My athletic ability extends to running on a treadmill and when I look at an Olympic ice skater standing on the podium I admire their discipline and dedication. Olympic medal winners have succeeded at something I have chosen not to pursue. However, the average Canadian citizen has not been able to pursue some Olympic sports like skeleton racing which is very capital intensive.
Government support of Olympic athletes should be limited to sports that every citizen of the country has been given a reasonable opportunity to pursue. Most Canadians wouldn’t even know what skeleton racing is if not for the Olympics. When a skeleton racer mounts the podium we think “are they crazy?” and have to assume they’ve been introduced to the sport through another skeleton racer. It is an elitist sport that most are unlikely to have the opportunity to try. A ski injury is more identifiable to most than a tenth of a win in a skeleton race. The Olympics are about unifying a country and skeleton racing only makes me question how much skill is even involved.
Edgy and controversial!
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