The life of an olympic athlete

Sarah Robles / Otagenki.com

Olympic athletes have a rigorous training schedule and dedicate their lives to their sport, but what is not as immediately obvious are their financial struggles. Often, Olympic athletes depend solely on the funding of their sponsors to get through their training, leaving them to find another source of income to provide for their basic needs.

“Heading into the Sochi Games, some of the USA’s elite athletes live below the poverty line,” Kelly Whiteside wrote  in a 2013 USA TODAY Sports article.

Sarah Robles, an olympic weight lifter, is one of the many Olympic athletes that struggled economically through most of her Olympic training. Her priorities shifted from funding her Olympic journey to supporting her basic needs of food and shelter. The only way she was able to continue her training was through donations made by people close to her, and her motivation for success.

Olympic athletes are faced with the problem of their life after sport. An Olympic athlete dedicates many years of his/her life to training, leaving many without a plan of what to do next. After retiring from a sport, there is a major adjustment to make from practicing everyday, to pursuing a job and not being able to play their sport as much.

“For world-class athletes who have focused their lives on training, their next Olympian task has no direct path: Readjusting to a routine outside competitive sports and creating a new life that may or may not involve the limelight,” Raissa Ioussouf wrote in a 2012 article for the Huffington Post.

Olympians have to find something else to occupy their time with after they retire, since they do not exercise as much. Before their Olympic careers end, Olympians have very busy schedules. In preparation for big competitions such as the Olympics, Olympians commit most of their day to training and leading a healthy life. Aside from just playing their sport, Olympians have a lot of other training to do such as weightlifting and conditioning to stay fit for their season.

“I usually swim, bike and run every day and do strength and conditioning work two or three days a week.” Helen Jenkins, an Olympic triathlete, said in a 2012 Sport Wale article.

Part of what makes Olympians so valuable and admirable is that they do what is hard for many people by going beyond what is thought humans can do. Although what the Olympians achieve is apparent, what is less clear, is the amount of time they spend training for their success and the difficulty it takes to get there.

Written by Asimina Hamakiotes and Harry Smith

The growing Olympics

All the host cities of the Winter Olympics / Wikimedia Commons

The modern Olympic games have grown in scale exponentially since its beginning in 1896. More countries participate now and there is a greater sense of equality in both gender and race. The games are a much more accurate measure for who is the best of the world due to these changes.

The very first winter Olympics only permitted the participation of Scandinavian countries, such as Norway and Sweden. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games allowed 84 different countries from six continents. A growth in the number of teams in the Olympics also increases the challenge to win as there are more athletes to compete against each other.

On top of a more varied pool of countries, the athletes of each country became more and more diverse. Since the first Olympics, all races could compete, but each country was responsible for deciding on athletes represent them. Countries with a history of racism hosted or entered the Olympics since it began. The racism in competing nations brought controversy to the games. There were even talks of boycotting the 1968 Olympics in Mexico from Martin Luther King Jr.

"We're not saying ‘burn it down,'" King Jr. said in The John Carlos Story. "We're just merely saying we don't care to participate and see how you feel without us as a part of the show."

Women also became a bigger part of the games. The first time that women were allowed to compete was the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris. Only 22 out of 997 athletes were females and they participated in five different sports including tennis and golf. In contrast, 44 percent of the athletes were women in the more recent 2012 Olympics in London.

“More and more women are chairing IOC commissions, such as the Coordination Commissions for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and the 2nd Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2016 in Lillehammer, as well as the Women and Sport Commission and Athletes’ Commission,” International Olympic Committee reported in an October 2013 fact sheet.

The growth of the Olympics also appears in the increased money surrounding the games. In 1976, the Olympics cost about $1.6 billion. Host countries now more than ever view the Olympics as an opportunity to demonstrate their wealth and success. Almost four decades later, the 2014 games cost a whopping $51 billion.

“For President Putin [staging the Games] is a chance to show off Russia as a resurgent superpower,” Rick Broadbent and Ben Hoyle wrote in a Times of London article in 2014.

Contributed by: Sean Santiago, Velid Mulic

Should performance enhancing drugs be legalized?

Performance Enhancing Drugs / Wordonfire.org

Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are very prevalent in sports, but only a small majority of players are caught using them. PEDs are considered to be unsportsmanlike in their use because of the unfair advantage that they offer. In addition, there are many risks in taking them, like psychological issues and permanent nerve damage. Knowing the risks, multiple players still use these drugs to gain an upper hand.

