Sir, – Michael O'Keeffe is aghast at the news of breakdancing being included in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (Letters, December 10th). It is "silly" and an insult to the Olympic spirit, he declares.
These games will mark the place and the 100th anniversary of the first Olympic medal ever won by a participant from the Irish Free State. It was silver, won by Jack B Yeats, for a “silly” painting! – Yours, etc,
CHRIS RYAN,
Bray,
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Co Wicklow.
Sir, – In his resurrection of the Olympic festival, Baron de Coubertin attempted to replicate the ancient Greek celebration which included many forms of human skill and endeavour. Early modern Olympic festivals, as he arranged them, included medals for literature, music and sculpture, for example. We can presume the Baron approved if this, not least because he himself won the 1912 gold for his Ode to Sport.
Equally, while like Michael O’Keeffe I felt it was “bad enough” when synchronised swimming and beach volleyball were introduced, nonetheless it is worth considering that architecture was included in the first modern Games. And, perhaps most absurdly, medals were awarded for town planning at four Olympics. If it came to comparing these activities with breakdancing, I know which I’d rather watch. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Sir, – People should stop worrying about the Olympics. They are now merely one huge commercial sponsored by junk-food firms. – Yours, etc,
C MURRAY,
Dublin 14.