I wasn’t glued to the television or my smartphone to watch every aspect of the Olympics. However, I did go out of my way to make sure I watched the gymnastics competition just to see Simone Biles. She truly is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) when it comes to gymnastics. During one of her routines, where she was doing a double flip in the air, I swear she went higher on the second flip than she did on the first one. She definitely is entitled to every medal that she won.
And watching Simone (Silver) and Jordan Chiles (bronze) bow down to Brazilian gymnast Rebecca Andrade who took gold in the floor competition was heartwarming. It took two real athletes who understand the heartache and pain they go through for their sport to be able to honor someone who bested them.
The Olympics wouldn’t be the Olympics without controversy. As I write this column, Jordan Chiles lost her bronze medal because of officiating mistakes. As more information comes forward, that decision may have been in haste. Turns out there was timestamped evidence showing the request was made on time. One possible solution is to declare it a three-way tie and have all three gymnasts receive the bronze medal.
I took delight in watching the synchronized swimming. The American team had the first male athlete perform in such an event. Their ability to do what they can in 12 feet of water is amazing — legs sticking 2-3 feet out of the water in a synchronized dance. If you didn’t see the competition, feel free to google it.
I have strong feelings regarding the saga of women’s boxing. The Algerian female boxer dilemma is fairly reported in the AP press story, “Who is Imane Khelif?” Hopefully all the questions that have now come up can be resolved before the 2028 Olympics.
Snoop Dogg turned out to be the Olympic darling, earning nearly $14 million over the course of the games.
Lastly, the new category of break dancing was an absolute embarrassment. The genre created by American inner-city urban youth was dominated by the worst dancers ever. In particular, Rachael Gunn from Australia should have earned 0 points. Her absolutely embarrassing and stupid performance has gone viral for its lack of talent.
If the Olympics needs to add a new category, it should be roller skating. It would be nice to see some creative talent doing some real performances as opposed to the hot mess the break-dancing event was.
Sources:
* Why Biles and Chiles bowed to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade during the medal ceremony:
* AP story on Imane Khelif: (https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-imane-khelif-boxing-paris-2eb07d442ffb29a61e09911884dcdaa9)