Americans reclaimed their long lost sprint supremacy at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Hungary. In this post-Usain Bolt era, American men have been crowned fastest human in the last four championships. And this year Noah Lyles predicted himself to win sprint golds in record-breaking time. Cocky, he was too specific about his target, 9.65s in the century dash, only Bolt ran faster, and 19.10s in the 200m, faster than the greatest sprinter’s world record.
He mimicked how candidates for public office see their impending victory in the elections to show confidence, only to lose and cry fraud. Although Lyles won the century dash, he ran far slower than his predicted time. That’s what happens when the mouth opens faster than the legs running. Confidence exceeds ability. Otherwise known as arrogance.
In the distaff side, his compatriot Sha’Carri Richardson stunned the Jamaicans and herself when she ran 10.65s to win the gold at her inaugural world final. Known cockier than her male counterpart, Sha’Carri’s reaction for pulling an upset was more shocking. She barely said a word while her jaw dropped. Otherwise known as authenticity. As opposed to her previous fist-pumping trademark celebration, she was more in disbelief this time. Otherwise known as humility.
She just beat Shericka Jackson who earlier ran exactly the same time at the Jamaican nationals. The flamboyant Richardson likewise denied Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce the sixth gold of all golds in the worlds. At 36, the pocket rocket was on track to tie Sergey Bubka’s record six golds in a single world event but missed. Despite the loss, the hyphenated woman still rewrote her special story with a bronze.
Despite, or because of her antics, Richardson too has a special story to tell, of vindication. She failed to qualify for the worlds last year due to injury and was weeded out of Tokyo for using weed, in yet another reassertion of how serious World Athletics is against illegal drug use to protect the integrity of the sport that rewards speed, provided it is not artificially aided. At least she was only briefly suspended. Repeat offenders were banned for life like the disgraced Ben Johnson. Otherwise known as recidivists.
But with remarkable speed, several local government units declared persona non grata the drag artist for his artistry that to them is too artsy. Otherwise known as blasphemy. He is by collective sentiment virtually banned from their areas of jurisdiction like they can limit constitutional right to travel by mere resolution that does not resolve anything.
They must have been accustomed to the lockdown forced by the crowned virus, without knowing they also locked up wisdom. And equity. For while the formal expression of offense, disgust and condemnation is understandable, the tolerance, condonation, acceptance and even enabling of thieves and plunderers of public money are unfathomable. Shut the door to religious offenders but roll the red carpet to offenders of religious teachings. Otherwise known as hypocrisy. Except when the reason behind is discerned, that it might include some of them. Otherwise known as self-serving.