Olympics
After winning the gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, South African swimmer Cameron van der Burgh admitted that he cheated by taking extra kicks underwater, despite the fact that the rules only allow one kick.
"If you’re not doing it, you’re falling behind. It’s not obviously – shall we say – the moral thing to do, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my personal performance and four years of hard work for someone that is willing to do it and get away with it. It’s got to the sort of point where if you’re not doing it you’re falling behind or your giving yourself a disadvantage so everyone’s pushing the rules and pushing the boundaries, so if you’re not doing it, you’re not trying hard enough."
Ah, the old "if you're not cheating, you're not trying" defense.
Fortunately for van der Burgh, there aren't underwater video reviews in Olympic swimming, so his medal is safe. Still, it seems like it's a bit foolish to have a rule in the first place, if the proper authorities have no interest whatsoever in enforcing it.
Replay showed that van der Burgh clearly took 3 dolphin kicks after the start of the race, but the judges above water didn't see them.
Should the rules be changed to allow video review? Or should swimmers be allowed to do basically whatever they want underwater, since the judges can't see them very well anyway? What's your take?
