The Olympics are done. London gets to go back to normal, television sets will no longer be filled with running and swimming, and the athletes will shift their focus either to Rio four years from now, or doing something else, depending on where they are in their career. Canada sent a message to the world, that message being that we really prefer the winter games, and we will get our chance to shine in Russia a couple years from now.
I like the Olympics, I watched a great deal of it, more than I should have. I enjoy it because it's a celebration of what the human body can do, the athletic achievements always being very impressive. I also like cheering on smaller countries to win medals and do well, because of an innate love of underdogs. Whenever I hear mention of a country winning its first medal, or even its first medal in a particular sport, I'm happy. I even like the spectacle of the thing, there's really not much else like it out there, and the elaborate opening ceremonies are always entertaining.
One of the things about the games I've never quite bought, however, is the International Olympic Committee's constant statement that the games are about bringing people together through sport. I've found that particular notion somewhat naive. Yes, they are physically together, but old grudges never seem to go away, and for many the desire to win trumps all. This year saw the strangest evidence of that, as four badminton teams tried to lose in order to get a favorable spot in the elimination rounds. Every so often you'd hear announcers go on about how some athletes are friends, or how everyone in a group is pretty close, but I never quite bought it.
This year, something did happen which made me think that it actually is possible to bring people together through sport, much to my surprise. It happened in the Women's Heptathalon, the seven-event athletic contest spread out over two days. The event was won by Jessica Ennis of Great Britain, and her winning in front of a home crowd is something that she's going to remember for the rest of her life. But watching the finals, I was struck by how all the athletes were congratulating Ennis, the woman who beat them, and then something else happened, a tradition in the event that actually is more in line with the supposed goals of the Olympic movement than anything else that happens in the game. There was a victory lap, but the victory lap wasn't for the winner. Every woman in the event celebrated, taking the lap together and celebrating as a large group. They waved to the crowd together, they congratulated each other as they walked, and they celebrated the fact that they completed a gruelling 2 day event together. I don't doubt that every competitor there wanted the medal Ennis had just won, but they still celebrated as a group.
That struck me as an unexpected moment in the games, but also an example of what they want to happen. It was competition, but it's also an experience that only people who compete in that event really can understand. There was a shared sense that everyone involved did something amazing, and were proud of their collective accomplishments. All Olympic athletes are doing something amazing, so maybe they can get brought together the same way.
