching your child taken away in an ambulance following an accident, not knowing the full extent of their injuries.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
A complete commitment: When fathers become dads
