An interesting response from a reader on the Crikey website to my published article yesterday:
Our athletes aren't so bad:
Winsor Dobbin writes: Re. "Our athletes suck. Good thing they don't sing" (yesterday, item 19). Nicholas Pickard is clearly an arts writer who knows nothing about sport. He boldly states: "The Australian athletics team delivered what is probably one of the worst performances at an international meet in recent memory and we are now only eight months out from the Beijing Olympics". Actually we are 12 months out from the Beijing Olympics and the performances by gold medal winners Jana Rawlinson and Nathan Deakes ensured this was, in fact, Australia's best performance at a major athletics meet (Olympics or world championships) since Mexico City in 1968. Still, let's not let the facts get in the way of a good story. Today Tonight would be proud of such outrageous spin.
Look, I know I am totally unqualified in so many respects, but seriously, the next person that says that the performance of the athletes in Osaka was A-OK obviously doesn't know what teamwork is about.
At the last games, Australia as a team finished seventh. And as Jenny McAsey reported in The Australian on September 4; "On the championship table Australia finished 23rd, the second worst result since the event began in 1983."
But don't listen to me, listen instead to the CEO of Athletics Australia, Mark Peters;
"There were some disappointing performances and relatively few top eight finishes this year in Osaka, so Athletics Australia will have to consider carefully its strategy in the lead-up to Beijing, as it balances support between proven performers and those younger athletes who have demonstrated that they are worthy of support for Beijing and beyond."
And I will go onto Today Tonight and repeat it if you want.
Thursday, 6 September 2007
Today Tonight, Tonight Tomorrow
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5 comments:
Winsor is obviously running (sorry ... but at least one Australian is) to the same preparation timetable as the Australian "Athletes" were in in Osaka. Yes, we are 12 months away from the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, but surely we are at the very least 8 months away from fully concentrated focussed training for the event.
It's not all about the fireworks you know.
It's very disturbing to see people so eager to accept mediocrity.
Lift the bar fellas. That's what competitive sport is all about isn't it? If your personal best is slower than the international average, just stay at home like I do and let the real deal get on with it.
It appears that you are having a run of good luck Mr Pickard.
Pissing off people in the arts, the media and now in sport.
Bravo Sir, Bravo!
I'm not sure if that's a compliment m ford or not... but it certainly has been an interesting year to say the least.
If telling the (unpopular) truth and expressing opinions which happened to be shared by lots of other people equates to "good luck" in this country, then thank god for bloggers like you Mr Pickard.
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