It is amazing — and inspiring — to think that a graduate of Prairie High School will have the world’s attention in the coming days.
Such is the power of the Olympics, which officially begin today with the Opening Ceremony. More than 10,000 athletes representing more than 200 nations are expected to compete in the Paris Games, with some of them dreaming of gold medals but most simply trying to do their best.
Among those who have high aspirations is Jordan Chiles, a 23-year-old who grew up in Vancouver. As a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team, Chiles will compete in events that typically draw the largest Olympics TV audiences in this country. And as a member of a team led by Simone Biles, she will be expected to bring home a gold medal in the team competition.
That serves as a reminder that sports are the only authentic reality TV — the drama is organic, unedited and unpredictable. In 2021, at the Tokyo Games (they were delayed a year because of the COVID pandemic), Biles withdrew from the team competition, citing mental health issues. The U.S. team, which included Chiles, won a silver medal in Biles’ absence.
All of that sets a dramatic stage for one of the world’s largest events. Geopolitical intrigue routinely impacts the Olympics, sharing the spotlight with individual and team competitions in some sports that are familiar to American audiences and others that are largely unknown.
In Paris, such intrigue will be centered on Russia. As a result of that nation’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian athletes will not be allowed to compete under their country’s flag or anthem. Instead, eligible Russian competitors will participate as Individual Neutral Athletes — AINs under Olympic parlance. “The Olympic Movement is united in its sense of fairness not to punish athletes for the decisions of their government if they are not actively participating in them,” the International Olympic Committee has declared.
Meanwhile, concern about performance-enhancing drugs continues to shroud the Games. Reportedly, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the same banned substance prior to the Tokyo Olympics but have not faced sanctions. At least 11 of them are expected to compete in Paris.
Despite behind-the-scenes controversies, American audiences will focus mostly on the athletes who make up Team USA. Those athletes typically represent the best of the United States, not only in their physical prowess but in their backgrounds.
According to a map from NBC, which will broadcast the Paris Games, 48 states have U.S. Olympians with ties to the state (Wyoming and Maine are the outliers). For Washington, the list of 30 athletes ranges from a basketball player who grew up in Wenatchee (Hailey Van Lith, who is competing in women’s 3-on-3) to nine competitors who attended the University of Washington and two from Washington State University.
From Bellingham to Key Biscayne, Fla., Americans in towns large and small will be rooting for local heroes who have earned their way onto the global stage. In the process, they will be cheering for a representation of American ideals. The Olympics shine a bright spotlight on women’s sports, and Team USA typically includes numerous contenders who are immigrants or first-generation Americans.
Once they don a USA uniform, it doesn’t matter where an athlete came from. But for viewers in Vancouver, there will be special interest in one particular gymnast.
