Ian Thorpe, Should he be allowed to compete? He didn't make the team due to falling off the starting gate, resulting in immediate disqualification, but due to public pressure, is now on the team. What do you think? Should he placed on the team because of his past record. Or should his choke in the qualifications be held against him. Here is the story. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9403732%5E1702,00.html
He didn't beat his competitors in the rules established for the contest. Why would he be able to do it in the Olympics? I'm a hard ass though.
It doesn't sound like it was public pressure, just a teammate who withdrew who said that there was no pressure on him to do so. Of course, some cynics could argue that of course that's what he'd say, but I buy it.
I am only guessing, but I think the whole country probably put the full court press on the guy to step down and let Ian Swim. If the abnove statement is true, it makes for an interesting debate on the ethics of the whole country in regards to fair play. Especially when you compare the American version of that story. You find that the USA did not apply any public pressure to let Dan qualify for the Decathlon. It was pretty much oh well, he failed his pole vault, he's done. I'm not saying that Austrailia is wrong. Or right. I'm just saying that it's very interesting how two countries reacted differently to what amounts to the same exact situation.
I agree with PSJ, Dan was the first thing that came to my mind. If memory serves me right he was the best decathalete in the world at that time, but did not qualify for the olympics b/c of that failed pole vault. Personally, I think your qualification should be based on several recent events as opposed to one single event.
Something similar once happened on the German women's team, at the world championships in Rome, 1994, 200 meter freestyle. Franziska van Almsick gambled in the qualifying heats and only wound up with the 9th best time and would therefore have missed the finals. Dagmar Hase had a very good qualifying time, but withdrew so that Franziska van Almsick would make it to the finals. Franziska van Almsick went on to win the world championships in world record time.
I agree. There was another example in the latest Winter Olympics where the then current world cup leader was denied a place on his country's ski team (Austria, I think?) because he did poorly in the olympic qualifying event. (Not that i expect there's a big contingent of Alpine ski fans on this board ) It does seem absurd, however that if he's the country's best swimmer, he not represent them at the olympics. I say let the boy swim. He's not the first Aussie to fall down when he should be getting ready for a job.
The guy might have felt pressure to step down, but I hardly think the public put any pressure on him. Ian Thorpe owns the event, and is one of the greatest swimmers of all time. The fact that you can be ineligible by failing at a single race in the 4 year lead up to the Olympics is the ludicrous part.
If the public hadn't put pressure on him....they would have. As you say...everyone thinks Thorpe should be on the team.
at the time i thought the rules are ridiculous (a bit like one in track cycling in the Atlanta games where the aussie Shane Kelly fell/slipped out of his pedal at the start of his race... if he had completely fallen to the ground the race would have restarted but because he didn't but was then so far behind he lost anyway.....he couldn't get a redo) but my gut felt if they are the rules then that is that and that is also what Thorpe said too.... the public pressue was actually minimal on Stevens.... he said he would take some time to decide and the media persisted trying to get him to make a decision asap... but reall the there was not that much pressure on him to pull out... plenty of crap about the rules and also plenty saying thats that..... and then he made his decision
by the way smeg, here is a new colony reality show in Australia http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/27/1080330984248.html?from=storyrhs
He's the frickin Thorpedo! He's one of the best swimmers of the past few decades! Where are all these "no" votes coming from?
Why have Olympic trials? Rules should be consistently enforced. Of course, in the real world, superstar players get superstar treatment. No, Thorpe would not have been of my Olympic team. (You bet there were multiple levels of pressure for his teammate to decline the Olympic invitation.) University (Ian-equality) Blue
If he had had a bad swim in the Trials, then I would say, sure, he's out. But he got DQ'ed for falling off the block/ false-starting. That happens to everyone sooner or later. There are two ways of dealing with this, depending on the type of meet: either you're allowed one, or you're disqualified. I guess they have that rule so people won't false-start on purpose (to mess up their opponents' concentration), but it still bites. This is an argument for either getting rid of that rule or having a more complex selection procedure. At the Olympics, we'd like to see the very best competing.
