Quote of the day
“In this horrible situation, who can say I’ll even be alive in 2012?”
-Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter, responding in devastation after finding out Iraqi athletes could not compete in the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games
Indeed, who knows whether we all will be alive come 2012?
This bothers me a lot; I can only imagine the training necessary to even be considered a possible Olympian. And to have the decision to not compete made for you not only because of the IOC’s stance on your government’s “interference” but also by the IOC itself, who by conferring the Olympics to be held in China, seemingly condones some of the “interferences” enacted there, is just sad. I’m glad to know stushie sees the same irony I do…
UPDATE: The Iraqi government is going to lobby to the IOC for its athletes to participate in the Olympics. I hope the IOC gives these athletes clearance to compete.
UPDATE: Maybe goodness and justice do exist in this world, but I still feel bad for those who cannot go to Beijing…
I fail to see the correlation between sport and a nation’s politics. The IOC’s decision is utterly revolting (and corrupt!) in the truest sense. It takes two to make a war, why not ban America as well? Oh, right, because there is no possible way the United Stated government could ever be corrupt! So sad the times we live in.
Thanks for your comment! Yeah, the irony of the whole thing just reeks of something not too cool. There are any number of countries where political corruption runs rampant generally but somehow because they have their “Olympics committess up to par”-–not running interference with the IOC-–their athletes go and these athletes don’t. It is very sad.