When the Olympic Games formally kick off in Paris on Friday, the eyes of a hopeful nation will be on the United States team in its quest for glory. Our country is fortunate to send nearly 600 world-class athletes to France this year, and millions will watch at home as they compete across the Atlantic.
Virginia will have plenty of favorites to follow, including local talents from Hampton Roads, and they should know the commonwealth will swell with pride to see them on such a grand stage. May all Americans feel the same and view these Games as an opportunity for good-natured patriotism and national unity.
The Olympics tend to draw people into one of two camps: those who feel they are a glorious celebration of athletic prowess showcasing the world’s most remarkable athletes, and those who view them as a staggeringly wasteful spectacle stained by corruption, abuse and greed.
In truth, there’s plenty to admire, and plenty to disdain, about the Games. But only the most dour would dismiss the marvel of the international community coming together to compete against one another. Paris will welcome the world this summer — athletes, coaches and spectators alike — and the City of Lights hopes to shine brightly in doing so.
These Games will stand in contrast to those scheduled in Tokyo four years ago, but held in 2021 after a postponement due to the COVID pandemic. Attendance in Japan was limited, athletes were largely secluded and, for those of us on the East Coast, the time difference made the events a challenge to follow live.
Unchanged is that the United States and other participating nations are sending teams eager to compete on behalf of their home countries. The athletes wear their colors with pride, determined to be atop a medal stand as their national anthem plays and their country’s flag unfurls.
That, in turn, inspires patriotism that we can hope blows across this country like an ocean breeze on a warm summer day. With a bitterly contested presidential election looming in November, a deeply divided America would be served by rallying around the dreams carried to Paris on the shoulders of U.S. athletes — our Olympic team — in the coming weeks.
Among those competing for the United States are 16 Virginians, including field hockey player Leah Crouse and BMX freestyle rider Justin Dowell, both of Virginia Beach; Chesapeake’s Grant Holloway, who won a silver medal in Tokyo competing in the men’s 110-meter hurdles; and 16-year-old track phenom Quincy Wilson, a Chesapeake native. Hampton Roads will be cheering all the more when their events take place.
Other ties to the commonwealth abound, as there are numerous athletes who honed their craft at Virginia colleges and universities and qualified for these Olympics, either for the United States or for other countries. That reflects positively on what our schools can offer international students, not only on the playing field but in the classroom.
Olympic participants from 757 schools include Old Dominion University’s Stephanie Roble, who will compete in sailing for the U.S. in her second Games, and Hampton University’s Edose Ibadin and Chidi Okezie, who will compete for Nigeria in track events.
In an ideal world, the next two weeks would see a suspension of global conflict as the international community gathers in Paris for the Summer Olympics. The tradition of an “Olympic Truce” dates to the earliest Games in ancient Greece, but was revived in modern times in an effort to promote the spirit of peace.
But it’s not an ideal world. Suffering and strife abound, and two weeks of international athletic competition will do nothing to alleviate it. When the Games conclude, the plight of those affected will remain.
What we may take from the Games, though, is an understanding of our common humanity and the importance of every moment. Let these athletes and these Olympics inspire us to not just dream of a better world, but to commit ourselves to building it.
