Paris Olympics 2024: What We Liked and What We Didn’t

Following Julio Velasco’s philosophy, we start from what is there and not from what is missing to tell what the Paris 2024 Olympics were for Italy and beyond.

The medals

There is a medal table that says forty Italian podiums, like in Tokyo, a record equaled, but with two more golds and three more silvers. However, it is not the numbers that count, it is the smiles and tears, it is difficult to forget those of Alice Bellandi on the judo podium.

In our opinion, the unexpected medals are the most beautiful.because they give the opportunity to know the stories of athletes and disciplines. The smile of George Malanbronze in the pentathlon, was priceless as was the amazement of Chiara Consonni And Victoria Guazzini in discovering that on the most important of days the best on the bike had been them. The same goes for the tears of Alice D’Amato queen of the beam on the day when Simone Biles she was not queen, but she bowed on the podium to Rebecca Andrade.

The women

Paris 2024 was the first Olympics with gender parity among athletes. We must confess to a weakness for the medals won by women. There are 15 plus the two that came in the mixed events, skeet and sailing. The ones we were most looking forward to arrived: Sarah Errani And Jasmine Paulini in tennis and the women’s volleyball team, an example of a close-knit and inclusive Italy.

Julio Velasco

Volleyball brings us to a name that is the history of this sport, a coach who takes home the gold this time with Egonu and teammates, but who reminded us of having rejoiced for that silver with the men in 1996. Many complain and remember a medal that never arrived. Velasco says no to the culture of complaint, we rejoice in what we get. Julio Velasco wins gold in our personal ranking and his embrace with Lorenzo Bernardione of his boys from thirty years ago, now on his staff, is worth a medal.

The Philosophy of Fourth Place

The first was the swimmer Blessed Pilate who said she was very happy with her fourth place. Not a missed medal, but a race that seemed impossible a year ago done to the best of her ability. A ten to those who try until the end and give their best. A fourth place at the Olympics (Italy has won about twenty) is worth a lot even if it doesn’t lead to a medal. It tells of a strong and varied sports movement. And as Benedetta Pilato reminded us, in Tokyo Thomas Cecconi he came fourth.

Swimmers and sexism

Appointing Ceccon means opening the chapter on swimming and unfortunately that of the sexualization of swimmers and their bodies. The Italian swimmer who asked to stop the messages that made him an object was promoted, all the sexist messages that reached men and women were rejected. She was also a victim of this Sarah Errani. There should be no different treatment. No to sexism always. At the beginning of the Olympics there was the case of the English scammers on Onlyfans: a very limited scandal, would it have been the same if they had been women?

Love

After Tokyo, the Olympics closed due to Covid, in Paris there were parents, boyfriends and friends. It was the Olympics of love, hugs and kisses. High marks for all this love without categorization and prejudice. If we really have to make a point: we have some doubts that the Olympics are the right place for a marriage proposal. Isn’t it a private matter?

The stars

It wasn’t just parents and boyfriends who came to Paris, there was also half of Hollywood and the entire world of sports, even non-Olympic ones. And there were thousands of fans always and everywhere. The Montmartre climb packed with people looked like a painting. The fans passed, but not all of them. The French ones went a bit beyond patriotism.

Paris from above

The city appeared wonderful, even more beautiful than we remembered. If what matters to an organizing committee is the legacy, what remains, in our eyes, is a wonderful image even if with a huge flaw.

The Seine

The flaw can be defined as a disaster and it is the Seine or it would be better to say the French stubbornness in wanting to hold races in a river that clearly has not been made swimmable. Why not have a plan B? Why not admit months ago that they have not succeeded and look for an alternative? The races were very difficult, swam next to the dock bringing a negative image of the river, and above all putting the health of the athletes at risk. Vote 0.

Treatment of athletes

Directly linked to the Senna issue is that of the Olympic village and in general the management of the athletes. If Gregorio Paltrinieri who has done four Olympics has defined the village of Paris as the worst it means something. The choices, starting from the lack of air conditioning, had sustainability as their objective. Many have been to the detriment of the athletes. Here a question remains open: who owns the Games? The athletes? The city that hosts them? The spectators? The perfect Olympics is in balance. Here the athletes’ side was missing.

The opening ceremony

No, it cannot be said that it was liked: the idea of ​​the widespread show was nice, but the result was less so, net of the appearance of Celine Dion. We certainly didn’t like the treatment reserved for guests like the President of the Republic Mattarella left in an uncovered stand in the rain. Even less did we like the controversy that arose over what was indicated as an even blasphemous reference to the Last Supper. Two days later it was explained that the reference was something else. Wouldn’t it have been more useful to give some information in the story of the ceremony? The Italian commentaries seemed to be in the dark about everything and certainly didn’t help. The closing one? Easier and with the bonus of Americanism towards Los Angeles 2028.

The Imane Khelif Question

Without a doubt, the thing we liked the least was the political exploitation of the case of the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. A form of aggression and bullying fueled by fake news about her sex was directed at her. As a woman, she has always competed and an artfully fabricated case forced her to defend herself in an unacceptable way and burdened the Italian boxer with an unsustainable psychological burden. Angela Carini who left the ring after a few seconds of the match with her. Clear, common and univocal rules are certainly needed for athletes with high testosterone, but the Olympic ring was not the one on which to handle this issue.

The referees

If the IOC handled the Imane Khelif issue well, it did not do the same in the refereeing choices. Too many incorrect judgments and the point is not impartiality, but incompetence. The Olympic Games need the best referees in the world to allow the best athletes in the world to compete at their best.

The Tamberi case

Finally, mentioning the best athletes in the world, we could not fail to mention the drama of Gianmarco Tamberi. A week of suffering between fever and renal colic. Him writing on social media everything that was happening to a body taken to the extreme. Is it possible that no one told him to stop before? That before an Olympic medal comes the health of the athletes? We did not like who was supposed to be next to this athlete, because he was not there.