Don’t spoil the party

Now that the competitions in the Paris Olympics are over, social media has refocused its attention from the battlefield to the popular trending practice of bashing.  It’s a pity that this has to happen. The Olympics brought together over 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries and for two weeks, the topic was sporting excellence.  The action was fierce in the race for medals but there was no talk of war, no bragging of ethnic supremacy.

While the Olympics were an uncontested success, there were pockets of displeasure. Golfer Dottie Ardina ranted that her uniform came late and had to use tape to stick a Philippine patch on her shirt to identify the country she represented. POC explained why there was a snafu and French customs authorities were blamed for holding up the release process.

Other Philippine athletes complained quietly that some uniform sizes were out of form, opting to choose other brands.  From the corridors of the Olympic Village came cries of discomfort.  A report came out that Indian athletes brought in 40 units of portable air-conditioning coolers because the rooms were too hot to sleep in comfortably.  Beds weren’t friendly and athletes struggled to get their rest. Could the Paris organizers have spent more to make athletes comfortable and used the millions that were paid for talents in the opening and closing ceremonies instead?  After all, the Olympics are more about athletes than the hosting country.

The issue surrounding double gold medalist Carlos Yulo was another sore point. While the Philippines celebrated Yulo’s amazing performance in gymnastics, media had a field day feasting on money squabbles involving his mother. Yulo’s personal life was dragged into the quagmire, disrespecting his relationship with girlfriend Chloe. Why couldn’t the parties have just kept quiet and settled their differences in private without letting the whole world know?

Two female boxers won gold medals but social media erupted with comments about their gender. Flyweight Lin Yu Ting of Chinese-Taipei and welterweight Imani Khelif of Algeria ruled their divisions in Paris under pressure from detractors who questioned their gender. They had previously been disqualified by the discredited governing body International Boxing Association but IOC reversed the decision, citing no basis. IOC branded the criticism on the fighters as “hate speech.” Instead of acknowledging their superiority in the ring, doubtful quarters claimed they were more male than female.  Yet IOC made its decision clear so why debate a moot issue?

To be sure, the Olympics aren’t a perfect world. Neither is IOC nor POC.  Still, it’s no reason to disparage what went on in Paris.  Washing dirty linen in public is wasteful, irreverent and purposeless. Whatever problems were encountered, solutions will be made so that they aren’t repeated. Fueling the fire is something that goes against the Olympic spirit of sportsmanship.

A recent editorial from the Yomiuri Shimbun put into perspective what went on in Paris: “Athletes from various countries competed in heated battles and at times, they were moved to tears. Amid the ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world, there must have been some people who realized the preciousness of peace at the sight of athletes praising their opponents beyond victory or defeat.”