WITH the Olympic flame having been extinguished more often than the attendant controversies as it makes its torturous way towards Beijing there is genuine fear that boycotts could impact on the Games in August. This is something which concerns Shirley Robertson, Scotland's double gold medalist and enthusiastic flag-waver for the Olympics.
Despite being denied the chance to compete herself this year her passion for the event has remained undimmed. Robertson's absence can at least be explained as being based on merit, although she did not necessarily agree with the decision taken by the
Royal Yachting Association not to select her and her crew in the Yngling keelboat class.
But she is adamant that no-one should be deprived the opportunity to star on the world stage for reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with sport. There was no torch in Glasgow yesterday, only the burning desire of Robertson to see the Games pass without the notable absences which blighted the Olympics in Moscow in 1980.
Her own competitive urge to take part in a fifth Olympics has been left frustrated by the decision not to select her after gold medals in 2000 and 2004. Even so, she desperately hopes that Sarah Ayton and her crew of Sara Webb and newcomer Pippa Wilson won't be robbed of the chance to compete at the Olympic venue in Quingdao, something which happened to their predecessors in 1980. Only 15 sports voted to go to Moscow in 1980 from Britain, and yachting was not among them.
"The scary thing for me and any athlete is the talk of boycotts," said the 39-year-old Robertson, who still hopes to compete when the Games are hosted by London in 2012.
"I know a whole generation of sailors who did not go in 1980, and how it affected their lives in a bad way. For many athletes, you only have one serious go. It's your one go, and then you don't go. How does that affect your life?
"I have one friend who is now a coach," she continued. "But before 1980 he left the navy, and his career, and spent a lot of money in pursuing his dream to compete at the Olympics. There was no funding in those days. Then his best chance of a medal went when (the sailing team] was pulled three months before. Did it make any difference politically? No, I don't think so. But there's a whole generation of athletes who are left affected."
She was not alone in her view that athletes should be allowed to express themselves on the sporting stage without fear of reprisals. Chris Hoy was also at Hampden Park yesterday to help BT launch a team of ambassadors for the London Olympics. The thought he might be deprived the chance to compete in Beijing is not to be borne. Hoy remains Scotland's best hope of a gold medal and after winning the sprint and keirin titles at the track cycling world championships in Manchester last month is in the form of his life.
"It's really the fans, the sport and the sports people themselves who suffer," stressed Hoy. "Boycotts never made much difference looking back at previous examples. This should have been dealt with at the time of the bid." "It's frustrating," he continued. "So much attention has been on the politics. The ideals of the Olympics are it is about unity, participation and bringing countries together regardless of religious backgrounds, belief and politics. So far it's all been about the Tibetan issue, not that I don't sympathise with issues going on out there. Obviously human right issues are a bit more important than riding bikes. But this is about sport and should be kept separate."
Hoy is set to embark on the last leg of his Olympics preparations after a 10-day break following his achievements at Manchester. Robertson, too, will need to prepare ahead of China, but only for her role as a BBC broadcaster. It will offer her a new Olympics experience, although she admits there will be some envy present when she reports on an event in which she still believes she should be competing.
"For sure there will be a pang inside of me," she said. "But life's not perfect. For whatever reason it didn't work out. Some of it was within my control, some of it wasn't."
She conceded that if there was one Olympics to miss, then this might be the one. She described the Quingdao venue as being a "bit hit and miss" due to a combination of factors – too little wind and too much tide.
"In many ways the venue was filling me with dread," she admitted. "It wasn't my forte. I like a bit of puff."
The full article contains 801 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
