Late at night in a dark bar, one drunk to another …..
“Being a sports nerd from way back, I can’t let the Olympics end without putting my oar in. So to speak.
But first, a little trip down memory stream.
Rugger
Of the Old New Zealand trifecta of rugby, racing, and beer, my Dad pursued two. He replaced the middle one with cricket.
So as a lad growing up in the grey early 1970s ( “you want two types of milk?” ) , I followed his lead, and sport helped saved me from death by boredom. There was nothing I looked forward to so much as Saturday morning mud-wrestling ( a.k.a junior rugby ).
My brother and I played backyard rugby with such gusto that the ball was confiscated over summer. So the legendary British Lions 1971 tour of New Zealand was meat and potatoes to us. To add the gravy, they became, and remain, the only Lions team to win a series in New Zealand.
I remember listening to most of it on the radio, with commentators like the gentleman on the left.
Looking back at clips, playing in muddy bogs with sodden , leaden rugby balls their backline was dazzling, especially in the provincial games. They won the series 3-1, as you know.
The Games
I discovered at primary school that I was Ok at “long distances”, which then meant 800m races.
In 1974, I watched John Walker finish 2nd to Filbert Bayi in that year’s Commonwealth Games 1500m final, pondering my grandfather’s remark – “harrumph, he would’ve won if he’d had a haircut”.
That was a golden era of New Zealand middle distance running, with the trio of Walker, Dixon, and Quax winning medals and breaking world records. And so through my teens I followed the sport, and won some minor races.
Fast Forward
So , back to the present, and some thoughts on a few of the remarkable performances.
Yes, thanks, top me up, Captain. Oh yes, some of that as well…..
What’s Happening In Norway?
Never mind the Chinese, the Vikings are coming. With two out of the park performances in track events, and one in endurance, one wonders;
- Karston Warholm clocks 45.94 seconds in the 400m hurdles, breaking his own world record of 46.70s. He’s the first man to run the event in under 46 seconds. The previous world record had stood for 29 years.
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen , at 20 years old, wins the 1500m over Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot, clocking a time that places him 9th on the all-time list. Is this man capable of beating Hicham El Guerrouj’s 23-year-old record?
- Kristian Blummenfelt wins the men’s triathlon ( swimming, biking, running ).