The Future Of The Olympic Games Essay

, Research Paper

The Olympic Games is a major international and multicultural event that brings athletes, officials and spectators together regardless of race, sex and colour. Baron Pierre de Coubettin started the Modern Olympics on 23 June, 1894 creating an honourable Spirit of Olympism, stating that the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part . But because of the increasing pressures, like cheating, drug abuse, corruption and bribery, the people will eventually fail in attempt to uphold the great Olympic Spirit , sometime in the near future. As in the Ancient Olympic Games, when cheating and bribery became very common resulting the Olympic standards of theodosi and athletic skill becoming so badly insulted that the Christian Emperor of Sportsmanship banned them in AD 393.

Drugs in sport is one of the most important issues, and one that has been going on for almost half a century in the Olympic Games. The dilemma of drug use has consequences for all aspects of human life, including legal, physiological, psychological and philosophical issues. The use of performance enhancing drugs is usually considered as the deliberate and an unfair way used by athletes to achieve their goal, therefore it s just like cheating. Performance enhancing drug use began around the 1950s and 1960s. Ben Johnson was the 39th Olympic athlete to be disqualified because of drugs since testing began in 1968. He was the first good athlete to be caught. Some examples of these drugs are Doping and Steroids. Users of these drugs usually suffers from very bad side effects that may even result in death. And also in using these drugs, not only it can create an interference to Sportsmanship, it can also create a great impact to the good name of the Olympic Spirit. Now, athletes that is involved with illegal drugs will be punished severely, and they also have to renew their commitment for fair play.

Throughout the years, technology that is related to sports have been developing rapidly. On the early Modern Olympic Games, results were recorded without any detail. Stopwatches and cameras were not even used yet. But today, technology has a more profound effects compared to the ones in the early years. It also literally changes the way most sport played. Sometimes the safetyness of some sports is also increased. Javelin is one of a good example. A new design of javelin, that has new weight distribution that prevents it from floating and shortens flight time and distance, has been developed to make technique more important than power, and also to ensuring safety in case the javelin lands dangerously, due to the limited areas within the 400m running tracks. Advancement of technology also can support in stopping and prevents drug using athletes from participating in the Olympics. Therefore development of technology has a lot of positive aspects in supporting the Olympic Spirit.

Another most common issues in the Olympics nowadays is corruption and bribery. It s been a scandal for years and it s the hardest one to be stop. Recently, around January 1999, the head of the organising committee for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Frank Joklik quit after admitting bribery to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) during bidding. Investigators reported that he gave corrupted payment and gift worth more than US$1million to twenty four IOC members in return for the vote. As the result, five IOC members were expelled and the other three have already quit in connection to the scandal. This can be described as the worst issue that was involved in the events, though in almost all Olympic Games these scandals have always occurred. This issues can become the greatest threats to Olympism and if this keeps on going, the Modern Olympics might die because of the same reason, just like the Ancient Olympics.

Considering the evidence and facts of the increasing current pressures that s affecting the Olympics, It is more likely that the Modern Olympic Games will eventually be banned again sometimes in the future, because of the unstoppable growing scandal of corruption, bribery and drug use, and also the fact that people are starting to ignore the Olympism Spirit and the Athletes Oath . The Technology factor might keep the Olympic Games run for a little longer, by increasing the restriction of drug check for athletes. There might be a little hope to keep the Olympics running if people stop being too money minded and start to think more sensibly or fairly.

346