The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 61

The Sydney Morning Herald SPORT Saturday, November 20, 1993 61 bet oot belie vie I ROY MASTERS SPORT translators seem intent on Bowdlcrising interviews. Just as Bowdlcr removed all the naughty bits from Shakespearian plays provided to schoolchildren, so do translators in sport impose their own censorship. At three Olympic Games and several world championships, from sports such as athletics in Tokyo to weightlifting in Melbourne, it is continually apparent that the English speaking athletes provide the punchy, revealing quotes and the non-English speak-ing sportspeople offer bland, boring responses. But the emotion displayed by the non-English speaking athlete rarely matches the official sterile reply. A failed world champion, aching from his seemingly futile effort, faced with a life without his sport, tells the assembled media: "It seems like 1 have lost everything." and out it comes as: "He is not feeling good." Many examples of this have occurred at the World Weighlift-ing Championships in Melbourne this week.

During a press conference called after Turkey's Nairn Sule-manoglu won three gold medals, a Turkish journalist, who understood English, interrupted the translator and declared: "That is not what he said." It was not an error of fact but a misinterpretation of emotion, the WHILE Greg Norman was winning enough to equip every flagpole in the world last weekend, Robert Allenby and Rodger Davis were flying the Australian flag in the World Cup. Norman was eligible but declined to play in the Cup, preferring to chase glory in Japan. Good on him for continuing his remarkable comeback and surely earning the title of world's best golfer in 1993. No-one else can match wins in Britain, Japan and the US, including that British Open, and a play-off loss in the US PGA. Only a spoilsport would point out the World Cup was played in Florida.

Norman lives in Florida and proudly displays an Australian flag in his front yard. CRICKET will be spoiled if the retired David Gower's involvement is restricted to media work. Gower's insight, humour and patriotism are outstanding and obvious credentials for one job: next chairman of the English selectors. His career also gave him an intimate knowledge of the panel's workings. It would be only appropriate if Keith Fletcher and Ted Dexter on his panel.

Fletcher's hard-headed, pragmatic professionalism would be balanced by Dexter, the dreamer and mystic, with the sage and good-humoured Gower in between. Of course, Gower would have to develop a certain flamboyance: following Test matches as a disinterested observer on the golf course or while dashing between high-powered business meetings. But then style, flamboyance and a disregard for the dry state of play were always the hallmarks of Gower's cricket. SPOILSPORTS copped one in the eye, and deservedly so, from the stylish, flamboyant and visionary Federal Minister for Sport, Ros Kelly, this week. Cynics who question Kelly's ability and motives will now realise she is someone of an entirely different calibre to a Carmel Lawrence or Margaret Thatcher.

Words can't describe what Killer Kelly has done for the cause of women in politics. We may never see her like again. Kelly was infamously attacked by the Opposition for awarding sporting grants which averaged $257,000 for Labor seats and $141,000 for Opposition seats. The minister correctly pointed out grants were made on a needs basis, and unemployment and social deprivation were usually higher in traditional Labor seats. Kelly was too modest to say the Federal Government had had a decade to correct these imbalances, and the fruits of Labor's labour would be seen very soon, don't you worry about that.

The grants scheme has been in operation since 1988. There hasn't been a five-year plan, but the cogent results of Kelly's coherent strategy will also be seen very soon. a Korean, Young-Cho Hwang, won, igniting a curious chain of coincidences. He was the first Korean to win over the 26-mile course since Sohn Kee-Chung in 1936. But at the Berlin Games, Chung wore a Japanese uniform, the armies of the Land of the Rising Sun having invaded his homeland.

Chung was the white haired old man who strode magisterially into Seoul's Olympic stadium in 1988, kicking up his heels as he ran, Question Time with two old performers As an attentive media immediately pondered Chinese women lifting 500kg, mentally constructing "Chinese Superwomen" headlines, it filtered through that Trendafilova had said: "I am 100 per cent sure they will improve." The most disturbing example I have seen of the translators removing every vestige of emotion and controversy from a news conference happened at the Barcelona Olympics on the final night. It was the men's marathon, and known sports people: "Fat "Big "Walrus" and "The Who are they? 3. Which is the only AFL club to win the wooden spoon and the premiership in the same year? 4. Which rugby league club won the competition the shortest time after entering it? 5. There was another set of twins that represented the Wallabies before Glen and Mark Ella.

