The Summer Olympics happen every four years. Whether you like soccer, archery, boxing, or breakdancing there is a sport for everyone to cheer for. The Olympics take place all around the world in places such as Tokyo and Los Angeles. This year’s Summer Olympics was held in Paris.
As the Olympics were brought back to Paris for a third time, it elevated the competition for France itself. This proved to be true as France went from 8th place in 2020 to 5th in 2024. The United States and China were neck and neck during the competition with the United States having 40 gold medals, 44 silver medals, and 41 bronze medals, and China receiving 40 gold medals, 27 silver medals, and 24 bronze medals. In third place was Japan with 20 gold medals, 12 silver medals, and 13 bronze medals. This is the second Olympics that these countries have all been in the top 3!
With the Olympics being in Paris, it drives the people of France to make the athletes’ competition a little more memorable. France decided to try and clear the waste and pollution out of the Seine River making it possible for the water athletes to be able to swim in it. They had tried to clean it for years, but the commencement of the Olympics accelerated the process. To test the waters, the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, jumped into the river and swam just days before the Olympics, proving it clean.
“…A kind of magnet that attracted all our energies towards a single date, July 26, and we did it,” Hidalgo said.
A new addition to the Olympics this year was the break dancing competition. The only other time that break dancing has been in the Olympics was the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games. As the athletes show their skills, 2 winners come on top with Philip Kim of Canada winning gold in the boy’s division and Ami Yuasa of Japan winning gold in the girl’s division. Kim talks about his experience with break dancing being a new sport. He shares that it can be hard to understand the moves of breakdancing. There are so many types and the more spins in a move don’t make it higher in points.
“To the naked eye, it’s very easy to think that the person who’s spinning the most, that is doing the craziest moves is going to win,” Kim said.
Yuasa on the other hand talks about how she wants people to learn and understand the art of breakdancing more. She saw it less as a competition and more as a teaching experience for people to learn more about the sport.
“The fact that breaking was added to the Olympic Games was a great thing because it allowed people to discover all the wonderful things about breaking,” Yuasa said.
The Olympic Games means a lot to people all around the world, but even more to the athletes competing in it. It’s a way to share culture and grow connections. Maybe in the next game, you’ll see someone you know competing!
