New Olympic Sports

One of the fun things about any Olympics, including the one just finished in China, is watching the new sports. Who can forget the excitement that swept the world when curling was introduced at the 1988 Calgary games?

Actually, it was RE-introduced, having appeared in the first Winter Games way back in 1924 and also having been part of the '32 games in Lake Placid. Curling was a "demonstration" sport in '88 and '92, and became an official Olympic event in 1998. What was once so exciting for its newness is now part of the fabric of the games.

This year's Summer Games brought BMX racing to Beijing. While this is not a new sport to us Merkins, it is probably pretty new to much of the rest of the world.

But apparently you can change existing sports as well. Witness the Decathlon and Heptathlon and the throwing of Javelinas. Not being a big track and field fan, I don't know what javelina throwing replaced in the competition for the title of "World's Greatest Athlete". NBC declined to show the javelina throwing competition during its prime-time coverage, probably to avoid the protests that would surely come from PETA. I also couldn't find it at nbcolympics.com.

And it's a shame, too. I would be interested to know the proper technique for throwing javelinas, and wonder how far a world-class athuhleet can throw a javelina.

I would also like to know how athletes train in parts of the world where javelinas are hard to come by. We've all cringed as we've watched third world swimmers struggle to compete when they have no (50-meter) pools in which to practice. How do prospective javelina throwers practice? Do they use pot-belly pigs? Or worse -- midgets?

Enquiring minds want to know (and the National Enquirer(TM) has been silent on this controversial issue).