‘It takes 2,400 days to produce an Olympic medalist’

Nanning City, Guangxi Province,
Stadium amateur sports school.
A coach standing on the girl’s
legs to “help” her stretch.

*I insist we are behind Rio

It was Amy Deem who three years ago in a press interview she granted an America journalist when she said that, for a sure Olympic medallist, you need programmed training of 2, 400 days. This is just to underline that it takes sure, careful and steady work to get Olympic medals.

Now ask, who is Ms. Amy Deem. Deem was the coach for the U.S. women's track and field team at the London Olympics, part of the group that helped Americans win more medals and more gold medals than any other nation at the games. U.S. track and field athletes won 29 medals in London, 14 of them by Deem's side of the roster, including three gold medals by sprinter Allyson Felix.

Every nation with a rich history at the Olympics have a load of pain to also tell you. There is no short cut.

There are 1,425 days from today until the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics, and 1,459 days to the Paralympics. 

Realistically, when I said here on this blog and on Federal Radio last week Saturday that as a nation we are behind Rio Olympics, some people who do not understand the science of sports opened their mouths wide. It is their rights to speak (which I also respect) but they could have done it with decorum.

To make any medal in Rio, we must scratch. To scratch successfully, we must answer the questions:

(a) Which existing young talents whose progress graphs can acutely rise do we have?

(b) Are we ready to source for a steady fund (outside of government) to plan well?

(c) This must be a business plan and yet we know governments don't do business. Yet
We need about 30 such athletes.

(d)Do we have such reservoir?

(e) In which sport? 

Beyond Rio, can we start the plans for 2020 now on the same platform like the Rio plan? 

Anything short of these should and would remain a miracle and a mirage. Olympics is not about prayers, miracles and mirages.