Who were they? 6. What was the name of the first ironwoman champion and in what year did she win? 7. What was the name of the German goalkeeper who fractured his neck in a game for Manchester City in an F.A. Cup final, and then went on to complete the game? 8. What blood relationship did world champion sailor Bob Miller have with Ben Lexcen, the designer of Australia 9.

Name the four -Olympic Games in which Australia did not win a single gold medal. 10. Who is the only Test cricketer to have played over 100 Tests and played against all other seven frontline Test cricket nations? 1 1. Who was the last Australian to win the Australian tennis open? 12. The great mare Rivette won the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double in one year.

Who is the only other mare to achieve this feat? 13. What is the capacity of a Formula One racing engine? 14. What are the actual names of the "Oarsome Foursome?" 15. After David Campese, who has scored most Test tries for the Wallabies? Sure, it's like most quizes it's not the questions that are hard so much as the answers. But for what it's worth, following are the correct responses.

(No out the Japanese flag. The Japanese authorities jailed eight of the paper's editors and staff and suspended publication of the paper for nine months. Listening to the press conference in Barcelona that followed Hwang's win, it was difficult to avoid the notion that after 56 years, nothing had changed. Hwang had collapsed as he crossed the finish line and although he was carried away on a stretcher, he insisted on attending the press conference. His first comment, translated from Korean to English, was: "I wanted to run a victory lap with the Korean flag and it is a great shame I could not." This invited a flurry of questions, obviously designed to evoke responses on the divine revenge of the Korean marathoners.

Yet Hwang's reported answers were sterile and unemotive, even though his impassive mask creaked with his replies and his body language suggested he wanted to distance himself from the Japanese silver medallist sitting beside him. Korean journalists, who understood English or French or Spanish, were furious with the translations, claiming the answers were censored to avoid offending Morishita. Similarly, in Melbourne this week, a 14-year-old male translator, sitting between hulky medallists and perhaps fearing a right cross, provided bland answers. Sydney is a multi-cultural city, rich in its diversity of languages. The Olympic Organising Committee could well upgrade TAFE translator courses to ensure the English speaking world is accurately brought all the verbal pageantry and colour of the 2000 Olympics.

Andrew Cooper, Nick Green, James Tomkins, Michael McKay. 1 5. Actually, they didn't ask that question but I like it anyway, for the answer is surprising Tim Horan on 16 tries and counting. He took over this year from the original Matthew Burke, who had scored 15 in his four-year Wallaby career. Brendan Moon has scored 14 and Campese has scored 57.

One more thing. As good as these questions were, the problem was that we mug punters had to wade through endless announcements, speeches, auctions, raffles, advertisements, and thanking of sponsors to get to them. Walker and Hawke did an excellent job with the program given them, but if these sports trivia nights for charity do take off, as they show every sign of doing, perhaps the correct time ratio of questionsnonsense is 8020, and not 4060 as it was on this night. not winning an event was from Dee Dee Jonrowe, who in 1991 reportedly lost her chance of victory in a 500-mile sled dog marathon in Minnesota when two of her 16 huskies stopped to make love to each other. Women's scorn 75 Sports Illustrated has cracked it for a place in Working Woman's magazine's Hall of Shame for turning down a shoe advertisement featuring the naked men of a Canadian Soccer team.

SI, with the famous swimsuit issue "seems to consider male nudity a totally different skin game," WW's magazine said. Not so, said SI spokesman Roger Jackson: "The swimsuit issue is a fashion and travel section. The other is an ad." Other sports people to win anti-awards, handed out to "individuals and organisations that did so much to hinder working women in the past 12 months," were New York Mets baseball manager Dallas Green. As if losing 103 games wasn't enough, Green offered this technique for coping with defeat "I just beat the hell out of Sylvia his wife and kick the dog and whatever else I've got to do to get it out." The world of golf copped a serve too, quoting that there are only 191 women as club professional or directors, compared with 7,779 men. Canny Chinese As gambling is forbidden in China, the Beijing Horse Race Club has developed some unique jargon to be used by the punters, attending one of the six Sunday "contests" staged around its track.

