The 2010 Olympics have been plagued with injury and even death. There are numerous critics out there who want the Olympic committee to take control and do something to ensure the safety of the athlete, like bild.com. I don’t know that is a reasonable request, for a few reasons:
First, competition is all about being the best, and in order to become the best, you have to preform better (sometimes that means faster) than the previous ‘best.’ So trying to safeguard speed is counterproductive to the progression of competition. Second, in order to determine the best in the world, the tracks must be challenging. There is no argument that the tracks at Whistler are just that, challenging. Third, people don’t watch sports and competition to see safe, they want to see something new, something fantastic and with that comes the potential for injury.
Progression and evolution of sports is dangerous, but it is a part of the game that athletes are willing to chance to be the best. Maybe we should slow down NASCAR, use safer bats in MLB, have a ‘no touching’ rule in NHL, and change the NFL to the NFFL (National Flag Football League).
What do you think? Make the Olympics tamer or let the athletes compete at the very essence of the word?
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