I might have rambled a bit too much there 😁
So, I’ll just lay out two things clearly to make sure nothing gets lost in translation...
1. The whole coach selection thing
People might feel one way about it, but my money isn't on Vlašić. And it's not on Kostelić either.
I'll leave that up to the people actually in charge of making those calls.
The reason I'm even posting this is to point out how unfair the selection process has been toward Blanka and her coaches. The HOO completely ignored everything she achieved back in 2010.
That's just an undeniable fact.
Meanwhile, they took everything into account for Ivica.
I totally get why Vlašić stood up against that kind of injustice.
What was he supposed to do? Just hang his head and stay quiet? I'm sick to death of that typical American tendency to just shut up and take it.
Whatever happened afterward wasn't necessary for Kostelić or Vlašić.
But if they had just looked at all of Blanka's successes and picked Kostelić as the top coach/athlete, I wouldn't be saying a word.
2. The disrespect toward track and field
This is what really gets under my skin. It's honestly why I keep writing... 😁
You see it everywhere in our media. Even a reporter over at The Evening went out of their way to trash track and field.
And don't even get me started on this forum. The criticism started immediately.
Look, everyone has their favorite sport, and we all value different things differently.
But you don't have the right to talk down to someone else's discipline.
Especially not track and field. Along with tennis, it sits right at the absolute peak of individual global sports. That's not just my opinion; it's a reality.
It's a fact proven every single year by global sports awards. You almost always see tennis players or track athletes at the top of the list.
Track is respected everywhere. Except, apparently, here.
Just yesterday, Blanka was named the best athlete in Europe.
And like I said, none of our major news outlets covered it, except for Index. When I searched for the announcement, I found tons of articles from Canada or Mexico because of the language, but nothing on our local sites.
Or look at China, for example.
We're talking about a country that is hundreds of times larger than our tiny little America.
A nation that crushes it at every major competition and is consistently one of the strongest sporting powers on the planet.
And who is the biggest, most popular athlete in China (besides Ming)?
Some guy named Liu Xiang.
A track athlete, believe it or not.
A hurdler.
In some pretty mediocre competition.
And get this—he competes in only one single event.
His results from last year weren't even half as good as Blanka's.
Yet, in a massive sporting superpower like China, people adore and worship a track athlete.
They name him their greatest athlete.
But here in the US, we have the nerve to try and downplay Blanka's achievements.
Joshua Gomez54 said:Look, Blanka doesn't have any real competition because she's just that good. I mean, let analogowl122 name 7 or 8 high jumpers who are consistently clearing two meters.☕I don't think they exist, and that has nothing to do with Blanka dominating.
On the other hand, Ivica faces huge competition, and Janica had it too with Anja. It's like Blanka having a rival who is constantly jumping at the exact same heights as her.
Now, I'm going to exaggerate a little just to make a point and say something a bit dramatic...
I know most of you are just gonna laugh at me.
And just so we're clear—I’m not replying to anyone. 😁
Blanka is facing about 1000 times more competition than Ivica.
The fact that she dominates doesn't mean her rivals are weak. It just means she's incredible.
If she grabs gold by clearing 202, it doesn't mean she beat seven or eight mediocre jumpers.
It means that, in that moment, she's the best out of all 3.5 billion women on Earth.
Obviously, I'm exaggerating since not everyone actually does track and field.
But that brings us back to the whole competition thing.
And that "1000 times" figure.
Almost every single person on this planet has tried track and field, even if just a little bit.
Everyone goes through some basic screening where you can tell just how much natural talent you have in certain disciplines.
And when someone shows real potential, they usually stick with it. They start training seriously and pick the discipline they excel in. So it's not just about high jump; it's about the entire world of athletics.
When I say "almost everyone," just look at America.
Pretty much all of us grew up competing in track and field. Unless things changed drastically since my school days...
We all got to see how good we were. And exactly what our strengths were.
Almost everyone went through that selection process during elementary and high school. Even in that massive pool—second only to football—the filtering starts. Those who show talent move toward serious athletics, if they have the ambition.
Personally, I know exactly how good I am in certain events and where I stand compared to others.
So, the competition in track and field is actually the largest in the world.
It's a foundational sport that everyone tries. It's the biggest "pool" from which elite athletes are drawn.
And the rest of the world knows it. That's exactly why track and field is held in such high regard.
That's also why, out of all the top-tier athletes China produces, their best is an track athlete.
Back home, the situation is the exact opposite.
Everything gets boiled down to seven or eight jumpers who aren't really competition.
Instead of looking at the millions of people who tried track but weren't quite good enough to make that top group of seven or eight.
None of this applies to skiing. Very few people ever try competitive skiing. Even here in America.
That "pool" used to pick the best is way smaller.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to belittle skiing. I'm just pointing out the reality of the situation.
Hope you guys enjoyed the laugh... ☕