3. Pursuit of Excellence
This value stands for being the best that you can be, on the field of play or in the professional
arena. It is not only about winning, but also about participating, striving to make progress against
personal goals, and working hard to improve your own performance. I think it also means that we
should be striving to be our best in our daily lives.
Excellence describes the quality of effort that permeates all of the Olympic Movement's programme.
It is also the expectation that athletes should set for themselves, captured in the Olympic Motto
Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, and Stronger). In pursuing - and ultimately measuring -
excellence, athletes will naturally compare their efforts to others'. But the primary barometer of
excellence will be reaching one's personal objectives.
The Olympic Movement expresses its commitment to upholding the value of excellence in a number
of ways, from flawlessly managing the Olympic Games to developing sports, education and culture
programmes that enable the world's youth to be the best they can be.
This is a change from the original idea or value of Excellence, which was more about winning.
However in the pursuit of excellence there have been huge changes in the way athletes train.
Things used to be random, with less emphasis on training and more about innate ability and skill. It
was possible athletes did little practice.
Over time coaches have been used to help the athletes train effectively.
Coaches have tried different methods more by trial and error than sure knowledge. For example,
Arthur Lydiard used himself as a guinea pig to work out the best training techniques over a number
of years.
Now we are using technology and money to improve performance. Such things as High
Performance Sports Centres which are focused solely on improving the athletes performance.
Now there are sports psychologists to help athletes get into the right frame of mind.
There are sports nutritionists to ensure athletes eat the right foods.
We have computers and physiology labs to study how to maximise the body's efforts. Things like
heart rate monitors and cycle computers are used to help find areas that can be improved on.
The use of wind tunnels has helped find the most efficient cycle helmet, and bike design.
I read that in the last Olympics, the swimmers broke more world records with the aid of special
5. Mahe Drysdale
Alexander Mahé Owens Drysdale was born 19 November 1978 in
Melbourne,Australia. He is now a New Zealand rower. Drysdale is the current
Olympic champion and five-time World champion in the single sculls.
Drysdale attended Tauranga Boys College in Tauranga, New Zealand, then the
University of Auckland. He began rowing at university at the age of 18. He gave up
rowing to concentrate on his studies, but began rowing again after watching fellow
New Zealander Rob Waddell win gold at the 2000 Olympic Games. Drysdale is a
member of the West End Rowing Club in Avondale, Auckland , New Zealand and
Tideway Scullers, London.
Drysdale was officially selected as New Zealand's Olympic heavyweight sculler on 7
March 2008. He was also chosen to carry the flag for New Zealand during the parade
of nations in the opening ceremony. Unfortunately for Drysdale, a severe
gastrointestinal infection in the week before his final saw him off form and he was
only able to carry the bronze medal for the men's single scull. The gold and silver
medals went to Olaf Tufte from Norway and Ondrej Synek from the Czech Republic,
respectively. Clearly suffering from his illness, after his race, Drysdale was carried by
life raft and then moved to a waiting ambulance. He was also seen vomiting
sometime after the race. He was, however, able to stand to be awarded his
medallion.
7. Boris Onishchenko
Boris Onishchenko was born 19 September 1937. He is a former Urainian/Soviet
modern pentathlete who Competed in the 1968 Summer olympics, in the 1972
Summer olympics, and in the 1976 Summer olympics. He was a member of the
Soviet Union's modern pentathlon team in the 1976 Summer olympics, infamous for
being disqualified for cheating.
Having already earned his country an Olympic medal earlier in Mexico City and
Munich, Onishchenko entered the event as a three-time world champion and a
sportsman respected by his fellow Olympians. After the first event of the pentathlon,
the Soviet team found itself in fourth place, trailing closely behind Britain. Fencing
was the next event, a one-touch tournament. Onishchenko was considered the
finest fencer among his competitors and was favored to win his matches.
During Onishchenko's bout with British team captain, Jim Fox, the British team
protested that Onishchenko's weapon had gone off without actually hitting anything.
The director confiscated the Soviet's weapon and brought it to the bout committee,
where an illegal modification to the grip was discovered. The bout was allowed to
continue, and despite using an unmodified sword, Boris still won by a large margin.
He was disqualified from the competition afterwards, and the Soviet Union were
forced to withdraw from the team event as a result. The British team that exposed
Onishchenko went on to win the gold medal.
In electric épée (sword) fencing, a touch is registered on the scoring box when the
tip of the weapon is depressed with a force of 750 grams. It was found that his épée
(sword) had been modified to include a switch that allowed him to close this circuit
without actually depressing the tip of his weapon, so Onishchenko could register a
touch without making any contact on his opponent.