With so many players getting caught using PEDs, some have come to the conclusion that PEDs should be allowed in professional sports. In Major League Baseball alone, 31 athletes have been caught doping and in the National Football League over 20 athletes have also been caught doping. On a global scale, the Olympics and the Tour de France potentially face a great doping problem.

“Eighty percent of the Tour de France medalists between 1996 and 2010 have been similarly tainted by doping',” according to a 2013 USADA report on Lance Armstrong.

By legalizing PEDs and allowing all players to use them, the drugs could be monitored and regulated. This would allow players to take the drugs in safer and more knowledgeable conditions, leveling the playing field for all players. By doping, players could hit harder, run and react faster, putting the game on a higher level.

Extreme records could be achieved and this is shown through top athletes who have taken PEDs, like seven consecutive winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong. Even though legalizing these drugs seem like it would make the game better, it wouldn't fix all of the issues that already exist. In addition, it would bring forth new problems.

If PEDs become regulated, they are still dangerous and can injure players. After seeing their heroes take drugs, it may influence children to take drugs as well. There are many side effects to taking drugs like heart and circulatory problems. Knowing these severe risks, it is hard to justify the legalization of these drugs

Allowing PEDs to be available to all athletes may not even level the playing field, since some players have a moral code against using drugs or are scared of the risks it presents. Sports are considered to be so sacred because they showcase the pinnacle of human skill. By taking drugs, it would no longer be about how far a human can push himself, but on well we can create them.

“We want humans to do superhuman things -- but only in a very human way. Yes, you can try to make steroids legal. That doesn't mean they will ever seem OK,” Michael Rosenberg wrote in a 2010 Sports Illustrated article.

Written by Justin Wu and Kofi Odame 

Katie Ledecky's journey to success

Katie Ledecky / Geoff Livingston

Although she is just 17 years old, Kathleen Ledecky is currently one of the most outstanding long distance swimmers in the world. Growing up in Bethesda, Md., Ledecky put in lots of hard work into her training. She started swimming at age six with her older brother Michael, and her mother, Mary Gen, who swam for the University of New Mexico. 

“My family is great … [and] is largely the reason I got involved with swimming in the first place. I owe them all a lot for what I’ve accomplished,” Ledecky said to Mike Watkins in a 2013 interview. 

Ledecky had the wonderful opportunity to swim with Olympic swimmers all around the world and the U.S. Olympic team. Meeting many Olympic swimmers has further encouraged Ledecky to swim more and try harder to break her times. She won her first international gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics for the 800 meter freestyle. Currently swimming for Nation’s Capital Swim Club, training about two and a half to five hours a day, Ledecky strives to continue taking the gold. Ledecky demonstrates her love for swimming by dedicating many hours to the pool.

 “Sometimes I have morning practices, where I’m up at 3:55 a.m. I’m in the water at 4:45,” Ledecky said in a 2012 interview with Julia Rasicot of Bethesda Magazine.

Holding many American records, Katie Ledecky is best known for her World Records in the 800 meter and 1,500 meter freestyle. On top of all her underwater accomplishments, Ledecky also won the 2013 FINA Athlete of the Year award for swimming for her high achievements. Ledecky’s many hours of training have certainly paid off and shown through her success.

 “It’s been a goal of mine to break 4:30, I’ve had my eye on that for a while and it feels really good to get that done,” Ledecky said in a 2014 interview with Jennifer Beekman of Maryland Community News.

 It is amazing how Ledecky is able to compete in the Olympics, World Champs, Duel in the pool, U.S. Nationals, and qualify for Olympic trials, and at the same time attend school. Correspondingly being on a swim team, as well as being a student, requires a lot of time, studying, training, and hard work.

 “I only train in the morning twice, maybe three times a week. And then from there I go to school. And then I have afternoon practice, right after school until 6. Then I get home and I eat and I do my homework,” Ledecky said to Rasicot.

 Ledecky has a tight schedule yet she still finds a way to manage both swimming and school. She continues to display her commitment to balancing the sport of swimming along with being a student and follows her passion for swimming.

Dr. Sammy Lee did not allow anything to pull him down

From Wikimedia/Sammy Lee

Dr. Sammy Lee won the Olympic gold medal for platform diving in 1948 and 1952, becoming the first Asian American to ever do so. He was born on August 1, 1920 to a family that worked as farmers in Hawaii. Lee had to face many barriers from his youth to the beginning of his career. During the 1940’s Lee experienced racial tension due to the conflict of World War II, but persisted despite the hostility at the time.

