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オリンピックの大失敗
オリンピックの大失敗
国際オリンピック委員会の五輪招致をめぐる
不正疑惑に対する捜査が続いている。
選手の健全なスポーツ精神と
地元市民の献身で支えられていた五輪は
もう昔のものでしかないのだろうか…
Olympic Fiasco
By CHRISTINE CUNANAN-NOMURA
It was very depressing to read about the fiasco surrounding the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently. According to
media reports, certain IOC members abused their powers and privileges and actually received money, perks and favors in
exchange for their votes for future Olympic Games sites.
This scandal — the greatest crisis in the 104-year history of the Games — is a most unfortunate tragedy.
For many people, the Olympics represents everything that is good and admirable in mankind. It is synonymous with the
pursuit of excellence, the determination to succeed, the maximization of talents and abilities, patriotism, internationalization and a healthy but rigorously competitive spirit. The best in the world cast aside all differences to test their mettle against each other, oftentimes
against the worst of odds, and this is why the world is mesmerized by the Games.
I do not know anyone who is not touched by witnessing a major Olympic Games event. I myself have never been athletically
inclined. Yet I found tears welling in my eyes when the Japa
nese team triumphed in the ski jumps in the Winter Olympics in Nagano last year — simply because the whole event reminded me of
what's best in mankind and of just how much we are capable of achieving.
The pureness of the Olympic image naturally led me to expect that those overseeing Olympic events would be exercising the same
standards of excellence in morality and performance. After all, many IOC members are former Olympians while the nonathlete
members were supposedly picked after exhaustive searches. It was unthinkable that the caretakers of the Olympics would be
anything but morally exacting of themselves. To be otherwise would be the biggest hypocrisy of all.
So it was incredibly distasteful for me to read about IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch living in excessive luxury and
misusing his influence; African IOC members receiving money in exchange for votes; and relatives of other IOC members receiving
scholarships, jobs and real estate deals from cities or countries bidding to be chosen as Olympic sites
Obviously, Samaranch has
been in power for too long and should be replaced. At the very least, his personal lifestyle and leadership style (or lack of it)
encouraged influence-peddling and other self-serving activities that have harmed the Olympic image.
In fact, the entire IOC board should be revamped and filled with younger and more recently active athletes who are more in touch with what Games participants need and how a 21st century Olympics should be.
This crisis has filled me with nostalgia for an era when competing in the Olympics meant using one's natural skills without the
help of medicines or state-of-the-art clothes and equipment; when hosting an Olympics entailed the hospitality and goodwill
of citizens rather than the big bucks of global sponsors; and when being on the IOC meant sacrifice, devotion and volunteerism and not pompous luxury and money-making opportunities.
Call me a hopeless idealist, but after reading about the scandal all I wanted to do was stay home and watch the movie "Chariots
of Fire" again.
It was very depressing to read about the fiasco surrounding the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently. According to
media reports, certain IOC members abused their powers and privileges and actually received money, perks and favors in
exchange for their votes for future Olympic Games sites.
This scandal — the greatest crisis in the 104-year history of the Games — is a most unfortunate tragedy.
For many people, the Olympics represents everything that is good and admirable in mankind. It is synonymous with the
pursuit of excellence, the determination to succeed, the maximization of talents and abilities, patriotism, internationalization and a healthy but rigorously competitive spirit. The best in the world cast aside all differences to test their mettle against each other, oftentimes
against the worst of odds, and this is why the world is mesmerized by the Games.
I do not know anyone who is not touched by witnessing a major Olympic Games event. I myself have never been athletically
inclined. Yet I found tears welling in my eyes when the Japa
nese team triumphed in the ski jumps in the Winter Olympics in Nagano last year — simply because the whole event reminded me of
what's best in mankind and of just how much we are capable of achieving.
The pureness of the Olympic image naturally led me to expect that those overseeing Olympic events would be exercising the same
standards of excellence in morality and performance. After all, many IOC members are former Olympians while the nonathlete
members were supposedly picked after exhaustive searches. It was unthinkable that the caretakers of the Olympics would be
anything but morally exacting of themselves. To be otherwise would be the biggest hypocrisy of all.
