I am a fan of the Olympics, but I would not consider myself a super fan. I’ll watch the occasional event — especially with our American superstars and countless rising stars — but I do not have an interpersonal connection to the Olympics outside of being a viewer.
I cried four times, however, watching various Olympic events this year and quickly discovered I adore watching these exceptional athletes accomplish something entirely of their own grit, dedication, physical strength and, most impressively, their mental toughness.
The Olympics are an incredible opportunity for athletes worldwide to display their hard work and make major strides in athleticism on behalf of the entire world.
Controversies surround what the host city, Paris, got wrong at the Olympics. Some of these included $1.4 billion spent on cleaning the Seine — for it to still barely meet International Olympic Committee safety standards — playing the wrong national anthem for South Sudan and many more mistakes.
The IOC consistently receives backlash. Some believe that the IOC is “elitist, domineering and crassly commercial at its core” or that the costs of hosting the Olympics have skyrocketed, while the economic benefits are far from clear.
The Olympics are complicated, to say the least. Many countries do not want to host the Olympics due to domestic, political, social and economic issues. Then, when you’re tasked with organizing more than 200 National Olympic Committees that represent countries at the games, there are bound to be imperfections.
These challenges, however, arise with the task of organizing. If you find yourself frustrated with the Olympic hiccups and the flawed Olympic committee, just take a step back. Every country’s government is flawed in some way. Yet, the Olympics attempts to organize these imperfect countries for an event of peace amongst strife. From my understanding, that is a very noble feat.
I’ve observed it’s the most patriotic many Americans ever feel in their lives, when we get to cheer our fellow Americans on. It shows both national pride and fosters respect towards other countries.
We get to watch strangers — and, in rare cases, some friends and family — compete with the best athletes in the world out of respect for what human beings are capable of. Not just human beings in our country, but the entire world.
Don’t just take it from me. An invaluable perspective about the Olympics is from athletes and aspiring Olympians themselves. I asked a few of the University of Oregon’s own student-athletes how they feel about the Olympics.
Aaliyah McCormick, a women’s track and field athlete, shared that her mother qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens while she was pregnant with her and decided not to compete because of that.
McCormick, an aspiring Olympian herself, stated, “I want to win the gold not only for myself but for her. The Olympics are where the best of the best come to compete for the gold and to be a part of that would be an honor.” McCormick added, “Seeing even some college students that made it to the Olympic stage is even more inspiring because it reassures [me] that I can do it.”
Athletes like McCormick make the Olympics what it is: a beautiful display of hard work, perseverance, excellence and rigorous training to achieve something for themselves, their families, their communities and their countries.
I know many people may not watch the Olympics for various reasons, or maybe they just don’t care to. I’m not saying you need to, but you are missing out. The Olympics are far from perfect but they display the extraordinary feats, records and physical limits that humans, athletes and Olympians alike continue to surpass, which I believe is worth being witness to.
There will never be a foolproof way to do the Olympics. But the Olympics show us what we already know.
Our world has corruption, inequalities, unfairness, advantages and disadvantages because of the lottery that is life. Countries are not on equal standing with one another. The Olympics expose the harsh unfairness of our world but also serve as an opportunity to challenge them.
In an NYT article from 2021, in reference to the Tokyo Olympics, Lindsay Crouse wrote it perfectly: “We can, and should, be critical of the Olympics as an institution while still appreciating the achievements of Olympians themselves.”
While people may be critical of the Olympics, ending them or ignoring issues will not fix them.
The Olympics do so much, regardless of how “well” a hosting country does.
Remarkable achievements flooded this year’s Olympics. To name a few, Cindy Ngamba earned the first-ever medal for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in women’s boxing. Four NOCs won their first-ever gold medal for their countries: Botswana, Dominica, Guatemala and Saint Lucia. Six world records were set by Americans, including Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 400m hurdles final, and the University of Oregon’s very own Cole Hocker won gold and set the Olympic record for the men’s 1500m.
Even the Olympians who did not receive medals nonetheless have remarkable lives and stories. Zeng Zhiying of Chile was one of many athletes who were not the “traditional youthful age of Olympians.” She stated, “It was our family’s dream, my dream, to get into the Olympic Games. That didn’t come true previously. But it’s OK. I’m now 58 years old, my dad is 92 years old. I finally made that dream come true for him.”
I cannot wait for the next Olympics, not because I have anything on the line personally, but because it’s one of the most remarkable events of competition, unity and peace on a global stage, even if only for a short few weeks.
