Competitive nobility in Tokyo's Olympic Games: the decision of Barshim and Tamberi was not a historical shame!

Abstract

The 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympic Games provoked sui generis sentiments. For this reason, it is possible to conjecture that the postponement of the Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the concern with the risk of contamination of the athletes, the strict prevention and control protocols, such as the protests against the holding of the event, added to the apprehension characteristic of a competition of this magnitude, in effect inflamed the spirits of social actors. In this disposition, it can be assumed, therefore, that the Games were categorically marked by an unprecedented unrest, resulting in skewed, totally decontextualized analyses/statements/eventuals, which end up disregarding the set of values that guide the acclaimed Olympic spirit. In this light, attention is drawn to the article published in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, in the Opinion section, on August 2, 2021, entitled "Friends' decision to share gold in the high jump was a historic shame". In it, journalist A. Barcinski sharply criticizes the fact that fans (spectators) and much of the media celebrate the attitude of athletes Barshim, from Qatar, and Tamberi, from Italy, of sharing the gold in the show jumping in height. Therefore, this opinion article, in essay format, aims to build an argument that considers the attitude of the athletes in another light. Thus, because the opinion article is a textual genre with an expository-argumentative basis, the motto of the argument is based on the attempt to establish a fruitful debate in order to encourage a more comprehensive, holistic reflection.