Excellence and Diversity, Paris 2024

After an interrupted 2020 summer Olympics, this one has gotten off to an inspirational start. I’m a fan of sports that feature diversity and where dreams come true. First, just being an Olympic athlete is an accomplishment. And since the world has gotten smaller, in that more is available to watch and learn from, diversity has increased beyond the elite college athletes to every corner of the planet. It’s always had surprises like in the 1938 Olympics that had many free world heroes that we still hear about. Following comes the Para-Olympics and the inspirations they bring.

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 have welcomed 37 athletes competing as part of the Refugee Olympic Team, which is serving as a powerful symbol of hope and inclusion for the 120 million displaced people around the world. Created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ahead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, when 10 refugee athletes made history competing under the Olympic flag, the Refugee Olympic Team has grown in size, with Paris 2024 seeing the biggest-ever delegation. Now, with its own emblem, the team includes 37 athletes.

Now for the excellence and the stories that got them here. For some it’s been a straight course and for others it was destiny. I root for them all. There are no losers. Having said this, I turn my attentions to Gymnastics and swimming. Katie Ledecky is in a class of her own. Even those she trains with say she brings her workout ethic to them and is unmatched. The USA is not the dominant team, but always intimidating because of their training facilities available. Then the goat of Gymnastics, Simone Biles, who looked composed and ready. The men’s all-around won a bronze medal after a long drought. Their enthusiasm was contagious, and I was excited for them.

Now it is into the second week of competition, and it has been exciting. The USA will always do well in the medal count. The competitions are more diverse, and nothing is a sure thing, like our basketball team not even medaling. But we’ve medaled in events for the first time. And today a woman from the tiny island of St. Lucia, in the Caribbean, won their first medal ever and beat the fastest woman in the world. This is what the Olympics is about, opportunities to excel in any given sport.