Idea Transcript
BREAKING NEWS
Level 1
Random connections begin to breed Olympic excitement The countdown to the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is real. Friday, Aug. 5 marks the Opening Ceremonies and the curiosity preceding the Games is escalating. Brand image experts are speculating who will emerge as the next Mary Lou Retton endorsement goldmine and all around the world, fans, families, coaches and the media are anticipating which favorite Olympian will experience amazement, disappointment or something in between.
Now is the time fascinating stories begin emerging to profile Olympic qualifiers such as the proverbial sentimental underdog or an athlete from an obscure or wore-torn country. The personal stories behind these and many athletes are often as inspiring as the incredible feats of world-class or record breaking achievements cemented in that one (Olympic) moment in time. A Leadership Symposium in Kansas City sponsored by the NCAA and an association for female athletic administrators randomly brought together three Olympians who attended as participants this month. One is pushing for her second gold medal in Rio, the second will participate in her fifth consecutive Games, and the third will sadly sit out while she finishes a graduate assistantship with The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida. The first, Stephanie Brown Trafton from Team USA, was an un-ranked athlete with only one previous international competition under her belt when she surprised the world by winning the gold medal in the women’s discus at the 2008 Beijing Games. The greatest difference between the pending 2016 Olympics and her previous experience at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Games is that the California native and her husband have a 2-year-old. Pursuing her fourth and most likely final Olympics, the focus is the same, the challenge is the same, but the drive is even greater. The year Brown-Trafton won gold, a trusted member of her entourage advised Stephanie to visualize what she wanted to see when she was competing in Beijing. Stephanie’s response was that the only visualization she had was the view from the top of the podium. The second Olympian competed in the 400 meters in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London. One of eight children from the country of Guyana (north of Brazil), Aliann Pompey currently coaches sprints at St John’s University in Manhattan and remains highly connected in the small world of international track and field. Her highest finish was a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Signifying her retirement as a world-class athlete in 2012, Pompey literally left her spikes at a pub in London following her final Olympic race. She will join team Guyana in Rio this summer as either an assistant coach or team administrator. The third Olympian, Kirsten Nieuwendam from the Republic of Suiname (a tiny Dutch Colony in South America sandwiched between Guyana and French Guiana), shed a tear as she reflected on missing the 2016 Games. The 100- and 200-meter sprinter who once ran for Penn State and served as team liaison for the Netherlands at the Inviticus Games is pursuing an assistantship at Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in sports. Her goal is to return to the 2020 Games in Tokyo. Between their official duties, Pompey and Trafton will arrange to meet with Tiffin University students and other members of the Olympic Academic Experience in Rio this August. Both will likely join the TU contingency for a Day with the Olympians, part of a humanitarian program servicing underprivileged youth in the host city. All three have agreed to assist efforts in collecting data from Olympians for the research component of the Olympic Academic Experience. While these inspiring stories reflect the inherently wholesome values of the Olympic spirit through the eyes of elite amateur competitors, the Games have evolved over the years to cater to the ever-increasing number of professional athletes who drive media attention and ticket revenue. For too many, the Olympics are just another platform to follow the celebrity pros who are obliged to compete as a means to satisfy the political and commercial interest of their sport or league. For example, consider the excitement when Premier League superstars Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and Lionel Messi (Argentina) are competing for their national team at the Olympic stadium. Consider, too, the reaction when NBA superstars such as LeBron James or Steph Curry step onto the hard court in their USA uniform. The Olympics have long been a showcase for the top tennis stars in the world and this summer, the return of golf since it’s last appearance in 1904 will bring the very best to compete on the course in Barra da Tijuca. Considering the pressure to entice professional leagues in the USA to send their top players to the Games, it’s a little wonder that baseball was dropped as an Olympic sport after the 2008 Beijing Games since the MLB has never sent their star players. When baseball was last played as an Olympic sport, USA won the bronze medal. For decades to come, the Olympics will likely sustain its ability to attract top sponsor revenue and equally impressive media right deals even with its unique hybrid mix of amateur and professional athletes. Whether baseball will ever be back as a sport with amateur or professional athletes is a question that won’t be answered before the Opening Ceremonies this August. One question likely to be answered before Rio is how three amateur Olympians who randomly met at a leadership symposium this month will remain connected. That’s a story not heard every day and that’s why the human interest pieces behind so many Olympians warms the heart and ignites the soul. From the Zika virus to the latest Russian doping scandal, there are plenty of stories associated with the 2016 Olympics in Rio that will continue to grab the sport headlines. Stay tuned later this month for more fascinating sports stories from around the globe to right here in northwest Ohio. Bonnie Tiell is a professor of sports management at Tiffin University