Hook Jumping: Gold, Silver or Bronze? – Opinion – SAPO.pt

For the first time in our country’s sporting history, Portugal has won an Olympic gold medal in a sport other than athletics. This is cycling, a sport that for many people is not even on the radar. However, this victory was not the result of chance, nor a last-minute investment. This Olympic gold medal is the result of years of dedication and personal investment, with a clear goal to achieve. All that remained was to know who would do it and when.

It is an example of a sharp vision combined with a clear strategy and, most importantly, a strategy well executed. But all of this required time, money, imposed choices and sacrifices. Only now that we know the “happy ending” can we rewind and know the beginning, the middle and the end of this story that has only just begun. I do not intend to direct this reflection to an eternal problem: in Portugal we only relate and talk about football. Of course: only “serious” public and private money goes to football, and then a little is left for other sports. It’s all too obvious, there’s nothing new.

My reflection today is on this incredible recipe for success: “Vision – Strategy – Investment – ​​Results”. This is exactly what is lacking in our political leaders today. Many are obsessed with their positions and seem to have no interest or career, let alone commitment to the public cause and what is required of them as elected officials – they are our employees. All of them. With very few exceptions, we are witnessing a political class more concerned with their giant egos and the growth of their “shelves” – their own and that of their friends and family.

Where does the future of the country lie? In this specific case, it is in Anadia (did anyone think of this location before?), the only national velodrome built in 2009. Even the ten football stadiums in 2004 did not bring us the equivalent of an Olympic football gold medal, which would be the world’s equivalent of a World Cup trophy. With very accurate filming, less investment and 15 years of dedication, “The Scoop from Anadia” could not have been better. Every political decision should be accompanied by this level of determination and foresight.

Indeed, if public decision-makers were subject to the same doping tests as Olympic athletes, many of them would probably be disqualified. Their vision for the country is limited by their own party’s internal electoral cycle and external electoral behavior, which prevents them from thinking long-term about the country’s future and from building a path to the “podium”. Instead, they want to build a “new” airport in Lisbon, which could be mistaken for a long-term project. The idea, debated for 60 years, seems to have finally “landed”. Does it make sense to execute a plan from the 1960s and launch it 70 years later?

Let’s assume for a moment that, according to the decision of our “doping” politicians, the country will spend 10 billion euros of public money on the construction of a new airport that will be open in ten years. This airport, due to its size, will attract 70% or even 80% of the country’s air traffic to the capital (the current airport already takes 50% because it is “crowded”… imagine if it wasn’t). When it is finally built and operational around 2035, what medal will Portugal win with this “investment” in what way? Overtourism? Where is everything and everyone concentrated in Lisbon? What is the worst cost opportunity for public investment?

Alcochete is a classic example of our lack of vision and strategy for the country we want to be, and a clear example of succumbing to other types of private interests. Above all, we need to think about the future with the same dedication and strategic vision that led Portugal to win this “accidental” Olympic gold medal. It won’t matter how many podiums will bounce or how many we will continue to miss.