Bitesize Rants #4: The Self-Aggrandisement of Olympic Athletes

Let me preface this rant by saying I'm a big fan of the Olympics as a concept. Amateur sportsmen and women given the opportunity to compete on a large stage is an excellent idea, and one we should be fully behind. I was also against the inclusion of professionals in the competition, like we've seen from football, tennis and now golf in recent years.

However, as the exposure to athletics has become ever more significant, the egos on many of the Olympic athletes seem to have grown larger and larger. From a competition based on demonstrating one's amateur athletic ability for no profit (an admirable accomplishment), Olympic athletes have now become so accustomed to the celebrity and pageantry around the event that they seem to expect this each time, raking in sponsorship money galore (as well as money from the taxpayer to fund what is supposed to be their hobby!).

The tag of the Olympics as the 'Greatest show on Earth' has further heightened this feeling of superiority, and I'll highlight a key example from this year. Over the last few months, fears around the Zika virus have been highlighted as the cause of many pro golfers and tennis players pulling out. Cue widespread backlash from existing Olympic athletes, with names like Louis Smith and Rebecca Adlington mocking their decision and citing this tag of the Olympics being a higher level of competition than anything else.

When you consider the reasons for the withdrawal, it is simply ridiculous. We have all seen the horrific pictures of the impact of the Zika virus, and any athlete that fears for their safety should feel well within their rights to withdraw, regardless of what other athletes feel about the competition!

It’s also not like the Olympics are squeaky clean. Like my previous post on MMA, the Olympics have not been without their own drug scandals. Whether it's Ben Johnson, Linford Christie or the entire Russian team, performance enhancers have been endemic in athletic competition over the past 20 years.

This latter problem is by no means sorted, and athletes should be careful of throwing stones, especially from the greenhouses they currently live in.

My message to the Olympics and Olympians worldwide: put in place a rigorous drug testing and punishment system, go back to wholly amateur competition, and stop inflating the heads of your athletes.