Failure always goes hand in hand with success (it is especially attracted
to the mighty, the stars in the center of attention), laughing heartily
at its latest practical joke. The Atlanta Olympics provided many examples.
Track-and-field, where the competition was keen, yielded especially great
mishaps.
Save me, lucky charm
During the finals of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Bubka failed to
clear his first jump. An evil wind and the "gendarme referees," who created
unbearable conditions, were against him. And most of all, the finals took
place on August 8. Later, he and his manager Andriy Kulykovsky learned
that his biological clock was at its lowest ebb intellectually and physically.
Everything went as planned in America, and there were no bad premonitions.
Moreover, two months before Atlanta he attempted a new world record by
jumping 6.15 meters. However, he complained about his latest injury, and
there was the impression that he cared more for his personal safety: he
had his bodyguard near the pole vault field. The rules forbid bringing
other people to the playing area, but an exception was made for the star
jumper. Serhiy had no doubts he would win in America. But he said he was
not likely to set a new world record. He was condescending toward opponents,
for they had disappointed him more than once. It turned out that the Olympics
added little to his fame. His injured Achilles tendon let him down. Serhiy
gave up after he understood he was not capable of making the qualification
height of 5.7 meters. Two weeks before the Olympics, Swiss doctors examined
his injured tendon and assured him that it would cure before the finals.
However, every step he took during the warm-up was painful and his left
tendon was thicker than his right. Serhiy understood how dangerous the
pain-killing shots were: they loosen the tendon's tissues and increase
the likelihood of rupture. The doctors said they had to take the risk.
"All right, let's take the risk," the athlete decided. He was given
an injection of Dexazon, and it seemed like the result was the one desired:
the pain went away. But then his tendon began to swell. Serhiy thought,
"I could do it before, and I can do it now, too." But when he took the
stick he understood he could not step on the lame leg. Before the Atlanta
games, the athlete spent three months fighting his injury, but he failed.
The Olympics were a run of bad luck for him.
Bubka is 34 years old now, but he still wants to compete and states
he will compete in the next Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The injured
tendon should heal by then, but is that the real issue? Those, who watched
Bubka's warm-up in Atlanta, remember that was looking for something in
the grass - he had lost his talisman, a bad omen.
No one knew about her pain
Iryna Pryvalova had serious intentions to trade her Barcelona bronze
medal for a gold one in Atlanta. She admitted her program was so heavy
that she did not even have time to think about what her coach told her
to do. She did not aim at new world records in winter; she was getting
ready for summer and the new season. A unique dual inertia simulator, made
for her at a Russian defense plant, was her most modern secret weapon.
It was one of a kind, and Pryvalova's coach kept vigilant watch over it.
But all the plans to go to warmer places were ruined: Iryna could not get
a new passport for over two months. Her coach, Volodymyr Parashchuk, watered
the lanes of the track to artificially simulate Atlanta's hot and humid
climate. But all efforts were in vain, and in Atlanta she did not even
make it to the finals. The coaches explained her failure with an injury,
which suddenly flared up when she was picking up speed. No one knew about
her pain though. Iryna did not make it into the top three. A failure? Yes,
but like any other star she blazed again in the European Track-and-Field
Championship in Budapest by winning the gold in her best distance. Bubka
took revenge earlier, in 1997, by winning his sixth world championship.
If stars shine, it means someone needs them.







