MovieChat Forums > On Any Sunday (1971) Discussion > ISDT bias

ISDT bias

posted 16 years ago by leorosenbaum
4 replies | jump to latest

I got to watch this movie just recently and have to say I like it a lot..however I have to say that this part on Six Days is a bit misleading as it says that Malcolm won the golden medal - he in fact won nothing, the medal was just a participation souvenier, the winners were Czechs on their Jawas which were ruling for the rest of the 70's - which was perhaps the reason the real winners were not mentioned in the movie as Czechoslovakia was then a communist country.

Leo - the Jawa collector

[–] !!!deleted!!! (1688273) 16 years ago

Where can I find a list of the past winners of the International Six Days Enduro?

[–] p_falcioni 16 years ago

Actually, you do win a gold medal. There's gold, silver and bronze, awarded depending on how much time it takes for the rider to finish.

On top of these medals are the actual class winners, awarded for the riders who finish first, second, third, etc. overall. A class winner would come away with a gold medal, plus his (or her) first place finish.

There are also team championships. The US Trophy team for 1970 included:
Ron Bohn...Husqvarna...Gold
Malcolm Smith...Husqvarna...Gold
John Penton...Husqvarna...Silver
Mike Patrick...Husqvarna...Silver
Dave Mungenast(310)...Husqvarna 400...Crashed - Broken body
James "Whitey" Martino...Husqvarna...Retired

Two Czechoslovakian teams came away with the top awards for that year - the Trophy team and the Silver Vase team (sort of a 'B' group of riders).

Finishing with a gold medal is a huge accomplishment.
Usually less than half the riders who entered the ISDT finished. Of those who finished I believe less than half were awarded any medal.

[–] marco-redaelli 15 years ago

@phogroian

Where can I find a list of the past winners of the International Six Days Enduro?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Six_Days_Enduro
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sechstagefahrt
http://www.isdt.org

@ p.falcioni

Of those who finished I believe less than half were awarded any medal.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Six_Days_Enduro:
"For the Chile ISDE in 2007, gold medals will go to participants who finish within 10% of their class' top competitor's total elapsed time, silver medals awarded for those within 40%, and all remaining finishers will be awarded bronze medals."

Thus, all finishers get a medal.

Regards,

Marco from Italy

[–] suertelou-widget 14 years ago

I just watched this, and they were pretty clear that he won "a" gold medal, not "the" gold medal.

They even spent lots of time explaining the strangeness (loudness = lost points) and difficulty level (very specific check-in times, time trials every evening for points, no help from others, all tools must be carried by the racer) of winning a gold medal. Plus, he was not a paid racer, like the rest of the Europeans competing.

This is what made his gold medal achievement impressive, not the misconception that only one was awarded.