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After all the excitement of Delhi 2010, it seems only appropriate to look back at the moments that made it so memorable, and dish out some awards, be they for the good, the bad or indeed the ugly.
Away from all the failed drugs tests that come with any large sporting event, Delhi 2010 will be remembered for Papua New Guinea's Sapolai Yao. Being 4 feet 10 tall is never easy, especially when knackered towards the end of a 3,000 metre steeplechase and faced with the water jump. Yao chose to use a pot plant to help him climb the hurdle, which didn’t go down well with the officials, who diqualified him.
As a sportsman or woman playing for the national team, it seems pretty obvious that you will have to sing the national anthem at some point. Try telling that to members of England’s women’s hockey team, who struggled with the words to the second verse of ‘national anthem’ Jerusalem. Maybe a bit more practice needed before London in a couple of years time.
Despite the security fears raised by athletes and coaches before the games, this award doesn’t go to a terrorist attack, which is a success on the Indian security services front. However the award does go to the state of the accommodation, which was finished as athletes were moving in. The photos published, which showed dog footprints on mattresses, loose electrical cables and muddy sinks wouldn’t look out of place on a holiday from hell, or a student house.
The 100 metres is probably as easy as it gets for a commonwealth games event, except for the woman’s final. The race was run with Australian Sally Pearson crossing the line first. Except just as she was about to step on the podium to claim the gold medal, she was disqualified for a false start. This left Nigeria’s Osayemi Oludamola to claim gold, only to be later stripped of it following a failed drugs test. Currently the gold medal is held by Natasha Mayers from St Vincent and the Grenadines, with any luck it will stay there.
Even with home advantage, many people were surprised with how well India performed, finishing second in the medal table below Australia. Included in the 38 gold medals was a shock win in the women’s 4x400 metre relay. The challenge for the host nation is to repeat the performance in London.
“Yes, Princess Diana was there.” From the mouth of Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the games organising committee. He managed to confuse the late Princess with Duchess of Cornwall and current wife of Prince Charles, Camilla. Credit where credit is due, he corrected himself pretty quickly.
The name of Chief Minister of Delhi Shelia Dikshit (pronounced Dixit) indirectly caused a diplomatic incident between New Zealand and India. New Zealand breakfast TV show host Paul Henry frequently mispronounced her name on air, and made a racial slur based on it. He later resigned from his job.
Matt, this article is fantastic! These awards are so funny! Some of the events are so ridiculous - I like the one about the plant-pot climber the most!!
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