Weekly link round-up
It’s a big day today. The ‘elf with Botox’ countenance of Sue Barker will be on our (UK) screens passing bland and predictable comment on the Olympic opening ceremony at Beijing. There’ll be tightly-drilled phalanxes of Chinese nippers doing all the usual group movement so beloved by totalitarian regimes and quite possibly the odd firework or two, since gunpowder was invented over there, obviously, and we need reminding of that. What zillions of superpowered fireworks will do for the air quality is anyone’s guess.
Then battle will commence. But no athletics or running until later; swimmers and archers and boxers and taekwondoers will have their moment in the first week. Nevertheless, people like Paula Ratcliff (not sure how to spell her name, I see it so rarely) still get a few paragraphs for practically anything at this stage of the game. ‘Professional runner goes for a run’ shock. ‘Professional runner wants to do well in Olympics’ probe. ‘Professional runner suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs to earn more money’ scandal.
It’s easy to forget that there is a running world outside Beijing just now, and the content of the world’s media reflects that. So our link round-up is a bit Beijingy, and will continue to be so, but it won’t last for ever.
- There are and there will be plenty of Olympic memories and archive material out in print to complement the current Games. Coe vs Ovett, Ben Johnson, all that stuff. This one is interesting, moving and relevant, though.
- I sense that the competitiors in this race are not that bothered about sitting in front of the TV watching the latest from Beijing. It is, after all, many thousands of miles long.
- Another nice human interest story from the Beijing build-up.
- A doping feature, but not an Olympics story. About amateur athletes, who should really be ashamed of themselves.
- Let’s finish with a movie review and a non-Olympic theme. Spirit of the Marathon.
Here’s hoping for a spectacular Olympics. And don’t frowst in front of the TV right from the off - get running!