Post by Jaga on Mar 1, 2010 14:53:35 GMT -7
Very controversial article from Wall Street which puts Polish medals into perspective - but it was written almost 10 days ago.
What If They Gave Medals for Losing?
Poland is hardly considered a powerhouse when it comes to winter sports. But the Poles are leading the pack this year when it comes to performance in one oft-overlooked category: last-place finishes.
Less than a week into the Winter Games, Poland has already seen its athletes bring up the rear in two events. Warsaw speedskater Katarzyna Wozniak came in last in the ladies' 3,000-meter race while her countryman Maciej Biega wrested the last-place finish in the men's 500-meter event from American Mitchell Whitmore. These laggards may not deserve the gold, but in our book they should have other "metals" to mark their efforts: lead, for last place, and tin and zinc for those placing second and third from the bottom of the heap. (Note: in our tally, we did not include an athlete that did not finish his or her event.)
There are growing numbers of Olympic fans who feel that winning is overrated. Six years ago, before the Olympic Games in Athens, Canadian historian Jonathan Crowe started a blog called "DFL," short for "dead freaking last," to highlight the stories of all the last-place finishers like Brazilian cyclist Luciano Pagliarini, who was suffering from kidney stones.
"Triumph is sexy, but participation is brave," says Mr. Crowe.
There are some patterns when it comes to which countries tend to amass these cheaper metals. China posted the most last-place finishes when it hosted the summer games in 2008 (they also had the most gold medals), while Greece topped the category when it hosted in 2004. Countries with larger delegations have the odds in their favor, and host countries are awarded more spots.
At Poland's heels is the Czech Republic, with the most total metals (one lead, one tin and four zincs), while the 200-plus delegation of the U.S. has seen four bottom-dwellers and the hosts have had five.
—Hannah Karp
What If They Gave Medals for Losing?
Poland is hardly considered a powerhouse when it comes to winter sports. But the Poles are leading the pack this year when it comes to performance in one oft-overlooked category: last-place finishes.
Less than a week into the Winter Games, Poland has already seen its athletes bring up the rear in two events. Warsaw speedskater Katarzyna Wozniak came in last in the ladies' 3,000-meter race while her countryman Maciej Biega wrested the last-place finish in the men's 500-meter event from American Mitchell Whitmore. These laggards may not deserve the gold, but in our book they should have other "metals" to mark their efforts: lead, for last place, and tin and zinc for those placing second and third from the bottom of the heap. (Note: in our tally, we did not include an athlete that did not finish his or her event.)
There are growing numbers of Olympic fans who feel that winning is overrated. Six years ago, before the Olympic Games in Athens, Canadian historian Jonathan Crowe started a blog called "DFL," short for "dead freaking last," to highlight the stories of all the last-place finishers like Brazilian cyclist Luciano Pagliarini, who was suffering from kidney stones.
"Triumph is sexy, but participation is brave," says Mr. Crowe.
There are some patterns when it comes to which countries tend to amass these cheaper metals. China posted the most last-place finishes when it hosted the summer games in 2008 (they also had the most gold medals), while Greece topped the category when it hosted in 2004. Countries with larger delegations have the odds in their favor, and host countries are awarded more spots.
At Poland's heels is the Czech Republic, with the most total metals (one lead, one tin and four zincs), while the 200-plus delegation of the U.S. has seen four bottom-dwellers and the hosts have had five.
—Hannah Karp
