The Olympic Games are a popular international sporting event held during both the summer and winter where thousands of athletes from all over the world compete. The creation of the Olympic games started in 776 BC and took place in Olympia, Greece. Since then, the Olympic games have expanded to include competitions for those with disabilities called the Paralympics, which takes place every four years in the same year as the Summer or Winter Olympics.
The Olympics continues to have a pattern that features hosting the Summer or Winter every two years rotating from summer sports to winter sports. As the Olympics continue, it will always serve as a reminder of bringing people together to pursue excellence and gain mutual understanding.
The Olympics generally follow the same pattern of events each time they take place. The Olympics start with an opening ceremony where cultural performances, the parade of nations, and the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron occur. Once this is done, the sporting aspect of the Olympic games begins, in which each sport is divided into numerous events. Throughout the occurrence of the sports, the athletes participating drive themselves to break world records or even achieve their personal best times, ultimately making the event more exciting.
After each sporting event is over, the top athletes of each category are awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals. Finally, when the athletic period is over, the Olympic Games are finished off with a closing ceremony which may feature dancing and musical performances and the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame, officially marking the end of the competition.
This year, the 2024 Summer Olympics will be taking place and will be hosted in Paris, France. The first day of the Olympics will be on Friday, July 26, and the last day is on Sunday, August 11.
Within these dates, summer sports that are beloved all around the world, from nation to nation, will be played. Some of these sports include basketball, boxing, track & field, swimming, surfing, wrestling, and many more.
To serve as a refresher as we get closer to this significant event, in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Team USA finished with a total of 113 medals, China with 88 medals, and the Russian Olympic Committee with 71 medals.
To gain an idea of how excited some students may be for the event, I asked BCCHS student Alexis Ramirez (12) which sport from the Olympics is he most excited to watch. He responded, “The sport I’m most excited to watch is soccer because it’s almost like a slight preview to the World Cup. Additionally, there are usually young talents who are sent to play in the Olympics–which always makes it fun.”
But as for now, we sit back and highly anticipate one of the largest sporting events in the world–which is right around the corner in July and August.
