And then there were none

And that was that. The last of our hopes for one single medal from the 2012 Olympics crashed to the ground with the elimination of the last man standing, Danny Caluag, who, admittedly made a gallant attempt to amount to something in the BMX event. To his credit, he was able to run in two heats, landed in fifth in the first, then seventh in the next, and disappeared from the next races.

***

Frankly, I do not understand how that event, consisting of daredevil races on bicycles, is scored or judged, but it was clear from the start that our man was not yet up to the standards of, say, the Dutch or the Americans. And so our London delegation will be coming home without a medal, but plenty of excuses. I can just imagine our sports officials, who have been very scarce, even to local media during the games, whining about funding and climate and injuries and all. Don’t expect them to admit that they are the ones who should give up and yield the sports leadership here to the others.

***

And then I admit that I spoke too soon when I said sports officials training athletes for international competitions should also teach them about taking a loss graciously. I said that when a female contender in a race rolled on the ground and wailed and wept when she lost. After the long jump event where our Marestella Torres fell on her butt in disgrace, it was very embarrassing to listen to her excuses during a TV interview. Oh, it was the weather, it was her muscles, it was something along the way. Why couldn’t she have accepted that the others were better? She knew before leaving that her best was not likely to top those of the other jumpers.

***

As for Rene Herrera, who dared the 5,000 meter run, who was surprised at his performance? He competed in a race of 21 runners – and he was Number 21! Ah, it will be a long, long time before we produce someone with the speed and daring of a Usain Bolt. By the way, they do produce very fast runners in Jamaica. What do they have to run away from that has developed their skill in that discipline so finely? Bolt has really lived up to his name. As for our athletic contingent of only 11 (by the way, how many were the officials and their hangers-on?) alas, they fell along the way, one by one. And, before the Games were over, we had none.

***

In a way, the delegation was lucky. Their disgraceful representation was somehow eclipsed by the calamity that hit the country while they were away. Who would be worrying about their performance when thousands were concerned over their safety, their losses, and even their food and shelter? By the way, several columnists in the metropolitan dailies seem to have a thing about the connection between the deadly floods and the developments in the processing of the so-called Reproductive Health Bill. Some even quoted fully the Biblical incident about Noah and how he survived the big flood.

***

Some would call that superstition, but, as poet Matthew Arnold has said it: “Only the event will teach us in its hour.” So let us pray and wait and see. Meanwhile, it was quite annoying to see and listen to a gap-toothed girl keep reciting and