Lessons Learned from Tokyo Olympics

 The Tokyo Olympics, as any widely viewed athletic contest, provided an insight into the sports world of participating countries, the goals of participating athletes, and the nature of competition in a world affected by wars, a major pandemic, and climate change.  This blog introduces a series about what we have learned by this year’s Olympic contest, particularly about new trends and directions, challenges, and the minds of the athletes themselves.  If viewing the Olympics before and now has taught us anything, it is that this ultimate international competition can surprise us in many ways such as more deeply understanding the nature of competition, that athletes come in all sizes, shapes, and aspirations, that historical events play out before our very eyes, and that current issues impact greatly on outcome of competition.  This blog reviews a brief history of the nature of Olympic competition, its challenges, and successes.

 

When Pierre de Coubertin heralded the development of the modern Olympics in the early 1900’s (1), his intention was to not only establish an international theater for high level competition, but also to establish that sport was for all people.  In doing so, the rise of the modern Olympics also gave opportunity for all countries to develop sports that could reach all citizens.  Thus, the Sport for All movement was conceptualized, even though the concept of sport opportunities for everyone did not become firmly established until much later.   Thus, Olympic competition developed in many ways, country by country, and sport governance was influenced by the ideology of a country, from authoritative or laissez-faire. In the United States, sport competition evolved as a separate sphere of influence, and government policy on sport did and does not exist.  In other countries, sport competition was more top-down with government policy influencing how sports were organized, financially supported, and represented.  Therefore, as national sport organizations (NSOs) formed, governmental policies in many countries developed to provide financial support for training, facilities, and operation. These developments yielded varying ways that governments supported high level sport outcomes, either through close contact or hands-off policy development.  Admirably, the United States, with its fragmented sports network of national and local organizations and minimal oversight by national governing policy, has been exceptionally formidable in the attainment of success at Olympic competitions, partly due to the varying ways that Olympians develop over the many sports and training opportunities that exist in the country.

 

This series will consist of five blogs that address several notable results and lessons from the Tokyo Olympics including impact of sport competition on the athlete, the nature of sport organizational development, the experience of COVID, unexpected results from this competition, and a summary of lessons learned.

 

Impact of Sport Competition on Athletes

 

A strong lesson from the Tokyo Olympics is the view given to the psychological pressures affecting athletes at this level of competition.  Simon Biles’ request to remove herself from competition due to psychological distress was one of the most dramatic issues faced by the modern Olympics.  Her actions and explanations represented a tip of the iceberg regarding what athletes go through at this and other high levels of competition.  She gave us a glimpse of what might be needed to prevent this from happening in the future, and she challenged the sport world to provide better protections for athletes who are expected to compete in a world arena. 

 

Sport Organizational Development

 

That said, the fragmented system of national and local sport program delivery is not without its critics.  Of greatest concern being expressed today is the lack of access to sport participation in the widest array of sports by many underserved populations based on race, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, age, sexual orientation, and other factors.  Facilities and programs appear to be distributed unevenly in many cities and towns, so much so that it has taken decades to see diversity in sport competition among many sports.  The Tokyo Olympics, while heralding more competitors who come from underserved populations, still represented much higher percentages of privileged classes of athletes.  Therefore, the challenges of access and opportunity continue today.

 

Experience of COVID 

 

The experience of trained athletes competing without audiences was a new one in this Olympic event.  The quiet, even with athletes in the seats cheering their fellow Olympians, was profound, and competitions seemed eerily subdued and surreal.  In addition, athletes had to be tested, socially distanced, masked, and removed from competition if testing positive.  The ultimate stress of these necessary procedures is incalculable.  In addition, the Tokyo Olympics was held in a country where the pandemic had reached high levels, and citizen protests were very prominent before and during the event.

 

Unexpected Results

 

Who thought that a swimmer from Tunisia in eighth place would win gold?  This Olympics was full of similar surprises. The blog will contain some of the most unexpected wins and will contain the response of many of those who did not win as expected.  It will include gracious and not so gracious concessions made by athletes, and ultimately demonstrate that the best competitions feature grace under pressure.  The Tokyo Olympics, as well as other international competitions, did not disappoint spectators who saw incredible skill, amazing highs and lows, and ultimately top athletes who will continue to represent this modern competitive event.

 

Summary

 

In summarizing the blog series that will appear in the next five installments, lessons from the Tokyo Olympics will be revealed in more detail, and hopefully will provide the reader with the tour de force that a modern Olympics truly is.  It is in the lessons learned, however, that real progress is made toward better opportunities for aspiring athletes, better run competitive events, improved coaching, and better understanding of the health and wellbeing of all athletes.

 

References

 

(1) Orr, T. J. & Jamieson, L. M. (2021). Sport and Violence: A Critical Examination of Sport. 2nd Ed. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Venture.

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Dr. Lynn M. Jamieson