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Quick, somebody count the Olympic rings
News that the 11-year-old daughter of International Olympic Committee vice president Kevan Gosper wound up as the first Australian to carry the Olympic torch should surprise no one. Cronyism is practically an Olympic sport.
In the most blatant example, former Haitian dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier packed his country's Olympic squads in 1972 and 1976 with friends, relatives and trusted soldiers. Predictably, they got hammered at both Olympiads.
But at least Baby Doc didn't have to worry about critics. He also packed the police, TV, radio and newspapers in Haiti and could all but order up voodoo dolls with anyone's likeness on them in minutes. Complaints, naturally, were few and far between.
Having a thumb on the neck of the populace worked well for Nero, too. In 60 A.D., the Roman emperor ordered up his own Olympic Games. The highlight was a musical competition which Nero, a famous fiddler, won hands down. History doesn't record the winning selection -- or the number of complaints.
Ah, for the good old days. No doubt that's what Gosper is saying to himself over and over.
Originally, 15-year-old Yianna Souleles was supposed to be the first Australian to carry the torch on its journey from the games' ancient birthplace in Greece to Sydney, site of the Summer Olympics.
But at the last minute, Gosper's daughter, Sophie, was moved to the front of the line. And suddenly, dad had more critics back home than koala bears.
"Gosper torched over Sophie's choice," trumpeted The Australian, the national newspaper.
Not everybody was quite that decorous.
"Outrageous," said three-time Olympian and multiple swimming gold medalist Dawn Fraser.
"It may be perfectly innocent, but to the general public, and to me," swimming coach Lawrie Lawrence said, "there seems to be a bit of stench about it."
It didn't help that Gosper happens to be under investigation for accepting excessive hospitality from the bid committee of the Salt Lake City Games. Or that he happens to be the odds-on favorite to take over when president Juan Antonio Samaranch steps down next year. Or even that the Greek Olympic Committee happens to be under the threat of losing the 2004 Summer Games because of a lack of progress at various venues in Athens.
Fortunately, not everyone is cynical enough to connect the dots. Unfortunately, most of them have the word "Olympic" somewhere in their job titles.
"A storm in a teacup," huffed Sydney Organizing Committee chief executive Sandy Hollway. "Kevan and Sophie in no way sought to jump in and jump a queue."
Gosper sounded philosophical. "Everybody will concoct their own conspiracy. I haven't interfered in this from the start, I've had no play in it, it's a matter for the Greeks."
When someone asked for an explanation, this is what Lambis Nikolaou, who heads the Greek Olympic Committee and also happens to be seeking a seat on the IOC executive board, said: "Why should Australians concern themselves with issues that have to do with Greece?"
Here's why: Because when all this serial bribe-taking and blackmailing disguised as gift-giving was revealed, people of all stripes and in all kinds of places threatened to withhold donations large and small until it stopped.
Within weeks, show trials were held and a handful of IOC members with little visibility and less power were drummed out of the world's most exclusive country club. The better-connected members got off with warnings, but the people in charge promised to throw out all the grafters and wipe off the grime in good time. Samaranch even deigned to be grilled by a congressional committee. As he walked away unscathed, he promised "no more business as usual."
But the message being taken away from this sloppy little episode is just the opposite. It's the old-boy network swapping favors for the benefit of absolutely nobody but themselves.
This week also brought news that the National Hockey League players, including the U.S. contingent that busted up the furniture in Nagano, Japan, after losing two years ago, had agreed to return and play in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
Quick, somebody find out who got the chair concession.
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