Are the Olympics Going to Extremes?
Submitted by Guest on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 16:44.
Winter sports at the Olympics have an extra-dangerous edge.Many of these sports are not practiced by most people in the world. Unlike Summer Olympic games such as soccer or swimming. These are very specific events, requiring the young athletes to put their lives at great risk. What compels us to watch, when we know how big the risk is?
These are extreme sports, such as freestyle skiing, snowboarding, speed-skating and figure skating. An athlete even lost his life on the luge track in Vancouver last week, which begs the question: are Olympic sports getting too extreme? Is the risk worth it? And is it a part of the reason we watch?
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Extreme Athletes
I can't cite the source, because I read the statistics 10-15 years ago, but the numbers will forever be burned into my memory. A poll made up exclusively of Olympic athletes showed that 70% would choose to win a gold medal in their respective sport, even if it meant they would die within one year.
The extreme nature of the Olympics might not be in the events themselves, but rather the athletes who compete in them.