Though the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony isn’t until Friday, competition starts today in several events, including soccer and Sevens rugby.
Over the next three weeks, there will be plenty of stories in each event, and each athlete will write their own story, whether successful or not. With the world watching, there will be unforgettable images broadcast around the world of triumph, tragedy, pageantry, and greatness.
Here’s what I think are going to be some of the most important stories coming out of this summer:
- Doping. I don’t think we’re ever going to fully be able to evade the scourge of cheating. We’ve noted stories about another suspected round of performance-enhancing substances being used by Chinese swimmers. More than 200 tests have been administered to the Chinese swim team in a 10-day period leading into the Games.
- Gutless enforcement of doping rules. Now, these tests are being administered against a background of a World Anti-Doping Agency which, seemingly, is unable to enforce its own rules. There were nearly two dozen positive tests for clenbuterol and TMZ (a heart drug) before the Tokyo games, and yet there was not a single suspension. Thirteen of the athletes who had tested positive were allowed to swim at Tokyo 2021.
- Other kinds of cheating. The detainment of a member of the Canadian women’s national soccer team’s support staff for flying a drone over New Zealand’s training session is showing just the lengths to which this team (and perhaps others) are willing to go to get some kind of intel on their opponents. Now, I don’t know whether the drone flights are a violation of an IOC or FIFA rule of some kind, but I know this is frowned on in many North American professional sports, dating back to 2017 when a drone was spotted over an Atlanta Falcons practice before the Super Bowl.
- Newer events: will they bring more eyes to the Games? The last few Olympics have included a number of athletic events which come from endeavors engendered by teenagers — skateboarding, BMX racing, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and, this summer, breakdancing.
- Expectations and possible great falls? The United States have dominated women’s team sports in the last 30 years — winning multiple medals in basketball, softball, and soccer. Question is, can they keep up the dominance? The women’s national soccer team has been without a world title (FIFA or Olympic) for nearly 350 days, one of its longest title droughts since late 1991. The women’s basketball team, having lost last weekend to the WNBA All-Star side, has to go in with a dent to its confidence.
- The spectre of wagering. Sure, there has been some kind of wagering, legal or otherwise, on Olympic events for some time. But with legal wagering across the United States in the last few years, a number of sports books have been offering any number of betting types across many sports. I wonder, given the amount of money being wagered globally on sports, if this is the Olympiad in which corruption is fully laid bare.
- The rise of Africa. Sure, there have been great athletes from Africa in many sports in the Summer Olympics. But I think an Eritrean cyclist named Biniam Girmay might be a great figure in this Games. He is the current green-jersey holder of the Tour de France, and is entered in the men’s individual road race. Mind you, he won’t have any Eritrean teammates for drafting and blocking purposes. But if he is able to keep the race close in the last few kilometers, he could win a bunch sprint.
- The home team. Keep an eye on France when it comes to the medal count. I think they will find a way to improve in many events. I think they may wind up sweeping both men’s and women’s soccer, which would cause an absolute sensation.
