It’s finally happened. Both my 4-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter swim better than I do.
Thanks to swimming lessons this summer, now they are responsible for saving me should I find myself in a body of water where I can’t touch the bottom.
They may even become Olympic swimmers someday. As a huge fan of the Olympic Games, I have rarely turned the channel away from coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which opened July 26, so they’ve got to watch plenty of swimming.
Of course, they’ve also witnessed plenty of other sports, and they will continue to see the competition unfold through the Closing Ceremonies on Aug. 11.
My favorite sports to watch, in addition to swimming events, include diving, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, handball, boxing, rowing, and gymnastics.
I love seeing the competition. It’s always inspiring as the athletes experience the pinnacle of their sports, and watching Simone Biles return to the world stage after withdrawing from the Tokyo Games due to mental health concerns is truly incredible.
Still, there’s another aspect of these Summer Games that I’m keenly interested in — sustainability.
The 2022 Bejing Olympics required fake snow production so the Winter Games could occur, and often facilities and venues built for the Games end up abandoned and unsafe after the world’s athletes head home, unless the spaces can be repurposed.
That’s why hosting the Olympics is becoming less popular among countries and cities, and factoring in the cost and climate impacts, it becomes imperative that existing infrastructure and temporary venues are used for competition.
The Paris Games are notable for the focus on doing just this.
One example is the use of the River Seine for marathon swimming and stages of the triathlons, as well as the innovative and spectacular Opening Ceremonies. Similarly, not all of the events are being held close together. As reported by Associated Press reporter John Leicester, “The furthest venue is on the other side of the world in the French Pacific territory of Tahiti, where Olympic surfers will compete on famously giant waves that first form in storm belts off Antarctica.”
Additionally, the Paris Games organizers promised the “greenest” Olympics ever, shrinking the carbon footprint of a worldwide event that research has shown is environmentally unfriendly.
According to Olympic organizers, the Paris Games are winning the sustainability competition by implementing a variety of steps, such as using solar panels for energy, geothermal cooling instead of traditional air conditioning, recycled materials for necessary construction, emphasizing plant-based food, and reducing single-use plastics and air pollution.
Likewise, athletes sleep on beds with cardboard frames, and the medals given to winning competitors incorporated iron from the iconic Eiffel Tower.
These are just a few examples of how the 2024 Summer Games are going green, and being sustainable is key for the future of the Olympics. Even though some argue that what Paris is doing isn’t enough to make the Games truly sustainable, it is a step in the right direction.
After all, ignoring the climate’s implications for sports is done at our peril.
Writing for The Conversation, University of Michigan scholar Brian P. McCullough argued, “Sports have good reason for caring about sustainability: Climate change can put athletes’ and fans’ health at risk and even put the future of some sports in doubt.”
As a society, we need the Olympics. The Games bring us together as citizens of the world.
So as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 Olympics, I hope the organizers take the necessary steps to run an environmentally sustainable event that reinvigorates the Games just as they did in 1984.
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is a native of Canton, a resident of McPherson County, and an assistant professor of media at Sterling College. He can be contacted with questions or comments via his website at www.toddvogts.com.
