The pause in real-time athletics represents an opportunity to watch historic sporting accomplishments and events.
The whining continues. One writer even dedicated her entire weekly column to the topic, “a week without sports.” Gads! Not true!
I enjoy track & field and amateur wrestling, so I’ve been watching several of my favorite events. Thank you, YouTube! Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been viewing.
1964 Tokyo Olympics: Races were run on a sodden, cinder track as two runners vie for Gold in the 10,000-meter run. One is a well-known runner, and the other is an American Sioux named Billy Mills.
1968 Mexico City Olympics: Watch Bob Beamon soar into Olympic history! After you watch his jump, pace that distance off in your yard. Yowza!
1969 two-mile run in Honolulu: Three seasoned runners–Gerry Lindgren, Marty Liquori, Frank Shorter–and an eighteen-year-old who had just graduated from high school vie in this race. You’ll see the 1969-present and the future exhibited in that race.
In the 1980s, Mary Decker set the world record in the outdoor mile–and she did it three times! Yes, you can watch a clip of her Olympic mishap, but that one-off can’t (and shouldn’t) erase her many achievements.
In the 2016 Penn Relays and the distance medley race (a relay of four runners for each team), you can see Drew Hunter run an exhilarating high school mile … perhaps the best high school mile race ever.
Now for my other love, wrestling.
1972 Munich Olympics; As sad as was the murder of Israeli athletes, I marvel when I watch Dan Gable’s Gold Medal match. He wrestled six matches without losing one point—all done against the world’s best. (Also, check out Frank Shorter’s marathon win.)
2017 Paris World Championships: Watch an American teenager win the 97kg freestyle wrestling championship.
2019 World Freestyle Championships: The interview with the American Bronze Medal winner demonstrates how grace overcomes all.
You see! There’s so much sport to watch!
Some folks say it’s silly to watch what you know will happen. But there’s so much more to sport! Rather than whine about ‘there’s nothing to watch,’ watch history instead and marvel at the elegance of athletics.
