The Olympics is about More than Medals
A 1995 study by psychologists Victoria Medvec, S.F. Madey, and Thomas Gilovich found that bronze medalists often appeared happier than silver medalists. Researchers have suggested that this may be because silver medalists may focus on what they could have done to win gold, while bronze medalists may be content to have made it to the podium.
The Olympics will offer us moments of triumph and moments highlighting the “agony of defeat.” We will see dreams come true and dreams unfulfilled. Some will return home victorious and some will feel like losers (even though making it to the Olympics at all is an accomplishment that few will ever experience.
Each of us have particular Olympics memories, whether they are winter or summer, that stand out. The Men’s basketball Dream Team, The Miracle on Ice, Kerri Strug’s vault and Muhammud Ali lighting the Olympic torch while struggling with Parkinsons.
Maybe those moments make an indelible impression because of how old we were when they happened. Maybe they left their mark because we truly understand the breadth of their back story. Maybe they were inspirational, propelling us to greatness in our own lives. Maybe it was because we witnessed something truly unique, once in a lifetime, extraordinary.
And there are moments that leave us devastated, athletes who have pushed themselves beyond their ability and are injured beyond an ability to recover. Tragic accidents that occur in real time and are shown in close up and slow motion replay. They are moments that leave us breathless, praying, hoping they are ok. We have watched as an athlete lies motionless and we look to see any sign of life.
It is expected 1 billion people will watch the Olympics’ opening ceremony around the world and 326,000 will be there in person – a downsizing of the planned 600,000 on security grounds. The event is set to be the first Olympic opening ceremony held
15.3 million visitors are expected to flock to the capital for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games
First and foremost the Olympics are about the triumph of the human spirit and some people’s abilities to transcend their bodies. However, in the end, the Olympics are supposed to entertain.
According to Reuters, karate was rejected from past Olympic bids because organizers said “the sport lacked entertainment value and the ability to attract a younger audience.” The latter sentiment is hard to argue against, as the “kata” division, where athletes execute a series of “fixed defensive and offensive moves” can only be appreciated by a very small subset of people interested in sport in the first place.
Yet, it is what happens while we are watching that often has a far more lasting impact than anything the athletics do on the field, track, pitch, course, pool or anywhere else they compete.
Jesse Owens achieved international fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, by winning four gold medals: 100 meters, long jump, 200 meters, and 4 × 100-meter relay. He was the most successful athlete at the Games and, as a black American man, was credited with “single-handedly crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy”.
Or when during their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 16, 1968, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of the US national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Or the Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team, and took nine others hostage.
Over the course of the Olympics, beginning today in Paris, we will see incredible feats. We will hear stories of courage and bravery as the networks fill in the backstories of so many remarkable athletes. We will hear stories of humble beginnings and natural skills. We will be treated to stories of overcoming the odds and remarkably supportive families.
We will see world records broken and near misses. We will see runners collapse and swimmers who look like dolphins. People will run faster and jump higher and we will be introduced to new sports such as Urban Style Dance and Sport Climbing. We will see people standing on platforms crying as their national anthem is played. They will be interviewed and we will get goosebumps as they thank coaches and parents.
Sports means so much more. Welcome to my blog Enlightenment from the Stands.