Lee went on to became a doctor. He received his M.D. from the University of Southern California School of Medicine. He followed his training at USC by serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Korea due to the lack of doctors during World War two. Even with almost no free time to spare, Lee was able to squeeze in time for diving practice.

When Lee entered the Olympics he was set on earning a place in an American society for Korean-Americans. In an article from USAdiver.com, the author noted Lee saying, "Well, that's an entirely separate civilization [Korea]. They had their own language which I cannot speak, but we are a separate entity.”

During the 1940s, the bombing of Pearl Harbor brought tension to all Asians in the United States. Lee faced racism without any hesitation. Instead of taking racism to heart, he ignored it. In a Los Angeles Times article, Lee never let racism block his march to diving glory, Jerry Crowe heard Lee saying, "It inspired me to perform."

Lee faced racism was during his years at high school. Lee was the vice-president and wanted an opportunity at being president. When Lee went to become president, his principal told him not to run because he was Asian. Lee was disheartened and eneded up not running.

Lee is a perfect example of a person that has struggled to become successful. People should look up to him as a role model because he was able to become a great athlete as well as an intellectual man despite the racial barriers he faced.  

Social media regulations in sports

Social media is the new medium of this age. Actors, politicians, and even the random guy down street are all trying to maximize social media in order to better their brand and public-image. However, not everyone is able to truly maximize the potential social media offers. A prime example of this is in the realm of professional sports. Almost all of the different sports have their own social media policy that can either be very restricting, such as Major League Baseball and the Olympic games, or a wide open field, such as that of World Wrestling Entertainment's.

Dolph Ziggler sporting a social media costume with the #heel hashtag

The WWE shows how successful an unfettered social media policy can be. The WWE has amassed over seven-hundred thousand followers on Twitter and over seven million fans on Facebook and encourages all the fighters to have their own social media presence. In fact, the WWE promotes the players’ social media presence whenever they are at a fight. They don’t place any restrictions on their players and it pays off. The fans are able to interact with the fighters like never before and this gives them a feeling of connection; WWE memes have trended multiple times on twitter. It pays off for the WWE as well, as they get an opportunity to drive traffic to their site and promote less popular content. They have struck social media gold with their policy of unregulation.

Not everyone has been so accepting. The Olympics have been anything but accepting of social media by putting in place harsh restrictions such as: not allowing the contestants to comment on anything other then the events that they took part in, or not being able to interview other players, and perhaps the most ridiculous thing is that they can’t post any pictures of the games themselves. The list goes on and on with more rules that completely kill the hope for athletes to develop a social connection with their fans, and ultimately all this hurts the Olympics as well. The Olympics is having to struggle with making the games more relevant, and it is quickly becoming the token of dying media.

Other leagues are also falling behind. MLB has recently implemented a new social media policy that is failing them. MLB has 1.6 millon Twitter followers about half of both the NBA and NFL. The MLB is also falling behind in new media forms of publication, specifically their presence on YouTube. Frequently MLB takes down fan-made videos with MLB content, not allowing the fans to interact and express their passions for the game. All this, while having a practically non-existent presence on the site, occasionally uploading videos not catching more than a thousand views. Compare this to the NBA who happily post game excerpts driving people to get interested in the game and watch it on tv, greatly increasing the revenue flow.

There is no doubt that social media can be very influential in sports, but the people in charge are still slow to embrace it. The WWE should be a model for other sports to look to for their social media policies. The WWE shows how being open can win you everything.

Women Boxers might wear miniskirts in 2012 Olympics

Women’s Boxing is finally making its entry into the 2012 Olympics. This step forward in gender equality in sports is facing an immediate problem; the women competitors are being forced to abide by a different dress code than their male counterparts.

The Amateur International Boxing Association, the group behind this dress code, is calling for the women to wear miniskirts instead of shorts. All of their reasons for their decision revolve around the appearance of the match. President of AIBA, Ching-Kuo Wu, said to Albany, N.Y.’s Times Union, “I have heard many times people say, 'We can't tell the difference between the men and the women.’”

The Polish women’s boxing coach, Leszek Piotrowski, has already made his boxers wear the skirts in a previous tournament. Piotrowski tried explaining to BBC Sport his reason for supporting the rule. "By wearing skirts, in my opinion, it gives a good impression, a womanly impression."

