Letters to the Editor

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Letter of the day: Complaints about Olympics

Posted: 02/18/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

The saddest sight I've seen broadcast from the Olympics was of our wonderful Canadian girl, Jennifer Heil, who'd just won silver for our country, flanked by those two American girls, each waving their country's flag while Jennifer Heil stood there looking almost naked without a Canadian flag. Not one person offered to hand Ms. Heil a Canadian flag. Shame on them!

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Ian C. Thomson

Winnipeg

***

Is it dramatic of me to admit that I feel a pit in my stomach every time I read another article criticizing the Vancouver Olympic Games?

I find myself speechless when reading the harsh words that publication after publication is spitting out, completely attacking not only these Canadian games, but our Canadian values and morals as well.

Yes, the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili was shocking, tragic and immensely sad. It seems that people forget, however, that luge is an extreme sport at a time like this. Yes, the track is the fastest in the world, but aren't these the best athletes in the world? Is it not every Olympian's goal to be stronger, better, faster? Both VANOC and the International Luge Federation concluded that the crash was inevitably caused by human error. This, in turn, was labelled as a vicious and insensitive hit to an already grieving family and country. Many people are claiming that had the crash been caused by human error alone, no alterations would have been made to the track (referring to the construction of walls, change of the ice profile at parts, and moving to the women's start line).

In reality, these alterations are not a silent admission that the track is unsafe -- it is, instead, VANOC's response to the sensitivity of everyone involved, easing worry among not only the athletes but also the viewers of this event. Welcome to public relations. Now, I wonder what would have been said had we not made any alterations to the track.

COURTNEY ZAWADOWSKI

Winnipeg

***

In response to A question of class (Feb.17). Rob Roos believes that Canada didn't play with "fairness, respect, and sportsmanship." In my opinion, Slovakia got a taste of their own medicine in the 18-0 defeat. In the Olympic qualifiers for Vancouver 2010, it was that same Slovakian team that beat Bulgaria 82-0, scoring a goal an average of every 44 seconds.

Where were all the naysayers making a big deal when this occurred? Perhaps it was Canada's way of showing Slovakia how it feels when you run up the score.

Justin Loeb

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 18, 2010 A15

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