I thought I’d try a random subject today, and the subject of swimming came up.
Unfortunately I know nothing about swimming, but if I ignore the prompt there’s no point in generating it.
I haven’t been swimming for around forty years, and unless I find myself on a sinking ship I have no intention of swimming again. It’s like skydiving – unless the aeroplane is on fire I’m not going to jump out of it.
I’ve probably forgotten how to swim by now anyway.
Even if I haven’t forgotten how to swim, and assuming I wanted some gentle exercise, I’m not going to expose myself to ridicule and the possibility of an attempted rescue by Greenpeace.
It’s also time to remove most of the swimming from the Olympics. In 2020 there will be 35 swimming events in the pool. If you are good at swimming you can easily end up with half a dozen medals. If you are good at riding a bike it will take a couple of Olympics to get that many. And if you are a rower it will take 16 years to get five medals.
Somehow it doesn’t seem fair.
Sir Steve Redgrave has five golds for rowing in five consecutive Olympics, and is only our fourth most successful Olympian – beaten by Sir Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Sir Bradley Wiggins. He had to win one every four years, and couldn’t have a bad day. The last three are all cyclists, in case you didn’t know. They won multiple medals for pedalling quickly round a track on something my mother used to use for going shopping on.
I’d be more impressed if they did their events with a basket on the and a load of shopping piled up in it. Rowers could also take a fishing rod.
So, to summarise. Swimming. Too many Olympic events. Cut them all back so athletes are operating on a level playing field. Redesign the cycling and rowing events, and introduce a pursuit category to the swimming.
It would be like a normal swimming event but just after the swimmers dive in…
…you release the shark.
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I like the shark idea. It would add a certain frisson to the event.
🙂 I think so.
😉
The thing about swimming is that it is the only racing sport where competitors are not allowed to go as fast as they can because of having to use inefficient methods. Imagine a 100m sprint with the runners having to have both legs in one knicker.
And so the 100 metre sack race makes a comeback!
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/7/olympics-double-gold-medalist-mo-farah-bags-sack-race-record-58787
Don’t release the shark in my local swimming pool please, Simon.
Don’t worry. the shark is only for the professionals. I’m thinking that a salmon would be sufficient at club level.
Salmon might be quite nice to swim amongst 😉
🙂
Sounds like you are proposing another reality TV show, Quercus. 🙂
As soon as I saw your comment I thought “Let slip the sharks of war!” I think I read too much Shakespeare.
I am certain that the IOC will be very interested in your suggestions.
Being able to swim is funny. Once you can do it it is so easy, like falling off a log, but it is so difficult to learn. I watch my grandchildren and wonder why they cannot grasp it. Rather like riding a bike. Fear I assume!
It took me a long time to learn to swim and to ride a bike. Enjoyed both but let them fade out. Last time I swam, one of my legs kept doing random things. Keep meaning to start cycling again, but am slightly scared of the possible consequences.
Motivation!
It would work for me!
You have done well with this prompt. I’m not much of a swimmer either, but you might like to know why I taught myself to swim when I was ten. This was the year we were set to pass the scholarship. I didn’t think I’d have a chance if I couldn’t swim. Believe it or not, even with that logic, I did pass the 11+
Mens sana in corpore sano, as we 11+ boys used to say. You passed the scholarship after learning to swim so it certainly didn’t do any harm and it may have preserved you from drowning if you had ever fallen in a river.
Now that your skeleton is mainly metal you may have more trouble floating.
🙂