Beijing 2008 has by far been one of the best olympics in modern era. So fascinating has been its opening ceremony deemed by many as the greatest ever; So remarkable has been the performances of the athletes with all the Champs living above expectations, Phelps & Bolt turning out to be the chartbusters; Beijing 2008 has so far registered the greatest number of world records in history.. and many more to its credit... Kudos to the organizers and athletes !!!
With just a day and four finals to go, the medals tally is topped by the hosts (47 G, 17 S, 25 B = 89 T) and the USA (31 G, 36 S, 35 B = 102 T) and would remain so in all probability.
Now, while China leads the standings according to the International Olympic Committee, the US media are adamant in displaying it's country on top. So, where comes the discrepancy???
While IOC follows the order of the number of gold medals won (which China leads by a good margin), the USA is way ahead in terms of total medals won..In fact it is the only country to notch up the three figure mark. The problem in crowning the real Numero Uno arises because the IOC hasn't instituted any guidelines for the standings as there is no official recognition for the toppers.
But, it has been a tradition to hail the topper in the media and people alike. The US media has come under fire for 'maniulating' the tally to project their country as the leader. But the Russians have no complaints because they move ahead of the Great Britain whom they lag by a solitary gold medal.
With due respects to the Chinese athletes for the stunning performances, they themselves are not free from the 'manipulator's' tag. It started with a little girl miming a recorded song during the opening ceremony with the latest being the real age of the double gold medalist, He Kexin. Allegations are ripe over her age that she is just 14 years old and that the Chinese Olympic association had changed it to 16 years so that she can pass the age barrier to participate in Gymnastics.
And personally, I don't think it is completely fair to follow the standings according to the number of gold medals won. It doesn't give any recognition to the contribution of hudreds of silver & bronze winning athletes. I, for once, would like to go by the standings projected by the US. Am I unbiased??? or am I supporting this just because India stands to gain by it?? (It jumps to 38th position from 46th..) :)
So, Who is the real winner??? The US or China??? Comments are welcome!!!
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3 comments:
ya i accept(U.S WAY)..Because among a 100-1000 atheletes competing in the event ,it is worth to get the second or third place.It can be considered equivalent to securing the first place..Though the first place is always special..
from hariharan
the games are the winners maybe thats why the overall leaders are not recognised and pierre de coubertine's prophecy lives on
well very late comment..
The Olympic committee has no guidelines for deciding the top country.. I feel there is no point in speaking about top country.. The Olympic game is for bringing unity.. so let us not give rise to disputes on name of it :)
It honors every sportsmen and winners..
a sportsmen is not honored by award; only awards are honored with sportsmen..
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