Meathman's Diary: Olympian effort to stay safe

Back in February the President of Japan Yoshiro Mori stood up before the world's press and insisted the Olympic Games would be going ahead - regardless of the Covid-19 crisis.

Whether that's a good idea or not remains to be seen. I for one, hope it does go ahead if only because it will provide another distraction for folk at a time when distractions are as welcome as the flowers of May.

Of course those who are looking to take part in the competition would prefer to know for certain that it is going ahead at a definite date because then at least they can plan their training schedules.

Meath is going to have at least one participant in the Games this summer - Natalya Coyle who will be taking part in the pentathlon. She finished sixth in the games in Rio last time out and here's hoping she goes a few places better this time around.

Of course others from the Royal County have participated in this wonderful extravaganza over the years and experienced real drama - although not all in competition. Take Dessie McGann from Kiltale. Back in 1972 Dessie was selected on the Irish team for the Olympics. Dessie employed some unusual ways to prepare for big races; ways that might be frowned upon these days when there is so much focus on conditioning.

To settle his nerves he would like a pint or two the night before a race. It certainly worked for him when he took part in the Irish marathon in '72 - an event that also doubled as a trial for the Munich Olympics - he had a few pints, slept like a baby and ran a good time the next day. He was on the plane to Munich.

Some years ago he recalled to me how in Munich he was caught up in one of the most dramatic events ever to occur in any Olympic Games. He was close by when the Palestinian Black September group attacked members of the Israeli team in their place of accommodation.

"We could hear the helicopter hovering, coming in. It happened in the evening, around seven, very close to where we were," Dessie recalled. "The place was cordoned off and the German soldiers moved in. We had never seen the likes of them before, of course. It was frightening, we didn't know what was going to happen next." The whole sorry saga ended in a nasty shoot-out after a botched rescue attempt. Eleven Israelis, five Palestinians and one German were killed.

Days later Dessie ran in the delayed marathon and finished in 42nd place. Remarkably he ran the marathon without a drink, despite the heat, something that would be unheard of today. The Irish team of '72 had been away for six weeks and their families were just glad to get them back safe and well. Let's hope this year's Olympics runs off smoothly. For the moment let's just rejoice that they are on - pandemic or no pandemic.