Its not the winning

  Its not the winning

 

Las.t night I watched a replay, on BBC iplayer of the women's professional triathlon event held in Tokyo. The triathlon as a series has become interesting to us in Britain since the Brownlee Brothers led the way, competing successfully in events across the world and culminating in the Olympics which Alister won in London. It was exciting  to see two home grown Bradfordian lads at the top of their sport, beating the worlds best. 

Television has propelled the sport, visiting many of the worlds most attractive cities to watch a competition more Olympian than most consisting as it does of three abilities, swimming, cycling and running, rather than just one athletic strength. It's this unifying strength, running, cycling and swimming which determines the best athlete. 

I have often wondered if tweeking the event to consider rewarding those good at swimming, who emerge from the water, often minutes in front of the next person, only to have their effort nullified by the cycling phase which, in the professional format allows the cyclist to band together and hunt down the person who gained a lead in the swim by what Is termed drafting, one person expending energy for a short stint at the front the others siting in the slipstream waiting their turn to put in the extra effort at the front. In this way an individual out in front usually the best swimmer, is soon caught and it, to my mind negates that skill. In the amateur format of the triathlon, it's not allowed to draft, the cyclist who approaches someone ahead has to pass and the one passed cannot fall into line with the cyclist who has just passed them, much like the individual time trial in cycle racing. 

I would award points for the swim, the cycle and the run, as well as for the overall winner or, as the amateurs do, outlaw drafting.

Anyway I digress. The race progressed with Jessica Learmonth from the UK the clear winner of the swimming leg but soon caught, mainly through the tremendous efforts of the returning champion Lorna Duffy who competes for Bermuda. 

The overall race is often decided by the running leg, the best runner usually  wins the race. The American, Gwen Jorgensen was unbeatable, world champion in 2013/14/15, a remarkable runner she emerged from the swim way down the field only to carve her way through the field as a superb runner and win the race. Unexpectedly she retired at the top of her career and was replaced with another runner from the USA, Katie Zaferes. 

Anyway as this years race progressed a crash took Zaferes out and it was left to Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown, both from the UK to show their strength and finish the race, in what in the past we would have said was exemplary Olympian spirit, crossing the finishing line, hand in hand, an athletic expression of true camaraderie. 

But wait a minute, no, the rules don't allow it. You must contest for the line and for the win and they were both disqualified. 
Rules are what makes the world function.  Without rules people take short cuts and cheats win but when the spirit of the sport, which is exemplified in the triathlon by the friendship, especially in the women's events, a friendship which crosses national  boundaries, once the race is over and competitors become athletic friends.

Games such as golf and rugby have rules which are arcane, particularly to the uninitiated.  Games such as football have rules but often are openly flouted by the players which makes the game unwholesome to watch.  

Here in Tokyo we saw the rules (I believe unknowingly) broken,  not to win an advantage, in fact the very opposite, rather to exemplify the camaraderie which should be at the root of every sporting event.

 After all,  It's not the winning but the taking part that's important.