48 hours: Sports with judges low in excitement stakes

By TERRY MADDAFORD

I have never been one to knock anyone for their choice of sports, but frankly, some Olympic sports are left way behind in the excitement stakes.

With the Olympic Games reaching their thrilling climax, I admit women's taekwondo did not do it for me.

Despite the best endeavours of the Canadian referee to stir some action, the feeling in the under-67kg contest involving New Zealand's Verina Wihongi was that she and her Greek opponent would rather have been some place else. After two rounds, Elisavet Mystakidou led 1-0 and went on to win 4-0.

Wihongi was handed a lifeline into the repechages when Mystakidou did well in her next couple of bouts, but after another six minutes and another loss, Wihongi's Olympics were over. The Greek heroine went on to take silver.

While not wanting to pitch one sport against another, those decided by subjective judging - diving, gymnastics, synchronised swimming, dressage and even the combat sports of boxing, wrestling, judo and taekwondo spring to mind - are always under the spotlight. Allegations of dodgy judging too often overshadow the actual performances.

When the time comes for drawing up the programme for future Olympics and with it, again, the call to trim rather than bolster the number of sports, we can only hope the in-your-face, what-you-see-is-what-you-get in new sports like triathlon and mountain biking survive.

The mountain biking might have been a bit tedious, but at least it was one-on-one combat.

Much the same in triathlon. Blood, sweat and tears in three disciplines which have, individually, been part of the Olympics forever.

Then there are the team sports and the ongoing debate about their place in the Games.

New Zealand had a record four teams in Athens. The Tall Blacks carried the highest expectations, but with just one win, came up short. They were not complete duds, but a succession of close scores does, in the end, not count for much when you are on the wrong end.

The Tall Ferns were the over-achievers, and the two hockey teams battled well for top-six finishes and tickets back to the world stage.

Argentina is one country who will now never back any move to cut team sports.

Without a gold medal in any Olympic contest since 1952, Argentina had two chances within a few hours and took them both.

First their soccer team met Paraguay, a country who have never won Olympic gold, in a much-anticipated final.

The Argentines had played 450 minutes without conceding a goal to reach the final, where their 1-0 victory was enough to give them the gold and allow them to retain that amazing defensive record.

Their opponents, in what at times was a lacklustre match, did not help themselves by having two players sent off.

The Argentine men's basketball team then completed a really golden 24 hours by beating Italy in the final.

That New Zealand did not figure in this late action hardly mattered.

The golden glow provided by Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, Sarah Ulmer and Hamish Carter, and near-misses from Ben Fouhy and Bevan Docherty, left most New Zealanders satisfied.

Money well spent? Probably.

The attention is now on the Melbourne Commonwealth Games when, in just 18 months, our sportsmen and women must do it all again at a level where they will be more competitive.


The scary part is in contemplating just how dominant the Australians, who did really well at these Olympics, will be.

New Zealand, in finishing just outside the top 20 and ahead of countries such as Canada, South Africa, the Czech Republic and Mexico, can take real satisfaction in a job well done.

Highpoint

Hicham El Guerrouj. To win the tough 1500m-5000m double was the standout performance of these Olympics and elevated the world's best middle-distance runner into the ranks of the immortals alongside Nurmi and Zatopek.

Lowpoint

The Auckland rugby team. One from three and an almost 50-point hiding to boot. Who said this Air New Zealand NPC was going to be boring and predictable?