Oympic sport "contested"

[Joel S. Berson]

I've heard it.  And the OED has

6. intr. To strive or contend (in a general
sense).  With e.g. 1733 POPE Ess. Man III. 303
For Forms of Government let Fools contest.

7.[a] trans. To contend, struggle, or fight for;
to dispute with arms.a1626 BACON Polit. Fables
ix, The matter was contested by single combat.
1818 SOUTHEY Fun. Song P'cess Charlotte, Mournful
was that Edward's fame, Won in fields contested
well. 1868 FREEMAN Norm. Conq. (1876) II. x. 480
Every defensible spot of ground was stoutly
contested by the Britons. 1874 GREEN Short Hist.
ii. §4. 77 There was none of the house of Godwine to contest the crown.

  9. trans. To contend for in emulation.  1725
POPE Odyss. XXI. 144 Accept the tryal, and the
prize [JSB: Olympic gold?] contest. 1832 LANDER
Adv. Niger I. vi. 244 The race was well
contested. 1888 MORLEY Burke 16 That he contested
Adam Smith's chair of moral philosophy at Glasgow along with Hume.

Joel

At 2/21/2010 04:12 PM, Eric Nielsen wrote:
>This seems an unusual use of "contested".
>
>Skeleton returned to the Olympics in 2002 after a 54-year hiatus. The sport
>was previously contested in both 1928 and 1948, the two times the Winter
>Games were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The resort town in the Swiss
>Alps is widely considered birthplace of the sport. So when the Olympics came
>to St. Moritz, skeleton was added to the Olympic program and contested on
>the famed Cresta Run in St. Moritz. Only a men's event was held. Since the
>Winter Games never returned to St. Mortiz, skeleton never returned to the
>Olympic program.
>
>http://www.nbcolympics.com/skeleton/insidethissport/history/newsid=260523.html#skeleton+history
>
>Eric
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org