Sports heroes of the century

Sports heroes of the century

After following the distressful news reports over the past
week on the turmoil and rage in different parts of the country
and the threats to our unitary state, a short spell of relief
arose in reading the more peaceful news in other sections of the
newspaper. Reading the Sunday, Nov. 21, 1999, edition of The
Jakarta Post is a case in point. The sports page carried among
other thing the AP news report Awards honor sport heroes of the
century.

Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 19, 1999, hosted a sumptuous gala at
the Vienna State Opera House, where a batch of no less than 93
male and female athletes from various sports -- athletics, ball
games, soccer, contact sports, motor sports, water sports and
winter sports -- were announced as winners of the World Sports
Awards of the Century by a prestigious international jury headed
by Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic
Committee. Many interesting facets of life and human fate were
unveiled at the event.

Foremost was the ingenious, prodigious spirit of Austrian
entrepreneur-turned-ski jumper Hubert Neuper, who headed the team
that came up with the idea of honoring the "athletes of the
century".

It must have been a thrilling event when the acclaimed sports
heroes attended the celebration. And obviously only the
romanticism of Vienna could have made such an event possible.

Every sports hero receiving the award had a unique comment
reflecting on a particular human life. Australian swimmer Dawn
Fraser upon receiving her trophy said she came from a working-
class family and wanted to take up horse riding but couldn't
afford it. So she took up swimming, which after all only required
a swimming suit and a towel.

Another world legend in swimming, Mark Spitz of the United
States, the winner of nine Olympic gold medals, contributed an
exceptional reference to metaphysical motivation, saying: "Many
people have asked me why I did it. I think it was the mystery,
the magic, the wonder and innocence of never having done it
before, which made me want to win."

In Indonesia, one would hasten to invoke the blessing of
Providence and the prayers of well-wishers after winning a
sporting event. But in the experience of Mark Spitz, it was
notably the so-called "innocence of not having done it before"
that guided him to victory.

In terms of human values, innocence is a heavenly virtue as it
denotes the quality of being free from sin, deception or cunning.
To cite the sense of innocence as conceived by Mark Spitz is a
rather rare piece of human appreciation.

It must have been a spectacular sight to see the audience rise
from their seats when Pele, the Brazilian soccer star, was
announced as the soccer player of the century. Everyone would
concede Pele was the greatest, considering his record of 1,000
goals.

A standing ovation from the audience also greeted Muhammad
Ali, the heavyweight boxing legend whose claim to the title "the
greatest" was attested to by the Vienna gala.

Jury member Gian Franco Kasper made a significant observation
when he said: "It was not the sporting results that were
important. There was also the question of leadership and
influence on youth."

Although having not yet entered the orbit of achievement to
qualify for the World Sports Awards of the Century, Tiger Woods
at age 23 has demonstrated through golf the impact that sports
can have on youth. The son of an African-American father and Thai
mother, Woods has attracted thousands of teenagers and children
to the game of golf.

S. SUHAEDI

Jakarta