The Olympic triumphs of Silvia and Claudia Poll (1988 and 1996)

Abstract

The objective of this article is to study the speeches made in the national press about Silvia Poll's silver medal in the 200 meters freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and her sister Claudia's gold medal. Poll in the same competition but in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The Olympic triumphs of the sisters Silvia and Claudia Poll of 1988 and 1996 are the result of the personal effort of both swimmers, who made sport a cultural practice that allowed the Costa Rican woman to be the owner of her body and of herself, marking herself personal goals. In both cases, the participation of the State was meager. The conquest of the Silvia Poll Olympic silver medal in 1988 gave rise to the transmission of several speeches: the first appealed to the sacrifice for the country by the Costa Ricans, which made the athlete a moral reference. The second took advantage of this triumph to exalt the international image of Costa Rica and accentuate its difference from the rest of the Central American region. On the other hand, the achievement of the gold medal of his sister Claudia in 1996 allowed the articulation of several discursive texts: the first one demonstrated the effort he made to win the sports competition and the gratitude towards his coach. In second place this sporting victory was proclaimed as a nationalist triumph. It was also focused as a personal achievement and was wrapped in a neoliberal individualist triumphalist halo. Finally, it allowed a criticism of the Costa Rican society, since this triumph was difficult to serve as an example for Costa Ricans, due to their indolence and ethnic-cultural ballast they had.