There is something special about the Olympic Games.
From the time I was young I can recall a sense of occasion, an energy, a buzz, a put-your-worries-aside-for-a-moment vibe.
In a crowded world with crowded memories you always have Olympics memories. They have a way of grabbing memory cells and keeping hold.
Even though I was just a kid in 1976, I still remember the Montreal Olympics, when 14 year old Romanian, Nadia Comaneci, became the first gymnast to earn a perfect score – followed by six more at those Games alone! Watching her burst on to the scene was enthralling.
Four years later came the disappointment that Australia would join a 45 nation boycott of the Moscow Games over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. This worked well for Russia which – Surprise! Surprise! – topped the medal tally.
Then there were the 85 grand pianos, marching bands and rocket-propelled man flying around the stadium for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics’ Opening Ceremony.
A nation cheering on Kieran Perkins to win gold in the 1500m freestyle in Barcelona in ‘92, then again in Atlanta in ’96. Despite setback after setback, Perkins successfully defended his Olympic championship, and the Aussie crowd went wild.
But more than the medals, the Olympics is a tremendous symbol of unity and goodwill.
Kids get to stay up past their bedtimes to watch the swimming or the pole vault or the archery – a sign of the uniquely southern hemisphere experience of the Games.
When Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics, it was our northern hemisphere friends who got a taste of TZD – time zone discrimination.
The Paris Games will have Aussies once again burning the midnight oil. Although, with the surfing being held in French Polynesia and, with Tahiti only four hours ahead of us, we might get to see some gold medal bottom turns and aerials over breakfast. (Yes, I’ve read the glossary of surfing terms in preparation.)
This is the third time Paris has hosted the summer Games – 1900, 1924 and now 2024. It feels right that the Olympics has returned several times, given it was Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who revived the Games in 1896 after a long hiatus.
The Olympic Games had been held every four years for 12 centuries at Olympia in Greece, starting in 776 BC. But around 393 Roman Emperor Theodosius banned the Games believing they were a pagan cult.
The Olympics started as a religious festival dedicated to Zeus who was considered the celestial embodiment of manhood, physical strength and victory.
It is believed that the athletes competed naked as a show of their own physical power and muscular physique – an homage to Zeus and a way to intimidate their rivals.
It should be noted that competitors in equestrian events were, fortunately, exempt from the nude rule.
But there is another theory about the lack of athletic attire.
It is said in 720 BC Orsippos, a runner from Megara, was running in the stadion race, a 200 yard (180 metre) sprint. Lo and behold, his loincloth accidentally fell off. Before he knew it, he’d sparked a trend and the Olympics became a place where men were unencumbered by the tyranny of non-aerodynamic fabric.
Only male spectators were allowed to enter the stadium to watch the (male only) Games, with the exception of the Priestess of the Goddess Demetra who was permitted to attend and sit at the altar of the deity.
How the times have changed.
For the first time in Olympic history, there will be full gender parity on the field of play after the International Olympic Committee distributed quota places equally across 10,000 female and male athletes.
In addition, 70 French local authorities committed to rename their sports facilities after prominent women. And, in another first, the women’s marathon – rather than the men’s – will conclude the Games.
In our own Olympic team of 460 athletes, 256 are women and 204 are men. That’s a long way from the Australian team that went to the Paris Olympics in 1924 which had 37 members and precisely zero women.
The oldest team member is equestrian, Shane Rose, at 51 and the youngest is skateboarder, Arisa Trew, who is just 14. Fun fact. Another skateboarder on the Olympic team, 15 year old Ruby Trew, is no relation to Arisa but they’re good buddies.
In the Olympic Village, our team will be surrounded by comforts from home – Milo and Weetbix, and three baristas from Australia to ensure the flat whites are up to scratch.
The team barista idea started at Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021 due to the pandemic) when the Australian Olympic Committee hired a coffee cart. By chance, it was staffed by an Aussie living in Japan who learned his craft in Fitzroy, Victoria. As we know, Melbourne is the epicentre of world class coffee…in my humble and very subjective opinion.
But, the countdown to the Paris opening ceremony is nearly done.
In another break from tradition, the ceremony will not be held in a stadium but on the famous Seine River which crosses through the centre of Paris.
The national teams will be aboard boats, the riverbanks will be lined with spectators of what is sure to be a magical event that marks the start of 16 days of the crème de la crème of international sportspeople competing at the highest level.
We’ll all become instant experts in diving, archery, rhythmic gymnastics, skeet shooting and canoe slalom.
We’ll complain about staying to watch the men’s and women’s swimming finals. But we’ll do it.
We’ll marvel at how hurdlers would still beat us even if we got a 100 metre head start and didn’t have to jump a fence every eight and half metres.
And, we need not feel too sad once the Games are over because we get to do it all again with the Paralympics from 28 August.
Australia has sent a team to every Paralympics since their inception in 1960.
Five time Paralympian and three time gold medallist, Kurt Fearnley said that, over the decades, the Paralympics has become less about just participation and more about competitive excellence – the acknowledgement of the skill and dedication needed to become a world-class athlete.
The Olympics and Paralympics give us unforgettable moments in our lives.
As United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres will remind us in his message at the Opening Ceremony, sport has the power ‘To bring hope. To transcend cultures. To unite people. To promote mutual respect and fair play’.
Let the Games – and all the good things they bring – begin.
