It’s been some time for the reason that Olympics have been, properly, this enjoyable.
No matter is within the air (we gained’t discuss what’s within the water—particularly within the Seine), we’d prefer to bottle it up. Snoop Dogg in full equestrian garb, dancing with a horse? Sure, please. Ilona Maher searching for love within the Olympic Village (ahem, “the Villa”)? We’d tune into an ongoing collection. And now we even know the muffin man: He’s a Norwegian swimmer named Henrik Christiansen who can’t get sufficient chocolate treats within the cafeteria.
Carrying glasses is now iconic, because of Stephen Nedoroscik, a.okay.a. the pommel horse man or gymnastics Clark Kent, who grew to become an unlikely hero not only for fixing a rubik’s dice in lower than a minute, but additionally swooping in to assist Staff USA take the bronze medal within the males’s group competitors. Our utmost gratitude will at all times go to Bob the Cap Catcher, who bravely dove to the underside of the pool to retrieve a rogue swim cap, carrying essentially the most colourful speedo on deck.
The Paris Video games haven’t simply showcased the most effective athletic expertise on the planet, they’ve additionally put us on discover: Pleasure is again.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 5: (L-R) Simone Biles, Rebeca Andrade and Jordan Chiles take a selfie collectively on the finish of the Girls’s Flooring Train Ultimate on day ten of the Olympic Video games Paris 2024 at Bercy Enviornment on August 5, 2024 in Paris, France. (Picture by André Ricardo/Eurasia Sport Photographs/Getty Photographs)Eurasia Sport Photographs/Getty Photographs
It’s no secret that we’ve been by darkish days (okay, darkish years!) of late. After all we’ll proceed to grapple with the numerous injustices and cruelties of the world, nevertheless it’s turn out to be clear that we are able to additionally forge on with levity amid all this severe enterprise. The 2024 Olympics have proven us how.
Working example: On the finish of her competitors on the 2024 Olympics, Simone Biles, now essentially the most embellished gymnast in historical past, referred to as her expertise this 12 months “pure pleasure.” Juxtapose it together with her early exit from competitors on the Tokyo Video games to are likely to her psychological well being, which got here as USA Gymnastics was reeling from reckoning of allegations of abuse and long-standing mistreatment of its athletes. One factor I couldn’t assist however discover: The obvious pressure and concern that I’d seen beforehand on the faces of the women and girls competing for Staff USA have been nowhere to be present in Paris, changed by what seemed to be an genuine enjoyment of their sport and appreciation of the Video games. That may very well be seen when Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera have been celebrating huge wins, certain—they usually acquired these in Paris, positively—but additionally once they have been merely cheering on their teammates, warming up, or chilling after a match.