Olympics

Well, the Summer Olympics are over for another four years. Athens did a commendable job, even though I fear the country will teeter close to bankruptcy trying to pay for all the security measures. I haven’t watched so much television in a long time. But what to do until Beijing 2008? Or even Torino 2006? How about some of the lesser-known games?

• Commonwealth Games: Contested among the countries of the British Commonwealth, held every four years. The next games will be held in Melbourne, Australia in 2006.
• Pan-American Games: Contested among the countries of North, South, and Central America, held every four years. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host the next games in 2007.
• Maccabiah Games: Jewish athletes from around the world gather every four years in Tel Aviv, Israel. The 17th edition of the games will take place in 2005. There seems to be no official site, but here’s some info on the upcoming games from the Maccabi USA site.
• Pan Arab Games: In contrast, these games gather athletes from the members of the Arab League. Held every four years since 1953, the 2003 games, scheduled to be held in Algiers, Algeria, had to be postponed due to an earthquake. They are set to take place from September 24-October 8, 2004.
• Islamic Women’s Games: These games were created in 1993 “to give athletes from the strict Islamic countries an opportunity for international competition, while not breaking Islamic law by competing in front of men in inappropriate attire. The Opening ceremonies are open to male spectators, the athletes wearing full traditional Islamic dress. The events however are closed to male spectators, coaches, officials, media or men in any capacity.” They are held every four years in Tehran, Iran, but I cannot find any information online about the upcoming 2005 games.
• All-Africa Games: Open to athletes from all countries on the African continent, plus Madagascar, these games have been held every four years since 1965. Algiers, Algeria will host these games next in 2007.
• Asian Games: These games were first held in 1951 and have been held every four years since. Doha, Qatar will host the 15th Asian Games in 2006.
• Gay Games: Created in 1982 “to foster and augment the self-respect of lesbians and gay men throughout the world, and to engender respect and understanding from the non-gay world.” Organized every four years by the Federation for Gay Games, the next games were originally scheduled to be held in 2006 in Montreal. The Montreal group had a disagreement with the FGG and now will hold its own OutGames, while the Gay Games were awarded to Chicago.
• Mediterranean Games: Participants come from countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, with the notable exception of Israel, which has been refused entry to the games since their inception in 1951. They are held every four years in a coastal city, and the next games will be held in 2005 in Almeria, Spain.
• World Games: These are the games for sports that are not included in the Olympic Games (including squash, karate, ballroom dancing, parachuting, and tug-of-war). They are held every four years, and the next edition is set for 2005 in Duisburg, Germany.

If that list doesn’t whet your appetite, I’m sure you’ll find something at the comprehensive International Games web site.

Fellow Canadian Jonathan Crowe has a project running for the duration of the Olympics called DFL. Though “Dead F***ing Last” sounds cheeky and disrespectful, he reminds us that he’s “celebrating last-place finishes at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Because they’re there, and you’re not.” Great work, Jon!

(image from The Irish Times)

I was born in Ireland, though my family moved to Canada when I was a toddler. Nevertheless, all of my extended family live there and I still maintain a proud connection to my homeland. So, it was a bit disheartening as well as confusing to read that the great Irish runner Sonia O’Sullivan finished dead last in the women’s 5,000 metres final last night. Just looking at the numbers, I couldn’t figure out what happened.

Then I read this beautiful tribute written by Keith Duggan of The Irish Times.

(By the way, Sonia still ran 16:20.9. My own personal best for 5,000 metres is 24:16. Just to put things into perspective.)

The story had been about which Ethiopian would win the men’s 10,000 metre race yesterday. It had even been suggested that Ethiopians would take all three medals. They weren’t counting on Zersenay Tadesse, who took bronze and became Eritrea’s first Olympic medallist (also setting a new National Record for the distance).

Tadesse said, “I’ve only been running for two years. Before that I was cycling. I trained at home but never expected to get on the podium. Realistically I should have finished between 4th and 6th place.”

For those who have never heard of Tadesse’s homeland, Eritrea borders Ethiopia and despite being a distinct society, succeeding Italian and British colonial administrations tended to lump Eritreans in with Ethiopians. In 1950, the UN granted control of Eritrea to Ethiopia, which completely annexed all Eritrean territory by 1962. After a liberation struggle that lasted thirty years, Eritrea finally gained its independence in 1993. Despite some ongoing border skirmishes with its neighbour (the loss of Eritrean territory left Ethiopia landlocked), this new country born from one of Africa’s oldest cultures seems well on its way to finding its voice on the world stage.

More on Eritrean history