Let’s face it- the Olympics were ugly. Instead of inspirational stories about trials and triumphs, the news feeds every morning were scandals and tits for tats in Paris. Everything from disagreement about “what is a woman” to doping scandals on the Chinese swimming team, from spats between Olympic gymnasts to snatched medals and defending bows on the podium, from wearing a hijab on the podium to disqualification from competing in the finals for being 100 grams overweight. It doesn’t get more bizarre than this, or can it?
Of course it can. Why not have drag queens reenact the Last Supper? Any other holy book they would like to reenact?
There were things the French Olympic committee could control but didn’t, such as beds in the Olympic Village made of cardboard, complaints about poor food and insufficient air conditioning. A photo of Italian swimming gold medalist Thomas Ceccon shows him sleeping on a white towel in a Paris park for respite. Some athletes left voluntarily and checked into hotel rooms, while others have been asked to leave for violating rules.
And then there’s the Seine River, from which multiple athletes have gotten ill after competing in triathlon events. Some of them were hospitalized.
If that’s not enough controversy for you, there’s a blast from the past. Figure skaters who competed in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will finally have a medal ceremony in Paris. The US and Japan will be given gold and silver, respectively, after the Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled a member of the Russian figure skating team was guilty of doping. Russia, who dropped to third place, can’t even attend the ceremony because they’re not allowed at the games, period, over their aggression in Ukraine.
The ripple effects continue but have moved to page six- articles like why the fastest man in the world can’t get a shoe deal.
IOC president Thomas Bach apparently has had enough. He will step down in 2025. One of the top contenders for his seat, Sebastian Coe, wants a clear definition of male and female competitors. Aside from blasphemy, this was the biggest controversy in the summer Olympics of 2024.
Reports used the term “failed gender test.” How does one “fail” a gender test? Why not simply state that the person meets or doesn’t meet eligibility requirements to compete with other women?
The presence of a Y chromosome is not the only factor differentiating males and females. Some people are born with a condition in which their body does not process testosterone, so even though they have XY chromosomes, they develop like females, long considered the default absent the Y chromosome’s gene expression. Some people don’t find out until much later in life (most notably, when they don’t get a period) that they were actually born male.
The particulars for these two athletes that won gold and silver in the women’s 66 kg division are not available. Visually, however, they appear to have male gender expression in their faces and physique. The gold medalist’s former sparring partner reports the fighter is a male in power and technique. The IOC allowed the games to continue without a full investigation. Someone could have seriously gotten hurt.
I have fond memories of watching the Olympics as a kid. Back then, it was east versus west. It was about something noble, something to strive for.
What messages did our kids get from this Olympics?
If you find yourself overcome by the whirlwind, like I was, look for the few bright spots, like the amazing finishes in track and field. Or, you could look at Yusuf Dikec, the handsome Turk who won the silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. He looks like he came off the street. No fancy clothing, large ear protectors, or weird eyeglasses. Just a man shooting an air gun with one hand in his pocket.
The Serbian team may have won the top medal, but Dikec won people’s hearts, and in the end, that’s what the Olympics is about.
