tiggers

Just altering my dictionary to point at this thread for the word 'irony'

unclebuck

Les - ok, ok - you are *not a racsist*. There, I've said it.

<michael winner>"Now, calm down, dear..."</michael winner>

This still doesn't change my view that I believe there is institutional racsism deeply embedded in the popular press's treatment of athlete's achievments though. The only alternative explanation I've heard is that these inequalities are based on how attractive or photogenic a given athlete is. I can't believe that's it.

UB

icebreaker

I sort of know where you're coming from with this, UB. Our sport is, in general, geared up for white, middle class kids.

On the reverse side of the coin though, I'd say that Denise Lewis had as much - if not more - positive publicity after her gold medal success than Sally Gunnell. (Saying that, Lewis looked like a model whilst Sally looked like a Pikey suffering a bad hair day)

TaviaRS

Bolleaux! She quit not once, which could have been down to something being wrong with her physically, but twice. Just because she isn't going to get a medal it is not acceptable to just give up. Yes I have respect for her as an athelete, you only have to look at her past and recent performances but based on her withdrawal from the 2 races on the grounds of "I'm not going to get a medal so I'll quit", she is a Loser.

Hey, I could have gone to Athens, entered in the marathon and the 10k and quit just like she did. Would I be a "hero" then? Based on some of the comments in this thread and the media the answer is a resounding "Yes".

SJ_Skyline

Tav, you would have keeled over with a heart attack after 2 laps.

What I found distressing is the times the guys do. The 10,000m world record is 27 minutes, I can just about manage 4500m in that time

Leslie

TaviaRS

To be able to say how you would have been treated after you stopped I assume you hold some world record for running. If so why did you not have the bottle to enter the Olympics yourself then?

What is your proof to be able to say why she stopped running, do you have some kind of inside knowledge?

paulr

That is just a ridiculous statement.

unclebuck

It's not that ridiculous. Effectively that's what happened. The other two girls finished but received barely a mention. Go figure....


UB

TaviaRS

Leslie,

1. Nope, I don't have a WR in any form of sport. Leaving that aside, why didn't she finish the course? Read about the others in this thread who did, even with injuries sustained in their events.

2. She admitted in her interview after dropping out of the 10k that she went out to win (or at least place), and when she realised that she wasn't going to she pulled out.

Paulr, why is it ridiculous? She pulled out of both events (fact) she is being treated as a hero (fact). Why should she be treated any differently to anyone else who fails?

66 Blue

I can't see what all the media fuss is about?? Paula radcliffe is a complete looser, she is feckin ****e and a disgrace of an athelete!!!
She should bloody retire on a farm with a couple of cats and raise sheep or summat!!!
She ain't no Lance Armstrong... she is a quitter... totally pathetic....
can't believe she has got so much press coverage... the winning atheletes don't seem to get as much coverage as her WTF is that about?? crazy...
if I see her in the street she's gonna get some eggs thrown at her the flamin lightweight!!!

Tiggs

none of this is racism...its just that ppl are more interested in ppl like themsleves.

this is why thousands die everyday in Africa and we dont care much, if one person died in your office today it would be a big deal.

thats geography but it works with age, someone your age dies that you know its a bigger deal, race and social background.......its all about ppl being interested in ppl.

soham murders, 9/11 these are things that have comparables with other situations but get more coverage because ppl are more interested in these issue because it effects ppl like them.

i have no idea who this boxer is and really dont care. If he was a white 30 yr old bloke who went to my school i would care more....simple.

T

ps- it works both ways.....go find a black kid shooting hoops and see if he know more about paula or shack.

gsm1

No, its the coverage which creates the effect. Do you think if the Soham murders case had not been given such large coverage people would have been that concerned/interested?

gsm1

Anyway, back to Paula. She admitted after the race that she dropped out because she knew she wasn't going to get a medal. I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing but I wish people would stop making excuses for her.

The coverage on the BBC straight after the race was ridiculous, they spent about 15 solid minutes discussing her.

unclebuck

Those sycophantic ex-athletes having a love-in while pretending to be BBC presenters get on my pip TBH. It's about time they got proper jobs instead of freeloading it on the license payers' money as well.

UB

scoobynutta555

Deffo not a racist situation here.

Radcliffe is certainly not a hero by any stretch of the imagination. To throw your toys out of the pram because you're not going to finish first is inexcusable when you're representing your country, to do it twice is a disgrace.

Just look at the guy from brazil the other night who came third in the mens marathon.

Was a bit disappointed with bbc coverage, the poor Paula sycophant club. Not one voice of reason at all. Mehinks that behind the non critical fascade there were more than a few that wanted to voice their true opinions, but were put off in case the pay cheques dried up for future events.

What gets me is you look at the pundits for football games and they're all too ready to pile in and be critical if a performance is not up to scratch, yet in athletics, the group hug culture seems to prevail.

Agree totally with the comparison to Diana, another canonished bleeding heart.

Drunken Bungle Whore

And I'm sure that if you'd only gotten to within 5 hours of the qualifying time, they'd have been glad to have you on board!

Athletes need to be physically AND mentally prepared for racing. Just because you can't see a problem doesn't mean it's not there. Paula pulled out of 2 races - this does not make her a quitter or a loser. Maybe you don't agree with her decisions, but I doubt she's loosing sleep over it.

Having been very involved in sport (Swimming, Marathon and Triathlon) for many years, I would wager very good money that just about every single athlete who competed at Athens has pulled out of an event at some point in their athletics career - it's just something that happens. Even Kelly Holmes. This does not make them quitters or loosers. Quite the opposite in fact - they need to have the ***** to get back out there and try again.

Paula's quote when she pulled out of the 10K was true - "I needed to go in there and prove whether I could do it or not rather than sit there watching wondering what if."

Of course the media over did the coverage - just like they over react to everything - particularly football. I'm not sure how you can blame Paula for the media reaction - you only have to see how many camera were at her press conference to see the level of global interest in her.

Without wishing to be rude or insulting (because some people always manage to take things the wrong way ) - every time the Olympics comes around the country is suddenly awash with armchair athletes whose only excersise is walking to the car or running a bath. They then feel they're in a position to judge the performances of a group of dedicated, hard working and talented athletes. They're also a fickle bunch and will loose interest as soon as someone deliverys less than 100% for whatever reason.

Radcliffe will only be what the media make her to be and the media only respond to demand from the public. So I guess we only have ourselves to blame!

TelBoy

Why anyone is surprised to see an English girl legless in a Greek gutter in her bra and knickers is beyond me....

SPEN555

I hope they had a separate plane for team GB with all the non medal winners.

The crowds could have showed up and pelted em with rotten eggs and tomatoes!

I am sure if this happened they would have tried harder.

Drunken Bungle Whore

TB - I think it was the fact that she was still wearing her knickers that caused the suprise!

SJ_Skyline

I blame Tony Blair

unclebuck

Well, I certainly saw no sign of Radcliffe at the closing ceremony 'knees up' or in any of the arrival scenes they showed live on BBC News24. Skulked out the back way I shouldn't wonder.

UB

RichWalk

No quite the opposite, she was taking part in the North Somerset conker tournament over the weekend.

Jerome

You barsteward! My monitor was very close to being covered with a mouthful of banana.

Leslie

Well I think that Telboy's post showed a touch of real class anyway!

Les

TelBoy

]

Daz34

Send it in to The Times letters page Tel