‘Faster, Higher,Stronger!?’ What most of the Olympic athletes could learn from watching Curling!

The Olympic Games in Vancouver are well under way and as exciting and amazing as they are, questions about their ‘actual’ purpose seem to pop up here and there. Especially after the death of the Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili questions were raised if the Games should go on as scheduled. But to my great surprise, these questions were only asked by a few. It was taken for granted by most that a huge event like the Olympic Games cannot just be put on hold. And as logical as this might sound, it does leave a bad taste, especially after the many accidents in the women’s downhill race yesterday and in other disciplines as well. Is Faster, Higher, Stronger really the only most important thing about Olympia? It seems to be the case, especially when following the Olympic Games via television. Only the best athletes are presented on TV and the rest is deemed unnecessary to even talk about. At the opening ceremony were many nations that totally disappeared in the televising of the Games.

Those athletes that are top of the class have a fierceness in their eyes that is even scary at times. It is all about winning and nothing else. The only exemption of this collective Olympic madness is Curling. The players know each other most of the time, they talk and they hardly ever need a referee to decide who won a game. They have fun with what they are doing and all of them have a normal life next to the sport. It might not be the most exciting sport to watch, but it seems to be the one most true to the Olympic spirit.

For those interested in the Curling rules of game, go here.

Updates about the Olympic Games in Vancouver are at the timesonline.

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Author: the medical philosopher

I am a philosopher of science with the main focus on philosophy of medicine. I write about evidence based medicine, medical research versus medical practice, ethics in medicine and why medicine needs to be patient centred and how we can achieve that. View all posts by the medical philosopher

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