Many people consider Piotrowski’s argument humorous. Whether or not the competitors are wearing miniskirts, they will still be trying to knock each other out. Conspiracies also are arising due to the dress code specifying miniskirts. This creates an idea that the dress code is being used to please male viewers and increase ratings.

Badminton suggested a similar dress code a while before the AIBA started an attempt at creating the miniskirt dress code. The Badminton dress code was quickly given up after it was made fun of by much of the general public.

With the Olympics coming up soon, talks on the dress code aren’t finished. There is still a bit of hope that a miniskirt dress code may not happen, but only time will tell if the AIBA will drop their idea and not face angered athletes.

Debate over the 2012 Olympics

When the International Olympic Committee announced that the 2012 Olympics would be in London many people were supportive of the decision. It would be a great boon to the city, and the local economy. That unhindered support, however, quickly changed. At the beginning it was just petty things like a terrible logo design that raised its fair share of crackpot conspiracy theories: its a modern form of the swastika, or that the the logo when read backwards reads Izzo, a nickname for the rapper Jay-Z. Most importantly is that things have started to turn political.

2012 London Olympics Logo.  Photo by Nigel Chadwick.

In February of this year the National Olympic Committee of Iran called upon the IOC to change the £400,000 logo because they though it was a hidden pro-Israeli message. “As Internet documents have proved, using the word Zion in the logo of 2012 Olympic Games is a disgracing action and against Olympics’ valuable mottos,” the Iranian Olympic Committee said in an open letter.

The complaint notably was written four years after the publication of the 2012 logo. The IOC responded, “The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012, nothing else.” Iran has called for a boycotting of the 2012 Olympics.

Most recently there has been a major controversy about one of the main sponsors for the event, Dow Chemical Company. Dow is sponsoring the stadium wrapping, a seven million dollar deal. Many environmentalists have questioned this deal because of an environmental disaster that happened in Bhopal India.

In 1984 the chemical company Union Carbide changed the city of Bhopal forever with possibly the worst industrial environmental catastrophe in history.. On the night of December 3rd at the Bhopal pesticide plant in India, water had leaked into the canisters containing methyl isocyanate, which then leaked in the form of a toxic gas across the city of Bhopal. About 3,000 people died from the incident and an estimated 8,000 have died from gas-related diseases. The general conditions of the plant were horrendous. With workers being told not to replace faulty parts, and there was no plan in place for knowing how to deal with such an incident. The alarms had not been functioning for four years, the boiler was not on for unknown reasons, but the few safety measures that were put into place, such as water sprayers to reduce the concentration of the gas were barely functioning; the list goes on and on.

The Indian government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act, which granted the government the right to represent everyone who was affected by the disaster. Union Carbide offered to pay out a mere $350 million when the government demanded $3.3 billion dollars. They eventually decided on a $470 million compensation. Not long after Union Carbide decided to sell off their Indian subsidiary (UCIL), and were forced to finance a 500 bed hospital that would give free health care to all of those affected by the Bhopal disaster; that was in 1998.

The 2012 Olympic Wrap sponsored by Dow Chemicals.

Eventually the Dow chemical company acquired UCIL, and now they are experiencing the heat.  The recent Olympic deal has angered many people who have demanded that they give more compensation to the hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected by the Bhopal disaster. Most recently India announced that they were going to have a meeting yesterday, December 5th, but backed down after the IOC urged them not to vote on the matter. Acting president VK Malhotra, a member of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said, "There is no question of India boycotting the London Olympics. We are not boycotting Olympic Games and that is very clear on Indian Olympic Association's part ... but we want to express in black and white that there has been opposition in the country with the London Games being associated with Dow Chemical. We have to take account of their sentiments."

India has not been the only one to complain, Britain has as well. The Telegraph reported that, “One of the councils neighbouring Olympic Park, Tower Hamlets, is now set to debate a motion to demand the removal of the wrap because it does not meet the Locog sustainable sourcing code.”

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the IOC defended the deal, saying that Dow should not be held responsible because they were never directly involved with the Disaster.

"I am the grandson of an Indian so I am not completely unaware of this as an issue," Coe said. "But I am satisfied that at no time did Dow operate, own or were involved with the plant, either at the time of the disaster, or, crucially, at the time that the full and final settlement was made."

It looks as if the 2012 Olympic Games will continue, unaffected by the complaints of humanitarians around the world. There have only been quiet rumblings of anyone actually boycotting the Olympics, and no player has come forward saying that they will. The debate continues over the 2012 Olympics continues, but one thing is certain; nobody is listening.