When Jamaican Yohan Blake crossed the finish line and captured the silver medal in the 200-meter final at the London Olympics, he grabbed his nation’s flag and tied it around his neck like a cape. With swarms of camera lenses focused upon him, he proceeded to flaunt his muscles and soak in the glory of what was arguably the pinnacle of his career.
For Blake and Olympic medalists alike, being able to represent their respective countries on the greatest stage in sports is what makes the experience so rewarding. As a result, the competition to win the most medals for their countries and claim bragging rights over the rest of the world has grown into one of the most dominant features of the Games.
However, winning has become so imperative for the athletes that the world has forgotten what the Olympics are truly about: the world’s greatest athletes pitted against one another in fair and honest competition.
Unlike past Olympics, this year’s event was plagued by multiple instances of cheating. In several sports, athletes found loopholes in the rules and took advantage of them to improve their chances of winning.
According to ESPN, eight doubles badminton players were disqualified from the event for purposely losing their first round matches. The women from China, Indonesia and South Korea intentionally threw their matches, which would have allowed them to play easier teams in the coming round. Both the International Olympic Committee and the Badminton World Federation agreed that their play was unethical and supported their banishment from the event.
The men’s British cycling team was also able to twist the rules to their advantage. As stated by The New York Times, Great Britain’s leadoff man, Philip Hindes, admitted to deliberately crashing early in the qualifying heat of the team sprint just before teammate Jason Kenny could pass him. Had Kenny gone ahead of his partner, the act would have resulted in a disqualification of the team. However, the rules state that because he did in fact crash, it was grounds for a restart. Thanks to the do over, the English team went on to win the gold medal in the event.
Meanwhile, South African swimmer Cameron van der Burgh flat out cheated. According to The New York Times, the gold medalist in the 100-meter breaststroke admitted a week after winning the race that he took three underwater dolphin kicks on the start and turn. One kick is allowed to be taken by the swimmers, and doing any more than that is illegal and reason for a disqualification.
Justifying his actions, he told reporters, “I’m not willing to sacrifice my personal performance and four years of hard work for someone else who is willing to do it.”
Van der Burgh’s confirm that winning has become an obsession among athletes at the Olympics. Players are willing to turn their backs on rules and regulations if it means they will earn a spot on the podium.
But this corrupt style of play is not how Olympians should compete with one another and it needs to come to an end.
The IOC has done almost all that it can to make sure the events are fair. The organization should be complimented for disqualifying the badminton teams for their intentional losing, but there are still some flaws. It never stripped the medals from the British cycling team or van der Burgh, who truly deserved to be disqualified.
Although it is disturbing that none of the officials noticed van der Burgh’s maneuver until the underwater video was reviewed, they cannot be held completely responsible.
Officials and the IOC should be stricter when it comes to enforcing fair play, but the only people who are to blame are the competitors themselves.
Olympians have the duty to represent their countries not only as the greatest athletes in the world, but also in a completely fair and honest manner. The true spirit of sports lies within the friendly competition between one another, and if rules are being broken, it takes away that vital element.
When 2016 comes around and athletes are gathered in Rio, hopefully the Games can be played out the way they were always meant to be.
