August 29, 2012
Usain Bolt
Compare that with the dignity of a Jesse Owens winning four golds in Berlin, forcing even Hitler to shake his hand. The press, of course, depicted Adolf leaving the stadium in a rage, which was a total fabrication. He spoke to Owens and congratulated him, and Jesse tried to set the record straight upon his return to America, but due to the fact that back home he had to sit in the back of a bus, no one took his protests seriously.
The Kenyan World Record breaker and gold medal winner in the 800 meters in London, David Rudisha, reminded me of many gold medalists of yore. His quiet dignity and soft manner stood out among the show-offs and the braggarts. Usain Bolt declared himself a legend, although his actions before and after a race are hardly legendary. And if he’s a legend, what about Jim Hines, Bob Hayes, or Carl Lewis? They were running 9.90 seconds on high-school surfaces decades ago. In 1968, Tommy Smith ran 19.8 in the 200 meters. Today he”d be doing 19.5″faster than Bolt.
In 1960 in Rome, I watched my friend Tony Madigan fighting for Australia in the semifinals against an American with the charming name of Cassius Clay. After three furious rounds we thought Tony had it. “It’s going our way,” said his trainer, “at least a split decision.” But the decision went Clay’s way. Madigan never complained; he just shook hands with Clay and told me afterwards, “That’s how sport goes.” Clay went on to win the gold. You know the rest.
I thought of Tony Madigan and what a gentleman he was and is”we still correspond”when the chairman of the IOC, the aptly named Jacques Rogge (pronounced “rogue”), a Belgian who looks like an undertaker, said in his opening speech that athletes should not take drugs and should always respect their opponents. The camera then closed in on Muhammad Ali, now in bad shape, bloated and trembling. If ever there was an athlete who did not respect his opponents it was Ali. He humiliated them, insulted them, and turned boxing into a circus. Someone should have warned the rogue to stay away from things such as respect and dignity. Only a few athletes still know what they”re about.
