How safe are our athletes at the Olympics?

[Mr. Blonde]

I saw a post on another website calling for us to boycott the Olympics in the name of safety. How do DUers feel? Is this a good idea? Or will our athletes be safe?

[Renew Deal]

1. I am going to the games.

You can click on my cool little Athens icon for the website. I am not worried about it. Shit happens. The games will be ultra secured. You just can't worry about every little thing. I think the games will be fine. Our athletes will be safe, but unpopular and that's that.

BTW, I am Greek american so I speak the language and am staying with relatives.

[Mr. Blonde]

2. Color me jealous as hell.

I know some of the wrestlers competing and would like to cheer them on, but with school and an overall lack of funds it is impossible.

[Calico Jack Rackham]

4. Boy do I envy you

I'm also a Greek-American I wish I was able to go to Hellas for the Olympics.

[Kellanved]

3. I think so

Of course there is no such thing as complete safety, but I don't think that US Athletes will face more danger than athletes from other nations.
IMHO the US athletes have a very good reputation, especially so in Greece: the Baseball Squad gained a lot of brownie points. I really don't understand what the whole boycott business is about: US out of Doping conventions? US out of the IOC? Giving in to terror? :shrug:

[Deja Q]

5. There's only one way they can be safe:

And that's to put them on a spaceship and fly them to the fictional planet of Utopia VII.

But they're athletes. Overpaid egocentric babies.

Put only the compassionate people in the rockets and make Utopia a real place. (which won't happen, people seem to want misery and war.)

[Mr. Blonde]

6. Ummm, for the most part

these are amatuers, and as such not paid at all. They may have small jobs, but they do not make the millions of dollars that pro athletes do. Some are even still in college.

[Deja Q]

7. No wonder they want to make baseball an Olympic event!

Or was it basketball? Oh smothers, what's it matter, no pro sport should be an Olympic sport...

If it doesn't pay much, why do they do it?

[amazona]

8. of course they are paid and a lot!

It's called endorsements.

[Mr. Blonde]

9. Love of the game?

Have you never done something because of the joy you got from it and not how much it paid? I know I would be willing to scrape by in order to compete with the best in the world.
I agree with you first statement to an extent. Pro athletes should not be competing. It doesn't prove a whole lot that our 1992 basketball team was better than anyone else's. Amatuers are all that should compete in an amatuer event.
In response to the other comment, how many wrestlers do you know? How much money do they make in endorsements? Archers? Runners? Most Olympic athletes are well known to a a relatively small amount of people and so there endorsement isn't worth much. Not to mention those college athletes who cannot be endorsed.

[Kellanved]

10. most aren't

For example for Soccer the stronger countries send youth or amateur teams. It has a reason that the US Baseball squad didn't even qualify.

No, the sports where pros compete, usually were cold-war proxy matches. Most competitions are made up from amateur athletes.

[Baclava]

11. The Games must go on!

I would be more worried about crossing the street...Athens is gonna be one helluva traffic jam...

(Like it already wasn't the worst place in the world to drive -
I lived in Greece for a year and took a bus to Athens - much safer!
Taxi rides would rival any coaster in most theme parks here)

[oldcoot]

12. The decision should be left to the individual athletes

The athletes have worked their entire lives to participate in the Olympics. I do not think that it would be fair to them to deny them the opportunity to participate in the Olympics because it might be dangerous. Instead, I favor informing the athletes of the risks and allowing themselves to decide for themselves if they want to participate or not. If they still want to participate, that is their right.

It is worth noting that every activity involves some risk. Most of us are willing to drive our cars even though we risk getting into a car accident every time we get into a car. It also is important to recognize that some Olympic sports require their participants to take some risks. Participating in equestrian events can be extremely dangerous for both horse and rider. A fall off a horse during a jump, for example, can seriously injure or kill the rider. I suspect that womens gymnastics may even prove more dangerous to its participants than equestrian jumping because of the long term damage that the girls are doing to their bodies to compete.