Big Olympic energy
Once every four years, we are honored with the privilege to watch the world’s most elite athletes compete on the grandest stage imaginable for two weeks.
The 2024 Paris Olympics were a spectacle to behold filled with drama, controversy and edge-of-your-seat excitement as we watched the best-of-the-best compete for a spot on the podium in team sports, individual sports, and even break dancing.
The opening ceremony drama, or the women’s boxing debacle notwithstanding, this year’s games were filled with wondrous, goose-bump-producing performances which showed everyone what it takes to become an Olympic medalist. The dedication, commitment, sacrifice and talent that every athlete who donned a uniform possessed was clear as we watched national, Olympic and world records be shattered and new heroes and role models in sport emerge.
We watched Katie Ledecky defy the laws of human capabilities in the pool as she crushed the competition every time she dove into the water to become the most decorated female U.S. Olympian of all time by earning her 13th medal in an incontrovertible way.
The mixed relays on both the track and in the pool brought home gold for the U.S. while also setting world records.
Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone showed us what grace, talent and determination can do, as they won gold as individuals and as part of a relay. Not only did they establish themselves as the epitome as female sprinters, but they also proved that you can be intelligent, faith-filled and beautiful at the same time.
Simone Biles — the GOAT of female gymnasts — powered through an injury she sustained while warming up for the floor exercise, the first contest of the games, to lead the U.S. to gold as a team and won gold as All-Around, on the vault, and took home silver in floor. She did all this after having to drop out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to suffering from the Twisties and other mental health issues.
Then there was the unforgettable Stephen Nedoroscik — the one-hit- wonder, Clark-Kent-becomes-Superman — hero of the men’s gymnastics team. He clinched the bronze medal for the team with his performance on the pommel horse, which was the last event of the team competition. His outstanding score sealed the deal for the U.S. to stand on the podium for the first time in 16 years. He then went on to win an individual bronze in the pommel horse as well. Just as an added bonus — he’s an adorable nerd who can solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than 15 seconds!
Was Noah Lyles cocky about his abilities as a sprinter for the U.S.? Without a doubt he was, but he backed up his talk by winning a gold medal in the 100 Meter Dash with a photo-finish lean at the finish line. He then earned a bronze medal in the 200 Meter Dash. Though he was expected to take the gold in that race as well, the fact that he finished third while suffering from Covid certainly demonstrated his dedication to his sport.
Though the list of outstanding performances goes on and on, it’s worth noting that U.S. women won 67 of America’s 126 overall medals, and if they competed as a country, would have finished third overall. That’s impressive.
As I watched the U.S. increase our tally of medals won throughout the games — decisively defeating the rest of the countries in numbers of medals going home — I thought about high school sports. We at Newcastle High School often feel like tiny fish swimming in a pretty big pond when it comes to competing in 3A division in Wyoming.
When our tank of 230 kids is up against schools who have stock ponds of 600 students, it doesn’t feel like a very equal playing ground.
Imagine being Julien Alfred, a sprinter from the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia with a population of under 200,000, going up against Sha’Carri Richardson of the U.S. in the 100 Meter Dash! When Alfred crossed the finish line ahead of everyone else, I couldn’t help but have so many feels for both her and her tiny country. I imagined it would be like defeating Douglas for the state championship in basketball!
The United States should be bringing home a lot of hardware, given our size and our elite training facilities and opportunities. Given that, I thought it was pretty awesome when we got to experience those rare occasions where athletes from countries with fewer advantages prevailed.
Finally, though she earned zero points from judges in her debut Olympic appearance, who can ever forget the Australian break dancer who broke the internet with her performance that has generated an endless supply of memes for our personal enjoyment, and probably will do for quite some time.
When all is said and done, I hope we are all inspired by the Big Olympic energy we absorbed for two weeks this August, and give everything we endeavor our all.