After the 2024 Paris Olympics

Scanning social media sites during the Paris Olympics, I stumble over a friend’s post about the Women’s Basketball Gold Medal Final which reads:

France 33

USA 25

3^rd Quarter

France is on FIRE at home!!

His posts often elicit wild commentary from his diversely-opinionated friends so I scroll down to see what might be sparked by this and find:  

Friend’s Friend 1: we just won the gold!!! It was ugly but a win is a win.

Friend’s friend 2: sweet. That’s all that matters.

I get it. This is the Olympics. The gold medal is the goal. Perhaps within the context of the Games, a win is all that matters. Ugly or not.  

But is it?

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the non-governmental governing body that organizes the Summer, Winter, and Youth Olympics, encourages and abides (or is supposed to abide) by the Olympic Charter (originally published in 1908) which covers such things as the rules and by-laws and the fundamental principles of what is called Olympism.

According to the Charter, the three values of Olympism are excellence, respect, and friendship.

To quote the IOC page directly, “The original values of Olympism as expressed in the Olympic Charter

were to “encourage effort,” “preserve human dignity,” and “develop harmony.”

Over time, they have evolved and are now expressed in more contemporary terms as:

• Striving for excellence and encouraging people to be the best they can be.
• Demonstrating respect in many different manners: respect towards yourself, the rules, your opponents, the environment, the public, etc.
• Celebrating friendship, which is quite unique to the Olympic Games – an event that brings people together every few years.”
  

Excellence. Respect. Friendship. Encouraging effort. Preserving human dignity. Developing harmony. These are the ideals. These are the expectations. But, so often, Go for the Gold is the real driver. The medal count is the ultimate decider of merit. The questions athletes so often get asked are: “Did you win?” and “Are you any good?”

Because it is exciting to see Katie Ledecky absolutely dominate in the water. 

And Rugby star Ilona Maher promote body positivity with her forthright discussions on her own body shape and size and her observations on how she was and is judged by those factors, how it took her a long time to realize that her “big” body helped her be powerful and strong, how she’s using her knowledge and platform to give other people, especially girls and women, a new way to understand the body and more specifically the female body, how she emphasizes the truth that there is no one right shape, size, or weight to be.   

And to see Mondo Duplantis beat his own world record and make a new Olympic record on his last pole vault attempt with the support of his sports’ mates, the crowd, and me and my mom on the edges of our seats on her couch in her house.

And Steph Curry sink three-pointer after three-pointer in the gold medal match against France.

And the nail-biting uncertainty by the Dutch team of who had gotten the gold after the excitement of the women’s skiff sailing race final in which the Netherlands and the USA take an amazing lead and then to the announcers (and our) surprise and horror cross the wrong finish line allowing Sweden to take first place in the race and win silver overall. (Since the gold medal is determined by overall points and not the final race on its own, the Dutch team did in fact end up with the gold, beating Sweden by only 2 small points).

And to see Sha’Carri Richardson hold off Jamaica to finish out the USA women’s beautiful 4x100m relay with a speed and separation that she makes look so easy.

And the Mexican Synchronized Diving team win silver during the springboard final.

And athletes across sports adopt Turkey’s silver medal winner Yusuf Dikec’s one hand in the pocket, one hand outstretched (as if holding a pistol) casual pose after they’ve won.

So much wonderful winning.

But what I love more is the handshake clap that opposing Judokas give each other before they start the match. The hugs exchanged by winners or losers with those who win or those who lose, with teammates, coaches, parents, partners, or friends. The way the crowd gasps or cheers in sorrow or support of an athlete whose efforts activate that same yearning inside of each of us to be good, to win, to try the impossible, and to be seen. The way an athlete’s interviews and stories make human those who seem superhuman. The way the pole vaulters who failed to complete a height and thus come to the end of their part in the competition, raise a hand to the crowd in acknowledgement of the attention and support, in acknowledgement of the heartbreaking, hope-inducing hard work they put in to get to that point, in goodbye. The apparent friendships between the Breaking athletes seen in those moments before or after they battle; a smile, a fist bump, a hug, a bit of affectionate trash talk. The way that I tear up when someone wins or loses regardless of their country of origin.

What I love about the Olympics is the bringing together of the world, of people, of athletes, of dreams, of friendship, of rivalries, of effort. I love being able to vicariously taste victory and sometimes defeat (though I have much more personal, firsthand experience with that). I love seeing how people move their bodies in incredible and unbelievable ways, pushing limits, breaking records, winning hearts, showing grit, resilience, and wisdom.

I also appreciate the talk around mental and emotional health, around equality, about what athletes deal with when they go home feeling as if they’re carrying failure around their necks instead of a medal, about ensuring safe training environments for athletes, the pushback against abusive and/or old methodologies, and the acknowledgment of how so often athletes have to relearn who they are when separated from their sport and how to tackle it.

Olympians aren’t superhuman. They’re incredible. They’re dedicated. They’re fun to watch. They’re extreme representations of effort, skill, and training. They’re amazing. But they’re human.

What I love is human capability. What I love is for people, people just like you and me, to have the chance to go after mastery and excellence. What I love is the realization of dreams. What I love is inspiration and hope. The Olympics show those things.

All this to say, I don’t think that winning is all that matters. Sure, winning is something. Winning is certainly gratifying. Winning feels good. But I also believe that more important than winning itself is how one wins. And how one lives when one loses. How one exemplifies the values of Olympism on or off the sporting fields and in or out of the arenas. There’s more. There’s more than winning. There are more ways to measure success than with a gold medal. Or a silver or a bronze.   

The Olympics show this to us too.

So, it’s the end of August and one more Olympics has been completed. As we anticipate the start of the Paralympics in a few days or the next Winter or Summer Olympics, as the athletes prepare to compete and/or continue their training or retire from their sport, and we do whatever it is that we do, may we all live the best lives we can, however that looks, and whatever that means.

May we hold the values of Olympism. May our efforts be rewarded. And if they’re not, may we have the grace and humor to learn and grow and to be happy anyway.