Posts Tagged ‘Beijing 2008’

TOI Article – ‘Why Blacks outrace Whites’

// September 4th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Ethnic Studies, Racism

This was supposed to be posted in the “Olympic season” but better late than never.

Why Blacks Outrace Whites

I think any study that starts with the central assumption that there is some great tangible genetic difference between a “black” or “white” person is bound to leave out other possible socio-cultural, geographical or evolutionary biology explanations. I have friends and family who tend to believe that “blacks are faster and stronger” due to the high concentration of successful black track and field athletes (and all ‘Asians’ are smart and good at math and so on) and the mainstream media does not help to question such beliefs and binary modes of thinking. This is dangerous since it serves to cement a ‘difference’ between ‘racial’ groups that does not exist.

Race is socially-constructed, hence there has to be an alternate explanation for why a certain ‘racial’ group seemingly performs better. All things being equal, there is more genetic variation between two people of different heights than between someone with dark skin as opposed to someone with fair skin. Inputs and other studies welcome — I think this merits further research on my part post-exams. Enjoy the read (full article here):

In the last three decades, athletics, like all sports, has become more and more globalised. Athletes from many small countries are participating in international competitions, and technologies are more freely accessible, although at steep costs. In this levelling of the playing field, the rise of black power has stunned the world once used to seeing only whites on the podium. What is behind this polarization? Is it in the genes or is it the desire to win?

It has come under huge scrutiny by scientists and sociologists in the past decade. Over 200 scientific studies have been carried out and many more are going on. The association of skin colour with a genetic structure suited for athletics has not been established. This is more so because among the black athletes, there are two very distinct categories — those from East Africa, who dominate long distance running, and those of West African ancestry who dominate sprints.Most athletes from the Caribbean and North America belong to the latter category as their ancestors were taken to the New World as slaves between the 15th and 19th centuries. The average West African weighs 30kg more than average East Africans, who are small with thin legs and arms.

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It’s Over. Top 10 Moments of the Beijing Olympics.

// August 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // Sports

Highs and Lows of the Beijing Games

(Image Source – Times of India – Click to Enlarge)

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are over. The winner is China and mass consumption and among the losers are the actual rural and migrant workers of China, the ones doing the clean-up and well, us for watching the capitalist and nationalist spectacle.

I covered the high point of the event for me (here and here), some of the things I could not tolerate and some that left me with ambigious feelings. And shockingly, none of it involves women’s beach volleyball!

Times of India printed a TOP 10 Moments of the Olympics and Olympic Factfile that can be accessed in actual newsprint format here — Obviously I use Times of India as an unbiased source given how many in American media and blogosphere were whining about scores and medals. But feel free to give your own views.

Usain Bolt
1
USAIN BOLT breaks the 100 metres world record. Bolt already owned the record and in front of a packed Bird’s Nest stadium he ran 9.69 seconds. He thumped his chest in triumph over the last few
metres before his ‘marksman’ celebration which became one of the lasting images of the Games.

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IOC censoring videos of the Beijing Olympics – Piratebay sent a warning

// August 19th, 2008 // No Comments » // Anti-Capitalism

The IOC is threatening Pirate Bay for allowing users to share (upload and download) videos of the Beijing Olympics and is especially concerned that videos of the Closing Ceremony would be up shortly after the event.

If IOC thinks it can prevent technologically-equipped people from catching highlights of the Olympics by launching threats at top torrent sites, it should think again. Just by filing a complaint with the Swedish government–the country where Piratebay is based–it has alerted thousands more people to the availability of Olympics coverage on the web. BRAVO!

For millions of people in the world, the only [affordable and convenient] way to watch the Beijing games is via the web. And Youtube has not been friendly about this, erasing even 30 second videos of the games (although it did stand up to the IOC regarding protest videos by Students for a Free Tibet – Why would the IOC file a DMCA claim against this anyway)? This censorship is directly contrary to the spirit of the Olympic games that supposedly reflect unity and our mutual inter-relatedness, the five rings signifying the five different continents. Online file-sharing only helps to promote that but of course the IOC is more concerned with making money through licensing.

In light of the censorship on popular sites like Youtube, sports fans have turned to torrent sites like Piratebay, Mininova and Demonoid. And even if you get NBC coverage in America that is poor and substandard with unbearable commercial breaks, you are better off watching coverage on Eurosport than tolerating the sour, judgmental, Phelps-obsessed American commentators.

You can show your support for Piratebay here.

While you are at it, check out this related post.

The Invisibles that Made the Beijing Games – Dark Side of the Olympics

// August 19th, 2008 // 6 Comments » // Gender, Human Rights, Immigration, Nationalism, Political Theory

I mentioned earlier that the computer-generated 55-second video footage of giant fireworks on film at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was pure simulacrum–with no relation to ‘reality.’ It turns out that there was more “staging” than meets the eye at the 2008 Beijing games.