So it was incredibly distasteful for me to read about IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch living in excessive luxury and
misusing his influence; African IOC members receiving money in exchange for votes; and relatives of other IOC members receiving
scholarships, jobs and real estate deals from cities or countries bidding to be chosen as Olympic sites
Obviously, Samaranch has
been in power for too long and should be replaced. At the very least, his personal lifestyle and leadership style (or lack of it)
encouraged influence-peddling and other self-serving activities that have harmed the Olympic image.
In fact, the entire IOC board should be revamped and filled with younger and more recently active athletes who are more in touch with what Games participants need and how a 21st century Olympics should be.
This crisis has filled me with nostalgia for an era when competing in the Olympics meant using one's natural skills without the
help of medicines or state-of-the-art clothes and equipment; when hosting an Olympics entailed the hospitality and goodwill
of citizens rather than the big bucks of global sponsors; and when being on the IOC meant sacrifice, devotion and volunteerism and not pompous luxury and money-making opportunities.
Call me a hopeless idealist, but after reading about the scandal all I wanted to do was stay home and watch the movie "Chariots
of Fire" again.
Shukan ST: Feb. 19, 1999
(C) All rights reserved
- depressing
- 気が重くなる
- International Olympic Commitee
- 国際オリンピック委員会
- abused
- 乱用した
- privileges
- 特権
- perks
- (= perquisites)特権
- favors
- 恩典
- sites
- 開催地
- represents
- 象徴する
- admirable
- 見事な
- is synonymous with 〜
- 〜 と同義である
- pursuit of excellence
- 卓越性の追求
- determination
- 決意
- maximization
- 極めること
- patriotism
- 愛国主義
- healthy but rigorously competitive spirit
- 健全かつきわめて激しい競争精神
- The best in the world
- 世界最高の選手たち
- cast aside all differences
- (政治的立場な人種偏見などの)違いを乗り越える
- mettle
- 熱情、勇気
- against the worst of odds
- ものすごい困難に立ち向かって
- is mesmerized by 〜
- 〜 にうっとりさせられる
- (is)touched
- 感動する
- witnessing 〜
- 〜 を目撃する
- athletically inclined
- 運動が得意な
- tears welling in my eyes
- 涙がこみ上げてくる
- triumphed
- 勝利をおさめた
- those overseeing 〜
- 〜 を監督する人
- be exercising 〜 を遂行している
- Olympians
- オリンピック選手
- nonathlete members
- 選手でなかった人たち
- were supposedly picked after exhaustive searches
- 徹底的な人選の末に決まるはずである
- caretakers
- 世話人
- morally exacting of themselves
- 自分たちに対しても道徳的に厳しい
- To be otherwise would be 〜
- そうでないということは 〜 である
- hypocrisy
- 偽善
- distasteful
- 不快な
- excessive
- 度を超えた
- misusing his influence
- 影響力を乱用する
- receiving money in exchange for votes
- 開催地として投票をするかわりに金を受け取る
- scholarships
- 奨学金
- real estate deals
- 不動産取引
- 〜 bidding to be chosen as 〜
- 〜 に選ばれるために努力をしている 〜
- or lack of it
- またはその欠如
- influence-peddling
- わいろを使って投票に影響を及ぼすこと
- self-serving activities
- 私腹をこやすような行動
- board
- 委員会
- be revamped
- 革新される
- are more in touch with 〜
- もっと 〜 に通じている
- 〜 has filled me with nostalgia for an era when 〜
- 〜 のせいで 〜 だった時代がしのばれる
- state-of-the-art
- 最先端技術を用いた
- equipment
- 用具
- entailed 〜
- 必然的に 〜 を伴った
- hospitality and goodwill of citizens
- 市民による親切なもてなしと好意
- big bucks
- 大金
- sacrifice, devotion and volunteerism
- 犠牲や献身、ボランティア行為
- pompous
- 尊大な、気取った
- hopeless idealist
- どうしようもない理想主義者
- "Chariots of Fire"
- 『炎のランナー』(1981)。パリ・オリンピックを目指し、人種偏見への抵抗のために走るユダヤ人青年と、神のために走る聖職者の息子を描いた英国映画