Cheng Chunbo, owner of the track in the countryside just 40km north of Beijing, insists they are not races, but "horse intelligence Betting windows are labelled "ticket counters" and each "ticket" costs 5 yuan 135.48). The pay out windows are marked "prize ticket Gamblers are called "fun seekers," jockeys are known as "intelligence testers" and the huge electronic board that displays the rising and falling odds is the "program When the race track opened in September, as many as 40,000 fans flocked through the gates to watch the 77 shaggy ponies that Chen's Beijing Horse Club had bought from MacDONALD ON THE WING The minister rightly refused to dignify these scurrilous attacks any further by releasing documentation about the scheme's administration. Keen-minded Kelly fans will also have noted the minister is likely to reject a S420 million Australian Olympic Committee plan to win medals. Kelly wants to work with the AOC but has said any distribution of funds has to be done in an open manner subject to normal accountability. ACCUSATIONS of drug-taking by an Australian weightlifter at the world championships in Melbourne should be seen as a positive development.

Not only can big bad black men like Ben Johnson and evil Chinese runners who eat dog stew be accused of drug-taking. The thought might be implanted that drug-taking is endemic and modern Olympic Games and world championships a sham. This is known to officialdom, but don't expect change from within. There is something more important than the dubious benefits hich might accrue to Sydney from the 2000 Olympics: the Olympics survival. The disbandment of the International Olympic Committee, and individual sports being fair dinkum about random drug testing are the first necessary steps to ensure the games' survival.

Every incident like this week's helps to bring the message home. QUOTE of the week belongs not to Killer Kelly but Channel Nine, which announced before crossing to the third Test in Perth: "Because of our commitment to the cricket we will not be showing SPORTSMAN of the week is the late Bobby Rose, who died last weekend. Rose's name won't be in any scrapbooks, but he will stay in Nowra hearts. A featherweight boxer who was the champion of three Army battalions, Rose was also a member of the first Shoalhaven cricket team to play against Jack Chegwyn's famous travelling XI. Rose won multiple premier-ships with the Warriors cricket team, and also played first-grade rugby league with his beloved Nowra Warriors.

More than for those small achievements, he will be remembered as a heavyweight and all-iound good sport. JOHN MACDONALD THIS WEEKEND'S TV SPORT SATURDAY jTI INDOOR CRICKET ABC 1993 National C'ship 2.05pm HOCKEY ABC 1 993 Women's League 3pm TENNIS 1 ABC ATP Tour 4.15 pm WEIGHTLIFTING iABC World Crw 1 5 pm GYMNASTICS ABC International 6 pm GOLF TEN Aust PGA noon SUNDAY TENNIS ABC ATP Tour 9am INDOOR CRICKET ABC 1 993 National C'ship 9.30am WEIGHTLIFTING ABC World Cp GOLF I TEN Aust PGA noon NINE Golf Show 1.36pm CRICKET NINE Queensland and Tasmania 1 1 am TEN Pepsi Cup Blues-Cougars i 0.30am mi fr rm INSIDE RUNNING EDITED BY MICHAEL COWLEY world's best weightlifter feeling much stronger about an issue than reported. Obviously, there are times when meaning is lost as an inquiry leaves the questioner, travels via the interpreter to the athlete and then takes the same route back. When Milena Trendafilova, the Bulgarian who won the women's 70kg class, was asked how much improvement she believes is forthcoming from the Chinese team, her answer was given as: "I am sure they will improve 100 per cent." PETER FITZSIMONS certifiable sports wizard, and if you got all of them right then you're probably the one they named the Brain Foundation after, in the first place. 1.

In all Test cricket history, there are only two bowlers who have scored over 250 wickets at a strike rate of less than 50 balls per wicket. Who are they? 2. Following are some "animal" nicknames of well- Sitting on the fence National sporting organisations have been taking an interest in one of the biggest battles in town the fast talking and electrifying power-broking within the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Olympic Com-mittee. Both influential bodies are keen to assume control of the funding for the 31 Olympic sports leading up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. But some of the sports don't want to be seen favouring one above the other hence the presentation by Australian Swimming executive director Simon Allatson to both the ASC executive director Jim Ferguson and the AOC's Phil Coles, as well as swimming's long-term sponsor Speedo Australia at the annual Swimmer of the Year presentation at Darling Harbour on Monday night At the dinner long-distance swimmer Shelley Taylor-Smith, still ranked world No 1 after six years, said she "still got off on the pain" associated with one of the world's most lonely events.

Swimmer of the year, Kieren Perkins, picked up a jet ski from sponsor Telecom (without an aquatic mobile phone). His coach John Carew won the mobile phone and some free phone calls when he was awarded the MobileNet coach of the year. JACQLELIN MAGNA Fitting pay-off A suggestion by Canberra's Kevin Neil at the chief executives conference to reward clubs producing their own players was well received. Neil advocates a five per cent discount from a club's salary cap for locally produced players, rising cumulatively every year. "For example, in the seventh year of the cap a club would receive a 35 per cent Neil said.

