After the games are over

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

By the time this comes out, the event so aptly called “the greatest show on earth” that took place in London will have ended. The medals, the laughter, the tears and the congratulations would have ended, the parties probably still continuing, but, as far as the official activities are concerned, the 2012 London is over.

Time now to shift focus to the next host, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

It will be a big challenge to Brazil to outdo, or even just equal the show that London had sponsored. Although many have admitted having doubts about the way the Britons are perceived to be cool and laidback, and even unexcitable, Great Britain surprised the world this time. They pulled out all the stops, summoning all the country’s talents, resources and citizenry to muster what could be one of the most, if not the most successful and enjoyable editions of the time-honored Olympic Games.

From London, starting today, will depart the athletes from more than a hundred countries, about 80 of them fortunate enough to be carrying home medals of various medals – gold, silver or bronze – indicating the level of achievement they had shown in the various competitions of excellence, because they stand for having excelled several others in order to win them.

We congratulate all those countries, starting with the United States, China and Great Britain, for the outstanding performance of their athletes. We are sure that those who bring home such medals will be greeted with great jubilation and admiration from their people back home.

At the same time, however, we mourn the miserable performance of our own representation, none of whom had been able to secure even the least of the awards, a bronze medal. We can only hope that our national officials will awaken now to the fact that a change is urgently needed in the leadership of our sports organizations, if we do not want the disgraceful failures we suffered in the last versions of the Olympics to be repeated over and over in the coming years.*