Paris Olympics 2024: A Spectacle Shrouded in Controversy and Debate

As the Paris Olympics concluded on Sunday with a breathtaking closing ceremony, this event will be remembered not only for its spectacle but also for being one of the most controversial and widely debated in recent history.

Here are some High-Highs and some Low-Lows of this Sports extravaganza:

The Opening Ceremony Controversy:

While some are calling the Opening Ceremony, one of the more memorable and unique in history, others have labelled it as mockery. This especially revolves round the now infamous enactment of ‘The Last Supper’, that is being called a parody with drag artists and multiple dancers in the name of art.

Further, in one scene, that included an artist, Philippe Katerine, who featured as the Greek god of wine Dionysus, sang a song while lying on a table, seemingly without clothes and covered head-to-toe in glittery blue paint. He quickly became known as the “semi-naked blue guy.”

Olympic organizers had to later apologize for the scene to the Catholic church and Christian groups.
South Korea Introduced as North Korea:

Another big gaffe was during team introductions. South Korea was introduced as North Korea that lead to major Diplomatic awkwardness for all parties involved.

Hijab ban haunts France again

French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla took part in the Paris Olympics opening ceremony wearing a cap. This was after an agreement with the French Olympic Committee and Sylla.

The organizers asked Sylla, who has competed with a black headscarf at several previous events, to wear a blue cap to cover her hair.

Swimming in the Seine

The River Seine hosted the marathon swimming event of the triathlon at the Olympics.

From 1923 until recently, swimming had been banned in the Seine due to water-quality issues, and for decades, the river was too toxic for most fish.

While Paris organisers had repeatedly assured the competitors that the water was clean enough to swim, heavy rains that battered Paris, raised concerns over the river again. Training had to be cancelled twice and the races postponed, till finally the race happened on August 7

Full gender parity

In a big accomplishment, Paris 2024 became the first Olympics in history to achieve numerical gender parity on the field of play, with an equal number of female and male athletes participating in it.

Out of the 10,500 athletes participating in the Games, 5,250 were men and 5,250 women.

Run with the Stars

For the first time in history, the public had a first-hand Olympic experience, being allowed to run the same course of the Olympic marathon on the same day as the Olympians.

Breaking: The new Olympic sport

The Paris Games featured a new Olympic sport: breaking, an urban dance style that has its roots in hip-hop culture.

The competition featured an event each for men and women.

Suave V/S Casual: Who do you vote for:

Two sides of the same coin, Olympic shooters from South Korea and Turkey have become subjects of meme fests on the internet.

Kim Yeji, the 31-year-old South Korean sharpshooter, looked impossibly cool with her cap and futuristic glasses, which – while stylish – were functional accoutrements in the world of competitive shooting.

On the other hand, Yusuf Dikeç of Turkey claimed a Silver Medal wearing what appeared to be his normal glasses with his free hand in his pocket. While Kim looked fierce, Dikeç almost looked bored.

Man In A Women’s Sport?

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif found herself at the center of a bitter controversy over her eligibility to take part in the Olympics after an opponent quit a fight in just 46 seconds.

The match raised questions about Khelif’s participation. In 2023, a now-discredited boxing regulator ruled her ineligible for a women’s tournament after she apparently failed what has been described as a gender eligibility test.

But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) strongly supports her participation in the 2024 Games, with IOC spokesperson Mark Adams saying she was “born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport.”

Canada Boots Women’s Soccer Coach

The 2024 Olympics had barely begun when Bev Priestman, head coach of the Canadian women’s soccer team, was removed for her post after her staff was accused of using drones to spy on the New Zealand team ahead of their group stage match.

Medal Controversies:

Vinesh Phogat’s Disqualification:

Vinesh Phogat was just one win away from winning a historic Olympic gold but the wrestler was disqualified for being overweight at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Wednesday. Vinesh, who was competing in the 50kg freestyle category, was found to be 100 grams overweight ahead of her gold medal match and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to disqualify her from the event. The decision received mixed reaction from experts.

Floor Exercise Drama:

Maneca-Voinea and Romanian teammate Ana Barbosu were left outside the medals after finishing with matching scores of 13.700.

Barbosu thought she had won bronze via a tiebreaker but U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles’ positioning at the third spot created a huge controversy.

Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially was given a score that put her in fifth place, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Chiles’ coaches called for an inquiry on her score, and after a review, judges boosted Chiles’ total by 0.1. That was enough to leapfrog Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the Bronze Medal.

5,000 Meters Shocker!

Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon was initially disqualified for what seemed like a push and a jostle of Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay during the women’s 5,000 meters on Aug. 5. She was denied of her Silver Medal owing to this disqualification.

Then early morning, Aug. 6, her Silver Medal was reinstated after The Olympic Jury of Appeal ruled that, while there had been “significant contact” between her and Tsegay, “the incident did not warrant a disqualification.”

Sexist Remarks

During a Tennis doubles match between France’s Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry and Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, a commentator from RMC radio said: “On the left, there’s Sara Errani, who’s the boss. She does everything: the washing up, the cooking, the mopping up.”

This is not the only incident, Eurosport suspended a commentator for making sexist comments during a swimming event at the Games.

After the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle race, as the athletes were walking off and exiting the pool, Bob Ballard commented, “The women are just finishing up. You know what women are like, hanging around, doing their makeup.”

Social Media Controversies:

French athlete and springboard diver Jules Bouyer, became viral for his tight swimsuit. Interestingly, he reportedly asked fans to focus on his performance—not his appearance.

French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati received attention after a video went viral suggesting a “bulge” in his shorts cost him a medal! But upon closer inspection, the video shows that his knee hit the bar not the bulge.

US’s Noah Lyles’s Gold Medal also was in the center of controversy at the Paris Olympics. He and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson both had a photo finish, with Thompson celebrating his supposed win.

However, no winner of the race was announced for a while as race officials kept replaying the race and visuals to get a clear understanding. Finally, Noah Lyles was adjudicated the winner. This lead to Jamaican netizens protesting against the decision on the net.