The 2024 Summer Games in Paris were exciting and historic, with many countries bringing home medals for the first time in their nation’s history.
This includes countries like Botswana, which saw sprinting star Letsile Tebogo win Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medal after he blazed through the men’s 200m final in 19.46 seconds, the fourth fastest time in history; and Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, who overcame humble beginnings and a lack of resources to become the country’s first-ever individual gold medalist.
The Olympics, and this year’s in particular, has always been a place where social issues clash with athletic competition, the former carrying more importance than the latter.
We saw the fight for equality and basic human rights on display through Jesse Owens in 1936 and again in 1968 through Tommy Smith and John Carlos, fights which continued long after the Olympic torch was extinguished.
In 2024, the plights of Palestine, Ukraine and Muslim women in France took centerstage.
The horrific killings of innocents in Palestine have destroyed families and devastated people across the world who continue to plead for the end of the attacks in Gaza.
Russia’s continued attack on Ukraine, which has gone on for over two years now, is still a global crisis that countries and individuals across the globe are trying to find a way to end.
And France’s Islamaphobic rulings that prevented the country’s female Muslim athletes from competing in hijabs was a disgusting decision, one that the IOC should have taken action against before the Games even started.
But the situation in Haiti is one that fell under the radar at the Games, and it’s deserving of much more attention.
Haiti sent seven athletes to Paris to compete in boxing, athletics, gymnastics, swimming and judo. While none won a medal, their participation was something that stood stronger than either gold, silver or bronze.
The country is in the midst of a gang war that has ripped the nation apart, but the commitment of the athletes to compete represents the love they have for their reeling country.