First, a 9-year old lip-synced the song “Ode to the Motherland” because the original singer was not considered pretty enough.

Then, we had reports of a pre-recorded “live” fireworks display as aforementioned.

Chinese officials also admitted to deploying cheer squads (legions of spectators wearing matching yellow shirts) to ‘create’ atmosphere and hide the empty seats. (Why were there empty seats at this major world spectacle? We will come back to this point soon).

Now Beijing officials are admitting that children dressed in different ethnic costumes in China who carried the Chinese flag were not actually from those ethnic groups.

And all the while, the CCP has cracked down on Olympics piracy–the sale of ‘inauthentic’ Olympic gear. In order to move away from the perception of China as a “low class pirating country” according to CNN,

On April 26, World Intellectual Property Day, cities across China demonstrated the country’s commitment to quashing piracy by staging public exhibitions and destroying pirated goods.

This is the essence of hyper-reality, the fake crackdowns on pirated goods (the brand names also representative of nothing) to allude to a China that is indeed unreal; it does not exist.

Maybe these reports do not bother average viewers who understand that they are consuming images that are not necessarily representative of reality.  And this post is by no means condemning China for “faking” the Olympics–that would be far too juvenile and hypocritical and I will leave that to the Orientalists and hate-mongers.

In ‘postmodern’ society, the simulated copy has preceded the real and while I am not asserting like Jean Baudrillard did that “the real no longer exists,” I do hold that the mass profusion of images for consumption–the systemic act of the manipulation of signs–play a major role in masking and convoluting our perceptions of reality.

The most disturbing part of the Olympic spectacle does not have to do with the 55 second CGI, lip-synching or child actors; it has little to do with the spectacularly grand banquet of scrolls, drums, processions, songs and dances that were supposed to reflect 5000 years of Chinese civilization. This hyper-reality and idealized transposition blanketed the ‘real’ people of China, the people that would ideally occupy those empty seats, the ones in rural areas who would never even see the games but have their land taken away in an attempt to create the facade, those that toiled behind the scenes to make these Olympics a success, the ‘undesirables’ that China was all too eager to eliminate from the screens before the games begun even while appearing to extoll the values of its own historical laboring past and present during the staged simulation.

The migrant laborers that toiled hard with little-to-no legal and health protections, and built the Bird’s Nest are nowhere to be seen. They came, they built, and they left knowing that they would never have access to the amazing sites that they have put together, that the world may never recognize their amazing feats and reward them with medals. After all, we are glued to our screens watching and applauding people running, swimming, cycling and jumping for medals, sponsorships, and fame. But the true achievers are the migrant workers, the unsung heroes who made these games possible.
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Raj Bhavsar does us proud – Third Indian-American to win a medal at the Olympics

// August 19th, 2008 // No Comments » // Desi-Indian, Immigration

http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/04-080-feature/image004.jpg

The Times of India reports:

BEIJING: In a perfect world, Raj Bhavsar should have won an Olympic medal for India. Instead, the gymnast did America proud in Beijing. The 28-year-old Houston lad, born to Gujarati parents Bob and Sue, was part of the sixmember American men’s team which won the bronze medal in artistic gymnastics in the Beijing Olympics here yesterday.
Bhavsar thus became the second Indo-American gymnast, after Mohini Bhardwaj, to win an Olympic medal. Mohini was part of the American women’s team which won a silver in Athens. Bhavsar proved third time lucky after twice coming close to make it to the Olympic team in Sydney and Athens. It was only a fortnight ago that he got a call-up to fill the void created by Paul Hamm’s injury and Bhavsar finally had his day under the sun yesterday.
FAIRYTALE ENDING
“I’M SO grateful to everyone. This has been a fairytale. This medal represents the heart and soul of the team. No one thought we could win a medal together but deep down, we knew we could do it. This makes all the blood, sweat and tears worth it.
“Personally, I exceeded my own expectations and I think the team did so as well,” he gushed. PTI

A minor correction in the article–Alexi Grewal is the other Indian-American to have won a medal at the Olympics. Congratulations to Raj Bhavsar; I actually did see him perform and he kept American hopes alive where others fell short–a great team player.

Deport Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo – Son of Undocumented Immigrants!

// August 19th, 2008 // 25 Comments » // Gender, Immigration

“I’m here and this is my dream. So it’s cool.”

Henry Cejudo - Son of Mexican Illegal Aliens wins Gold at the Beijing Olympics
Cejudo, crying the moment the match ended and wrapping himself in an American flag, defeated Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan 2-2 on tiebreaker and 3-0 in the best-of-three match.

He is the son of undocumented Mexican immigrants who bypassed college to pursue his dreams of being an Olympian and won the gold medal in the freestyle wrestling event–the first U.S. champion of the sport’s lightest weight class since 1960.

