Commentary: The Olympic Games Are Back – In the Fashion We Want
Remember three years ago? Tokyo was the host, and the Japanese people were beyond welcoming. But there were no spectators. There were no roars from the stands. Athletes wore masks in between events. So did officials and media members. Daily spit tests were required of all attendees. Everything about the 2020 Olympic Games was unique.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the world, altered the landscape of the biggest sporting event there is. Like any other Olympiad, there were stunning performances from the athletes, including world-record performances from the likes of Caeleb Dressel and Tatjana Schoenmaker.
Yet, as Paris is set to welcome the Games for the first time in a century, there is a sense of joy that the Olympics will once again be a gathering for the world. Athletes will be cheered in person by adoring fans. They’ll receive their medals to standing ovations – moments that are richly deserved. Parents will cry and journalists from around the world, working on 24-hour rolling deadlines, will tell stories of success, perseverance and heartache.
The Games are back – in the form we want.
My trip to Paris will mark the fifth time I’ve covered the Olympics in person. My first trip was to the 2008 Games in Beijing, where I had the chance to document when some guy won eight gold medals and set seven world records while etching a place in history. London was next, followed by Rio de Janiero and Tokyo. There have been memorable moments at each stop.
While the exploits of Michael Phelps stand out from that inaugural trip, there was something special about seeing Katie Ledecky win gold in the 800-meter freestyle in London. She was a 15-year-old at the time and while she had the potential to do great things in the years ahead, we couldn’t know with certainty that she would one day be regarded as the greatest female swimmer in history.
The 2016 Games offered the chance to watch Anthony Ervin win the 50 freestyle 16 years after he first won that title, and it featured a tie between Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak in the 100 freestyle. Then there was a five-year wait for Tokyo, the Olympics pushed back a year from their scheduled date of 2020. Simply to be there, when few were afforded that chance, was unreal.
What will 2024 bring? I’m no psychic, so it’s only guesswork. I’m pretty sure the French fans are going to go insane whenever home-grown hero Leon Marchand walks to the starting blocks. And if he wins at least one gold, as expected, look for one heck of a celebration.
Based on history, I’m sure there will be at least one shock winner, a la Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Balandin in the 200 breaststroke in 2016. There’s probably going to be some sort of controversy, too, with doping discussion at the forefront of the possibilities.
What is known is this: The athletes who have earned invitations to this sporting spectacle have dedicated their lives to being Olympians. In the United States, the gauntlet that is the Olympic Swimming Trials is widely considered more pressure-packed than the Olympics. That theory explains why Shaine Casas celebrated his qualification to Paris with pure joy, his emotions emerging via his actions at the finish of the 200 individual medley, and then through his words in his post-race press conference.
“I’ve played that race in my head, I’ve dreamt about it, visualized what that moment would be like,” Casas said. “I was kind of emotional because it was a lot to take in. That kind of represented my entire life’s work and everyone important to me, who helped me get to this point.”
This point? It’s the Olympic Games. Ready to light up Paris. Back to how they should be.
Can’t wait.