A reward for investing in juniors who make it to first-grade is long overdue. The Broncos spend $500,000 annually on junior development and Canberra offi- carrying the torch which ignited the He was also at Montjuic Stadium that night in Spain, watching Hwang compete his final lap, with Japanese Koichi Morishita chasing him. When Chung won in '36, he not only wore the Japanese colours, but watched the Japanese flag raised and listened to the Japanese anthem. But a Korean newspaper, Dong-a-llbo, ran a photograph of his victory ceremony and painted correspondence will be entered into and the only prize accorded are gold stars to put on your forehead.) 1. Fred Trueman and Malcolm Marshall.

2. Wendy Turnbull (or Wayne Bartholomew), Ian Baker-Finch, Greg Ritchie, Joel Garner, Craig StadUer and Barry Gomer-salL 3. Fitzroy (in the days when there were only four teams in the competition). 4. Souths (in the first year of the competition.) 5.

Jim and Stuart Boyce. 6. Samantha O'Brien, 1991. 7. Bert Trautmann, a former German para-trooper who fractured his neck with 15 minutes left in the second half of Manchester City's 3-1 win over Birmingham in the 1956 final 8.

They were one and the same person, Miller having changed his name to Lexcen. 9. St Louis 1904, Antwerp 1920, Berlin 1936, and Montreal 1972. 10. Kapil Dev.

11. Mark Edmonson in 1976. 12. Let's Elope. 13.

3.5 litres. 14. and friends a week ago, and chose to dine at a restaurant in Leich-hardt. On Monday night, Elias also celebrated his birthday with his friends at yep, you guessed it, the same venue. Coincidence? Maybe, but no real surprise that neither was invited to the other's celebration.

Would have made interesting dining for the other customers should the pair have chosen the same evening to celebrate. elaine bechara Traveller Tyson Apart from attempting to resurrect his boxing career, Mike Tyson says he would like to visit Africa when he is released after serving a six-year prison term for a rape conviction. But contrary to a report in a Zimbabwe newspaper, he is not considering settling there. "I said I wanted to see the pyramids, to see where Alexander the Great was buried," Tyson said of the report. "But I couldn't live in Africa.

Look where they put me here. In Africa, with African justice, I would have had ray head cut off." It's all true James Miller, the parachutist who decided to drop in on the Bowe-Holyfield title fight a fortnight ago, revived memories of some of those other bizarre incidents which have occured in the sporting spotlight. The Brazilian soccer match at Rio Preto in 1952 when an enraged fan produced a rifle, aimed at the ball and burst it in mid-flight as it flew towards the home net. Or the English goalkeeper attacked by a dog in 1970 who fell awkwardly and sustained an injury which ended his career. The same unfortunate player, Chic Brodie of Brentford, also once had a hand grenade thrown at him during a match.

When it failed to explode, he discover it was a harmless replica. At the marathon at the 1904 Olympics in St Louis one runner, a Zulu tribesman, was chased off the course by dogs, while a New Yorker named Fred Lorz travelled half the race by car. A similar episode took place in 1972 at the Munich Olympics when a hoaxer burst on to the track and ran two laps before being hustled away by security guards. But perhaps the one which produced the greatest excuse for Hi wf THE Brain Foundation held a sports trivia night at the Sydney Cricket Ground's M.A. Noble Stand last Wednesday night, hosted by no less than Bob Hawke and Max Walker.

As such nights go, it wasn't one of the all-time greats. There were enough fluorescent lights to make a laboratory rat feel at home; the sound system was designed and set up by Joe's Cheap Mufflers; and having tepid pie and peas as the main course for one's $75 a head, could only make one glad that the presumably huge profits were going to a worthy cause. But anyway Luckily, the questions were excellent. Below are the best sports trivia questions asked on the evening. If you get five out of 1 5 right, my guess is your last name's 'Joe' and your first name's 'Average'; 10 out of 15 and you're a THEY SAID IT "In the end wcrt tlx only team that could Australian skipper Allan Border defends his side's dull draw against New Zealand Robbi said to the) guy, 'Mat, wo'ro Socceroos, we rprsnt your country Ha said, don't givo a I who you are, you're not coming in Soccer oo Graham Arnold on what happened when he and teammate Roboie Slater tried to jet into a nightclub in Hurstville.

