Tomorrow, the 2024 Olympic Games will be declared officially open. The Olympic flame will be lit, and athletes from around the world will parade in behind their flags.
A little more than two weeks later, those same athletes will come together again for the closing ceremonies—but this time, as individuals; perhaps arm in arm with a new international friend. It’s one of my favorite symbols of the Games, this transformation from country identity to member of an elite international clan.
Twenty summers ago, I marched into the Athens opening ceremonies surrounded by the height and hype of Team USA; basketball players, swimmers, runners—and of course my fellow sailors. I will never forget the roar of the crowd, the dizzying camera flashes, and how absolutely everyone was smiling; it remains one of my top three memories. I was not your typical Olympian, but in that parade I shared a common joy with all the athletes.
Not your typical Olympian, because I had recently turned 40. On the Team USA bus to the stadium that night, a gymast first asked me my sport—and then if I was a coach. In her world, I would’ve aged out two decades earlier.
Luckily, sailing remains a lifetime sport. This year, Stu McNay will celebrate his 43rd birthday while sailing his fifth Olympics! This is the first Games with one combined medal in the 470 (one man, one woman on each boat), so Stu has teamed up with 2020ne Olympian Lara Dallman-Weiss. I’m rooting for the entire US team of course, but I’ll be cheering especially loudly for these two veterans, because they have the experience I lacked at my first and only Games; the self-knowledge about how each can best embrace or ignore the hype and hysterics that makes the Olympics more five-ring circus than “just another regatta.”
The level of professionalism and the hours to prepare and qualify have only increased in the past 20 years, which is inspiring all on its own as I watch from the comfort of my own couch. Good luck to all, and Let the Games Begin!
Carol, thanks for your reflections on your Olympian experiences. I could feel the pride you shared with us. I also read your linked posts with great interest, even while I don’t know a mainsail from a mamselle. (A little Paris reference there.) You have a talent with both boths ‘n books and I’m looking forward to a release date for your next “Cooperation Island” book!
Thanks Larry. Love the mainsail/mamselle aliteration!