London, Ont. — Two snapshots of athletes
at the Canada Games, on a day when Canada was branded
a country of losers: Her name is Jessica Zelinka, and
at the age of 19, the London heptathlete knows there's
a profound gulf between sport for the love of it and
sport for winning medals. In an Ontario school system
that has basically eschewed the value of after-school
sport and physical education classes, Zelinka won 16
gold medals in provincial high school track championships
over four years.
This year in June, she
won the Canadian title in the heptathlon, seven demanding
events over two days. But Jessica has suffered through
a year of injuries to her back, her hamstrings and
her rotator cuff. She hasn't been able to practice
javelin for two months and probably should have taken
this week off. But Wednesday she lifted the bad hamstrings
over the hurdles time and time again to finish first
in the opening event of the heptathlon. Then she bent
her aching back over the high jump to match the top
height of 1.65 metres. She approached the shot put
with no fear, putting faith in a doctor's word that
she would do no further damage to her shoulder. Thursday,
the shoulder will be taped in place to allow Zelikna
one good throw in the javelin. She's expected to get
a gold medal in the heptathlon. She deserves another
for dedication and courage. She'll go as far as her
own body can carry her and may never get a medal on
the world stage. But it's an insult to call her a
loser.
"I don't take offence
at it, and I don't think other athletes do," she said.
"We do need a better system and more opportunities
that are financially supported to be the best. It's
not like we're not trying or don't want to be the
best. "We could use more money, but don't just throw
it at the athletes. Put it into sports institutes
where we can get the right coaching, right therapy
and support. Other countries are ahead of us in this
way."
Zelinka is competing in
London this week because it's her hometown and because
it's the biggest event she will ever be able to win
for a home audience. Her name may never be famous
beyond the borders of her own town, but this week
she is queen of London.
Are Canadians losers? That's
a negative attitude that comes out when we're on the
world scene. We're not winning gold medals in summer
sports. If we want to address it, we have to get people
involved in sport at very young ages. Get the kids
outside, away from the computer games. Get more facilities
open to the public. Now, baby boomers are thinking
about what they can do to be healthier. What took
so long? Their kirls body image,where to play sports,
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Canada has been indeed
backsliding in world medal standings in some marquee
sports. We also cut the guts out of athletic funding
in the middle and late 1990s and tested our athletes
more stringently for drugs than any country. What
did we expect? On the other hand, the country now
boasts champions in different events, such as diving
and triathlon and wrestling and speed skating and
women's hockey. We want to regain supremacy in the
old arenas, but we are not the lesser for having champions
in different sports.
Canadian
Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical
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