Topic: MediaIn the young Olympic event of "speed climbing," Sam Watson (USA) set two new world records, breaking his own previous world record. For that, he got the Bronze medal. The reason he did relates to some concepts I have been mulling over about what makes a good spectator event. The Olympics are the rare time when a whole bunch of sports that are generally relatively obscure become big-audience, big-advertising events. Spectator sports are sports as entertainment, but they are also still athletic.
Watson got the bronze because speed climbing is run in the "pyramid" or "playoff" style where two climbers "race" and the winner of the race advances or gets a point. This is a common style used in lots of sports, and in most of the "mega" spectator sports that get 90% of the audiences and money (Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, American Football, Cricket etc.) Watson set one new WR in the early rounds, but he had a minor stumble in the semi-finals so he missed the gold medal "round" and in his bronze metal match set a new WR that was not matched in the official goal medal match.
The problem is this -- there's really no "match" aspect to this particular sport. The two climbers are really just racing against a clock, and the fastest time wins. They rarely glance at their opponent, and while they may have some peripheral perception, in a good run they are racing only the clock. (If an opponent has a very poor run, and falls or stumbles majorly, a climber might notice that and slow down and be more careful, now that a win is assured for them if they
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