Gransnet forums

Sport

I Never Realised The Olympics Is This Year, Sometime.

(281 Posts)
Charleygirl5 Mon 22-Jul-24 18:48:09

It starts this Friday and as it is in Paris at least we will not be watching a final at 2 am.

tanith Mon 22-Jul-24 18:43:04

Well I’ll be watching I love dipping in and out of different sports the swimming and athletics are favourites. I think it’s still significant to a lot of people.

LOUISA1523 Mon 22-Jul-24 16:32:16

I love the Olympics....I love the diving...the gymnastics....the rowing...the pole vault....the decathlon....all of it really....its very significant to me

Pammie1 Mon 22-Jul-24 16:07:57

I just love watching athletes at the peak of their fitness revelling in their ability.

MissInterpreted Mon 22-Jul-24 16:06:10

I think it still has merit, especially for the lesser known sports. Not all competitors have lucrative contracts or sponsorship - many are still very much in it for the love of their sport. You just need to listen to some of those who will be competing, especially for the first time, to see how much it means to them. And then there's the Paralympics, where the competitors are also very much worthy of recognition.

mae13 Mon 22-Jul-24 16:01:53

Is it significant these days?

Nowadays it's an event that gets swamped by accusations of cheating by using performance enhancing cocktails of drugs, before it even starts.

Then there's the usual crop of disqualifications and careers tarnished forever, but then there's a lot to aim for if an athlete gets the gold. Product endorsement worth millions, sponsorship and lucrative contracts galore. The temptation to do ANYTHING to shave a split second off a performance is tremendous. The days of Ancient Greece when athletes sought to excel in the pursuit of integrity and a laurel wreath have gone.

(Will we ever see the 100 metres sprint done in 1 second - there must come a point when the human body just cannot surpass its own capabilities.)