This old city is the cradle of the Olympic Games… The flame has traveled far and wide, but it returned again to burn in Athens. As it will be remembered, Istanbul was also very keen on hosting the 2004 Olympics, but luck was on our neighbor's side. The Olympic Games kicked off with a very colorful ceremony on Friday night (August 13), and [Turkish] Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife were in the stands.
I watched part of the [opening ceremony] parade on TV and one could read the expressions on the faces of the athletes. They were similar to the expressions on the faces of children who wear their new clothes on festival days. It was worth seeing the enthusiasm of the Iraqi athletes in green outfits, the sportspeople who had come from a country where there is an ongoing bloody war. The spectators applauded them as they deserved it.
Thousands of athletes from over 200 countries, some whose names we have never heard of and are not familiar with…In Athens, 11,000 athletes will be vying for almost 3,000 Olympic medals, during the two weeks of competition. Of course, there are almost 70 athletes from Turkey among these countries.
But one name is missing... Unfortunately, Sureyya Ayhan is not in Athens due to some unknown reasons that nobody understands. As you know, athleticism is considered as the mother of all sports in the Olympic Games. So far, Turkey has not been able to make a good showing in this sport; we have only won one bronze medal through Ruhi Sarialp in the long jump.event.
Many of the gold medals have come from wrestling. Turkey made its name known at the Olympics through wrestling, which is considered as our ancestral sport. In not too distant past, weightlifting was added to this through Naim Suleymanoglu. New athletes are treading in the footprints of Naim. Wrestling and weightlifting are the sports in which we are most assertive. Turkey has been expecting good news from weightlifting and wrestling competitions, starting from the first day of the Athens Games. Turkish athletes will also have to struggle hard in martial arts like judo and taekwondo.
Besides wrestling and weightlifting… Turkey was expecting a gold medal from Sureyya in Athens, the cradle of the Olympics. The hopes were so high. She would had the chance of a return match in Athens, to make up for the World Championships, in which she came in second due to some misfortune. She would have made her name known to the whole world, she would have finished the race way ahead of the others, "like horses running after the race," and she would never have stepped down again from the winners' podium.
All calculations by Sureyya focused on the Olympics. She went to the United States for training, she trained very hard for months and even did not take part in some competitions just because of this reason. All our efforts were exerted and mobilized towards this end. Giving her first hand support, Erdogan said to her, "Call me if you have any problems."
To be honest, I was impatiently looking forward to the Athens Olympic Games, to watch Sureyya Ayhan run and to see her plant the Turkish flag in the birthplace of athleticism. However, it turned out to be a different case, all hopes were shattered and all efforts fruitless. The dream of a [gold] medal in Athens quickly vanished. This has to be a misfortune.
If only Sureyya had not missed this historic opportunity and was able to run in Athens. If only she could have had the gold medal draped around her neck in this very important and meaningful Olympics.
Elvan Abeylegesse came from abroad; however, she became one of us in a short time. She is as assertive as Sureyya Ayhan and also in top form. Like Sureyya, she widens the gap as she runs and leaves her rivals far behind. She can make us forget the absence of Sureyya by winning a gold, and that will comfort.us.
In the Olympic spirit there is peace, if only there are no conflicts in the world during duration of the Athens Games. If only the weapons would fall silent in Iraq… There have been peace calls made in this regard.
The opening ceremony of the Games was very magnificent, I hope our neighbor manages to host this giant organization successfully, and the closing ceremony is as magnificent as well. I also hope that Turkish athletes return home with many medals.
August 15, 2004
