Editorial
Stupendous feats at Beijing
Olympics beaming with excellence
CERTAINLY Beijing Olympics have lived up to its hype. From the opening ceremony to the many disciplines of sports since Aug 8, 2008, the world has been left wondering at the excellence of human performance where records have tumbled by the day. Individuals and teams have competed to the limit of human endurance and the best have come out with honours. In this regard several individuals and countries have stood out because of their extraordinary feats not accomplished ever before.
Surely, records are there to be broken. Every Olympic game has witnessed new heroes performing astounding feats, only to be surpassed in the next. But it is the manner in which certain records have been swept aside at the Beijing-2008 that has caught the imagination of the world at large.
Phelps' record win of eight gold medals have pushed Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record of seven gold to second place. And what makes the wins remarkable is that, even if the possibility of his winning so many medals was a forgone matter, Michele Phelps' bettered as many seven world records, in individual and team swimming events, on his way to the eighth gold medal.
Several other feats have caught our attention also. That a 38 year-old mother of one has won the women's marathon has shown that age is no bar to human stamina and accomplishment. And the world had never witnessed three competitors from the same country sweeping all the medals on offer in one event, and two of them getting the silver for clocking the same time at finish. That was the feat that the Jamaican women runners pulled off in the 100 meters dash, just one day after countryman Usain Bolt shattered the world record with a time of 9.69 seconds, and that too in a manner marked by his imperious finish. Similar feat was accomplished by the US runners when they grabbed all the medals in the low hurdles.
This game has also seen the end of US and Russian domination of Olympic medals, although there are a few more days to go before the curtains come down on the games. In spite of the home advantage, China's domination of the gold medal tally indicates the importance its sports bodies have accorded to this game. Notable also is the resurgence of England, having made a gold medal tally (till yesterday) of 12, their highest since 1920 Antwerp Games.
While we congratulate all the participants we specially commend the high achievers for living up to the Olympic motto of Citius Altius Fortius.
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