“He’s testament to the fighting spirit of America,” his coach Mike Duroe said. “This means so much to him. Gold medals are the American dream.”

At just 5-feet-4 and 121 pounds, Henry Cejudo is the the youngest of six children. The Denver Post reported on July 31:

Being the youngest, Cejudo said, “I always had to fight for things – blanket, remote control, food.”
In Phoenix, Cejudo remembers living in rough apartment complexes where crime was ever present, murders not unusual.
“I never forget where I come from,” he said. “The struggles, everything, I just use it as motivation.”
That fire comes out when he’s on the mat, even in a practice match here, where you can feel his intensity.
“You’re going to lose if you think you are,” he said. “I was always like that, ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always had that mentality.”

Organizations like Americans for Legal Immigration (a euphemism for Americans Against Latino Immigration), a site that advocates strict immigration levels, would also love to do-away with “birthright-citizenship,” which would have ripped a talent like Henry Cejudo from the United States. William Gheen does not care; for him, the issue is black and white:
“America and Spain are the only two countries left in the world that have birthright citizenship. And that is something that our organization and many others would like to see changed because of its wild and flagrant abuse by illegal aliens.”
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Beijing Olympics – Is anyone else tired of Michael Phelps?

// August 18th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // Videos

Michael Phelps Beijing Olympics 2008

Too much of a good thing syndrome?

Congratulations to him though, for becoming the “greatest Olympian ever.”

However, I would like it if that label was used to describe winners of the decathlon event, all-round athletes, rather than someone participating in aquatic events differentiated by strokes and lengths.

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I would also have preferred the newscasters to pay more attention to the 41-year-young miracle Dara Torres. Her gold medal and even the silver during the relay, is truly inspiring for all women! Too often, sports feats by men overshadow ones by women. Everyone is speaking about Michael Phelp’s record-breaking 14 gold medals but how many people know that a woman–Larissa Latynina of the former Soviet Union–held the previous record? And that her record of 18 Olympics medal is still unbroken?

Larissa Semyonovna Latynina (born December 27, 1934 in Kherson, Ukrainian SSR) is a Soviet gymnast who was the first female athlete to win nine Olympic golds. She holds the record for winning the most Olympic medals at 18 (nine gold medals, five silver and four bronze). After the 1966 World Championships she became a coach for the Soviet national gymnastics team, a position she held until 1977. She organized the gymnastics competition at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. During her life she was awarded with many noble honors, among them is the Olympic Order (silver) by the International Olympic Committee. In 1998 her name was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Anyway, not to take away from Phelp’s amazing feat, but winning the most number of medals hardly makes someone the “greatest” Olympian ever, especially in the age of revolutionary racing suits, training facilities, major endorsements that enhance quality of life and prolong careers.

I wonder what Jean Baudrillard would have thought of the entire Olympics spectacle this year; it is right up there with the epitome of hyper-reality, Disneyland. But namely the part of the Olympics that was computer-generated–the 55 second video footage of giant fireworks on film, drained of authenticity and meaning in the traditional sense. Our reality is so often derived from images that we see on screen and not from our own experiences that it is easy to distort reality. Anyway, this is not about to become a post that leads Neo into a room to choose a blue or red pill so I will spare you.

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I know we have some DREAMer fans of Phelps. So here are some clippings I got just for you. You can find all the men’s swimming videos here and the women’s swimming links here.

For the Michael Phelps fans, you would most certainly love this article as well.

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Immigrants Coming Up Big at the Olympics and not just for the United States

// August 14th, 2008 // No Comments » // Immigration

This was published in the Toronto Sun, August 8.
Article: Open-door policy at work;
Immigrants have history of excelling for Canada at the Olympics

  • Lennox Lewis, who left England for Kitchener at age 12. A decade later, he stepped on to the podium in Seoul to accept gold. A nation cheered.
  • Mark McKoy, winner of the 110-metre hurdles in 1992, is from British Guyana.
  • Daniel Nestor, gold in tennis in 2000, was born in Serbia.
  • Triathlon champion Simon Whitfield holds dual Australian-Canadian citizenship.

There seems to be a global trend towards migration of athletes in international sports. And for the countries that are welcoming, the ‘open door’ has paid off big.

Since 1988, a gold medal has been hung around the neck of a Canadian 20 times at the Olympics — and 11 of those have been worn by athletes who did not start life as Canadians.

“There are two things going on here,” Donnelly said. “One is the global migration of athletes. You can get citizenship very quickly in … a lot of countries if you’re a top-notch athlete. The other thing is that this is a very fluid society built on immigration. More than half the people in Toronto were not born in Canada. Minority Canadians are now 12% of the population and going up. You’re picking up that (Canada) has the second-highest rate of immigration in the world after Australia … percentage wise.”

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