"I think it was right to open a new century from your country. The world's greatest pole vaulter. Sergei Bobka. on Sydney, Olympic City 2000. "I am bloody bitterly disappointed people will flaunt tetters and take risk with drugs.

Sam Coffa, president of the Australian Weightlifting Federation. "I'm going. Australian weightlifter Ron Lay-cock, asked to comment about his positive test for steroid use. stick to the pool where I can touch the bottom." NSW Rugby League boss John Quayle on his approach to swimming and sport finance. "The Argentine public are very concerned, they're not at confident as I expected them to be.

Australia's assistant coach Raul Blanco before the Socceroos' courageous exit in Buenos Aires. "That's what I call winning ugly. It was kind of like mackerel In the moonlight shining one minute and smelly the rett. Greg Norman after taking the PGA Grand Slam. "A dry root and honeys secret of success.

-Herald sports writer Roy Masters explains the victories of China's women weightlifters. "I couldn't believe a nation could stop for a horserace. Trainer Dcrmot Weld, back in Ireland with Vintage Crop and the Melbourne Cup. Oh no, the pain of it all American weightlifter Robin Byrd was screaming at herself for dropping her lift during the World Weightlifting Championships in Melbourne this week. nomads in Inner Mongolia and now trains and selects for the intelligence contests.

Most of the ponies must be dragged into the starting gate and some are a trifle reluctant to raise more than a trot Longley labours Luc Longley, Australia's first and only basketballer to break into the best league in the world, the NBA, is certainly finding things tough with his Minnesota Timberwolves. Not only has the team lost their first five games of the season, but Longley is also copping a roast from the media over his own performances. In the Seattle Times, Glenn Nelson wrote in his column, "Inside Moves" (no relation to Inside Running): "It didn't take long for Luc Longley, the 7-foot-1 2.1m Australian, to prove to the Minnesota Timber-wolves what a huge mistake they made by making a much-overlooked Felton Spencer for Mike Brown swap with Utah. Inheriting Spencer's starting spot, Longley shot 30 per cent and averaged 4.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in three games. After Longley was out-scored 43-0 by San Antonio's David Robinson, coach Sidney Lowe had enough.

Christian Laettner will now start at centre." U2 crowing Adelaide Crows coach Graham Cornes received a telephone call late on Tuesday night No, it wasn't from any prospective players chasing a start in AFL. It was U2's lead singer Bono making his infamous during-concert-phone-call. As Mr Macphisto, Bono's parody of a demon rock star, dialled the number on stage, he asked the crowd at Football Park the home of the Crows "Don't you think Graham Cornes is sexy?" He then asked Cornes: "I'm having some difficulty finding a young woman suitable for me. I understand you're rather successful in this department" Cornes told Bono that he was quite happily married and that they were expecting a baby next year which brought a few bars of the Cliff Richard's Congratulations. Cornes then asked Bono what exactly he was doing.

Bono replied: "We're turning your football oval into mud actually." cials visit 40 schools a week. Bradley Clyde was first identified as a champion when he played for a local club in the under-sixes. "Ken Arthurson, the chairman of the ARL, agrees clubs need an incentive to produce their own players and endorses the proposal," Neil added. A cynic might suggest Pope Arko has given it his blessing since Manly have changed from a club which raided other clubs for first graders to one which now recruits potential players at a young age. roy masters Painful pills It appears that too much of the sponsor's product caused a bit of hospital havoc during last weekend's New York Marathon.

While the day's record heat and humidity were brutal on runners, doctors also said many patients told them that they exceeded the recommended dose of the over-the-counter painkiller Advil, a corporate sponsor of the race that distributed eight-pill gift packs to runners. The recommended maximum dose is six pills a day and no more than two in an hour. Some runners took all eight pills at once. An Advil representative said he was dismayed to learn that runners had misused the product. "Certainly it is not OK to take eight Advils at a time." Rich food At Thursday night's Sydney Olympic victory dinner at Darling Harbour, singer John Farnham said to the crowd "Is the food good? It bloody well ought to be!" Another fine one-liner came from Welsh 110m hurdles champion Colin Jackson.

When compere Bruce McAveney offered his commiserations that Wales, like Australia, had failed to reach the World Cup soccer finals after the last qualifying matches, Jackson fired back: "But nor did England and I'm very happy about that." SAM NORTH Food for thought Mario Fenech and Benny Elias have never been backward in coming forward about their feelings toward each other. Virtually sworn enemies on the football field, but one thing the pair share is a similar appreciation for culinary cuisine. Fenech celebrated his birthday with family.