None of us could have ever imagined, before the outbreak of the pandemic, the circumstances in which the 32nd Olympic Games in Tokyo would be held. Postponed by a year, clouded in uncertainty and stretched to the very limits, the Tokyo Olympics was perhaps the only one which came closest to being cancelled because of a public health issue.
Tokyo 2020 would have no doubt posed special and extraordinary challenges to not just participating sportsmen and women, their coaches and trainers and their families but also to the myriad people connected with the organising of the event. As the Games got under way, stories of players having contracted the novel coronavirus emerged. One can only imagine what a challenge it would have been for these players, their trainers and coaches to recover, train, come back to their peak forms and participate in this huge sporting extravaganza, amid the pandemic.
Every Olympics brings with it some remarkable stories. Stories of sportspersons pushing themselves beyond thresholds of human endurance; forging of lasting friendships between competitors on the field and off it; grace and dignity and also controversies, physical and mental breakdowns and even heart-rending violence as happened at the Munich Olympics of 1972.
If there is the riveting story of Jesse Owens, one of the greatest Olympians, being ignored by Hitler at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, there is also the somewhat under-reported story of Owen’s deep friendship with Carl Ludwig Long, his German competitor. Long is believed to have given Owens a valuable tip which helped him get a gold medal in the long jump event even while he himself got a silver. Owens was to later say about Long, “…You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-carat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”
Enduring image
One of the most enduring images that comes to mind is that of the British champion sprinter Derek Redmond tearing his hamstring during his race and falling on the track during the Barcelona Olympics of 1992 and being helped by his father to complete the race even with all the pain, agony and anguish.
Tokyo 2020 was not without its own moments of heartbreak, self-belief, grace and dignity.
One of the standout moments of this Olympics, according to me, was what happened during the high jump finals. Two athletes vying for a gold, one from Italy, the other from Qatar, were at level, having cleared the same height. Thereafter, the Italian got injured and was in no position to attempt another jump with the bar raised even further. The Qatari, if he so wanted, could have attempted another jump and sealed the gold in his exclusive favour. Instead he chose a tie with the Italian, thus ensuring a gold medal for both players.An overwhelmed Italian jumped on to the arms of the Qatari and the world saw in those magical moments grace, gratitude and humanism all at once. Could there have been a better statement to exemplify the new motto of the International Olympic Committee: “Faster, Higher, Stronger — Together”.
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