Dear Judges, Teachers, and Fellow Students
Have you watched the recent 2008 Beijing Olympics? If yes, were the competitions exciting and really attractive? I believe that many of you will have a positive answer to that. However, the fact is that the Olympics doesn’t only attract you and me, but also many companies and other communities interested in participating in it. Their investments, including the government support, have developed the Olympics into a famous event. At the same time, they also turn the event away from its original spirits, but to win at all costs.
Before I start, I’d like to ask if anyone knows the origins of the Olympic Games. It began in Ancient Greece in 700BC. However, The Greeks lost the traditions for over 2500 years and in 1896, they started it again. The original spirit of the 1896 Olympics was to provide a place for the athletes to show their real talents, and to compete with each other in order to improve. Unfortunately, this spirit no longer exists in the present Olympics, which has become a place for the athletes, the businessmen and the governments to fight for rewards.
Recently, there was a book published by a Chinese writer, who was the former leader of the country’s athletic team. In the book, he claimed that before the 2000 Sydney Olympics, many Chinese athletes had taken illegal medicines and failed to pass the local drug tests. The news shocked me very much. The Olympics should be a place for contestants to try their best to compete, how can they take drugs before joining it? It’s just like cheating in exams. Moreover, it reflects that many athletes would only focus on getting the gold medal, missing out other valuable experiences. They just want to win but not to improve themselves. Therefore, the competitors no longer grasp the original spirit of the Olympics, but just try to win the competitions by cheating.
During the Olympics, when we turn on our television and watch some events, it is easy for us to know the famous brand names. For example, in the athletics events, we may see athletes wearing ‘Nike’ sport shoes and ‘Adidas’ clothes. Why are these brand names printed on their sports wear? It is because these companies have sponsored the Olympics, or even the athletes. Therefore, the athletes need to wear those shoes to join the events. It may be possible for the athletes to run faster, after wearing those shoes. However, this phenomenon undoubtedly shows to us that the athletes aren’t treating the Olympic Games as a platform for improvement, but merely as a chance to promote their sponsors.
Many countries will build many amazing sports facilities like the ‘Bird Nest’. Nonetheless, the original spirit of the Olympics wasn’t just about the scale of it. These elements aren’t important at all. The Olympics isn’t about the self-improvement of the athletes anymore, but a chance for the countries to show off their economic power. The richer countries could have more facilities and they would have better performances. The Government holding the Olympics isn’t upholding the spirit at all, but boosting the athletes to win at all costs.
The above three factors indicate that the Olympics has lost its original spirit. It is no longer a place for the world top athletes to compete, but just an event for them to win at all costs. This is really a sad conclusion for us. It is the end of my sharing. Thank you!