Although the Olympics originated in Ancient Greece around 3,000 years ago, with these Games they’ve come home to France, as it was Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin who revived the competition in the modern era in 1896.
Paris has proved to be a stunning location for the Games, although whoever decided to hold the opening ceremony on the River Seine clearly didn’t factor in the possibility of torrential rain.
I’ve noticed that the most memorable Olympic opening ceremonies invariably take place in countries either under authoritarian rule or dictatorships.
Hitler spared no cost hosting the 1936 Berlin games, certain they’d demonstrate his theory of Ayrian superiority; he was left squirming in his seat when black American athlete Jesse Owens proceeded to win three gold medals.
In 2008, China took no chances with their opening ceremony, utilising the first use of weather modification technology to prevent rainfall. Having tamed nature, they then presented the world with the awe-inspiring spectacle of 2008 drummers performing on traditional bronze Fou drums.
They maintained complete harmony of both drumming and movement – then again, the risk of imprisonment for a mistake does tend to concentrate the mind.
Beyond the incursions of world despots and dictators, the Games of the 20th century were habitually tainted by drug scandals.
The 100m men’s final in Seoul in 1988 saw Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson set a new world record of 9.79 seconds to win the Olympic title. Both his physique and jaundiced yellow eyes led me to suspect he was abusing steroids, or ‘roided-up’ as we called it when I competed as a powerlifter in my youth. Twenty-four hours later I was proved right when he was stripped of his gold medal and returned to Canada in disgrace, having failed a test for an anabolic steroid.
My favourite Olympic sport has always been boxing which, while never tainted by drugs, has instead been disgraced by its judges. Their decisions have undermined the Olympian oath to ‘respect and abide by the rules which govern the games in the true spirit of sportsmanship’.
Judging robbed Belfast boxer Michael Conlan of his dream of Olympic glory in Rio in 2016 when he lost to Russian Vladimir Nikitin in the quarter-finals of the bantamweight division – I challenge anyone to watch that fight and agree with the judges. Although emotional, Conlan’s reaction on their decision was justified when he claimed that “amateur boxing stinks from the core right to the top”.
I’d love to say things have changed but, if anything, some decisions by boxing judges in these Paris games prove the opposite. The loss by Aoife O’Rourke on a shock split-decision last Wednesday to Polish fighter Elzbieta Wojckeik stands out as another outrageous decision. And to prove I’m not being parochial, the defeat of the UK’s Delicious Orie in the super-heavyweight division was yet another injustice.
Amateur boxing proves the necessity to move from human bias to the certitude provided by artificial intelligence. This is eminently possible with the adoption of sensors in boxers’ gloves and computing analysis of video in real time.
Until this happens, the oath to compete ‘in the true spirit of sportsmanship’ will remain an unfulfilled aspiration.
To my surprise, I’ve picked up another favourite sport at these Olympics due to the achievements of Swedish pole jumper Armand Duplantis.
The 24-year-old won gold and then broke the world record with a jump of 6.25 metres – higher than a double decker bus.
In an event where the breadth of a hair can be the difference between triumph and failure, I couldn’t understand why he hadn’t set the bar higher, having cleared it with inches to spare.
My confusion disappeared upon learning that Armand is paid a cash bonus of between $30,000 - $100,000 by his sponsors each time he sets a new world record. It’s unsurprising, therefore, that he’s broken the record on no less than seven occasions since 2020.
There was also a magnificent failure in the same event when French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati failed to qualify for the final due to an underwear failure.
One of God’s favourites, Anthony hadn’t securely tucked his blessings away, leading to him to dislodge the bar in a unique fashion. Naturally he became an instant viral sensation and the pride of his nation.
In years to come, when his son enquires if he was disappointed, Anthony will reply: ‘Well, I was, but you’ll be glad to hear that due to genetics, I have some very good news for you.”
