Was This Really In The Spirit of Competition?

Why do we watch sport? Why do we watch the Olympic Games?

The reason we watch sport may be completely different to the reason we play, and the reasons one person watches may well be very different to the reasons another does. Some of the key reasons will no doubt be because we follow that sport, have an interest in it, and want to see the best play against each other. It may be that we grew up supporting a team and so we tune in to see them play and hopefully win. Hazarding a guess, but most people watch sport to be enthralled by the contest.

The reason we watch the Olympic Games is that for a very long time this was the pinnacle in all sport. Then many of the Olympic sports created their own World Cup tournaments. Some of these now hold greater importance than the Olympics, but still in many sports the Olympic Gold medal is the pinnacle. (Losing it’s Lustre?).

The Olympic Games has history, it only comes around every four years like many World Cup events, which means there is no overkill. The Olympic Games sees many spend two weeks watching sports that they know little about, for some sports it is one of the few opportunities for them to gain global recognition. The Olympic Games’ key selling point is the stories behind the athletes who compete, like the fencer who lost both grandparents and his father to Covid but still made it to Tokyo. Then there are the stories that unfold at the Games such as when the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan fell over in her 1500m heat, picked herself up caught the pack and qualified. She would end up winning a bronze medal in the final.

Not only do we tune in to see people overcome the stiffest competition, but also to hear of athletes who have overcome adversity. They do not all have to win, but they must compete, and we cheer them on.

The competition is what enthrals us, athletes giving their all to be crowned the victor, the best that they can be on that given day, at that given time.

The Olympics are not some frivolous competition down at the park, where it doesn’t matter who wins. It matters.

So forgive me when I say I was flabbergasted at how the world’s media went into raptures when Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar agreed to share gold medals in the Olympics men’s high jump competition.

The two had been locked in first place after a tough few hours of competing. There was nothing to seperate them so they were given the option of a jump off to determine an outright winner. The two athletes, who are by all accounts good friends, were approached regarding the jump-off when Barshim asked why could there not be two Gold medals. The official said that was possible, and so the two opted not to compete any more.

What?

This moment was described as “heartwarming,” “wonderful,” and said to “embody sporstmanship.” Am I missing something?

As touching as this may appear to be does it not fly in the face of what the Olympic Games are about? What top flight sport is all about?

The Olympic motto has been for over a century, Citius, Altius, Fortius, which means “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” To many it was always about pushing boundaries, to do all of those things. Yet these two athletes decided that they did not want to go higher. They were happy with where they were.

Maybe the issue was created out of the International Olympic Committee opting to change that motto on the eve of the Tokyo Olympic Games. How many of you even knew that? The new motto revealed by President of the IOC Thomas Bach in the week leading up to the opening ceremony in Tokyo was “Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communis” or in English, ‘”Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.” What are they trying to say here? It has always been about athletes coming together trying to go faster, go higher, and be stronger.

Bach’s explanation for the change does little to clarify the situation. “We have to adapt the motto to our times, the collaborative effort is bringing faster and better results than working in silos and protecting each silo from the progress of the other silo,” Bach was quoted as saying at a session meeting following the approval of an Olympic Charter amendment. “This is a milestone in our development and sends a clear signal. We want to put special focus on solidarity.”

While sceptics saw the change as being made to try and convince the world that Tokyo really was behind the Games going ahead, few can have imagined that athletes would interpret it the way that Tamberi and Barshim did.

This is supposed to be the ultimate competition, yet two athletes chose not to compete. Some would say that they contrived the result. If this was done outside of the Olympic Games there would be an outcry. This is not what happens in sport, it is not accepted.

FIFA changed their competition format after the 1982 World Cup Finals in Spain because a result was contrived. Algeria were on the brink of becoming the first African team to reach the second round unless their group’s final game, which was played a day after their final game, ended in a one- or two-goal win for West Germany over Austria. If that happened both the European teams would progress at Algeria’s expense. West Germany went 1-0 up after ten minutes and then neither team made any attempt to score again. The result suited both teams, and Algeria had to go home. FIFA at the time did nothing despite calls for both teams to be thrown out of the competition. Even West German fans protested at their team’s hotel. The players responded by throwing water bombs at them from their balconies!

In Cricket on England’s 2000 tour of South Africa the 5th Test at Centurion in Johannesburg saw England win the toss and elected to field. Following no play on days two, three and four due to rain, both captains, Hansie Cronje and Nasser Hussein agreed to forfeit an innings each to provide a good game for the paying public in the time remaining available. The laws at the time did not allow for the forfeiture of the 1st innings, so England’s 1st innings was recorded as 0/0 declared. Later Cronje admitted having been bribed ZAR50,000 to ensure a result in the match. There were at that time calls for the game to be wiped from the record books as it was now tainted, and was not played under normal Test Match conditions.

For those who want to read more into the agreed sharing of Gold in Tokyo there was the reported admission from Barshim claiming that the two had actually talked about this sort of situation before. “We just said, ‘Imagine,’” Barshim was quoted as recalling.

Having such outcomes in sport is not a good look. Having them at the Olympic Games just doesn’t seem right, despite what story many in the media want to peddle. The Olympic Games are about competition, and about being the best that you can be on the day.

What would everyone have said if in the Men’s Hockey Final the world number one and world number two sides, Australia and Belgium after playing a 1-1 draw had turned around and said, no we don’t want to have a shoot-out, we would rather share the Gold medals? Or if Spain and Brazil had declined extra time in the Men’s Football and opted to share the Gold medal. It could have happened in many other events where the final saw one athlete up against a friend or a compatriot such as Table tennis, the mixed doubles in Badminton, or the women’s individual sabre in Fencing, as well as many other events.

Luckily for the IOC and sports fans across the globe these athletes it can be said honoured the spirit of the competition that is the Olympic Games, which is to compete and give your best.

It may ultimately come down to the interpretation of the new motto, or even the Olympic Oath, of which the first part states “We promise to take part in these Olympic Games respecting and abiding by the rules and in the spirit of fair play, inclusion and equality.” The two athletes in question abided by the rules, and certainly in equality, and it is hard to argue that they did not acknowledge the spirit of fair play.

Whatever any one says for this writer as lovely as the scenes were of the two embracing and celebrating together were, the outcome was not a good one for competitive sport, elite sport or the Olympic Games.