Redesigning the Olympic Games

I have great admiration for all athletes that participate in the Olympic games. Have you seen their bodies?

Those incredible bodies give us just a glimpse of all the hours and the dedication that athletes put into perfecting what they do. These gods and goddesses incarnated are, no doubt, out of this world. They don’t mind the physical pain, the emotional stress, the noise, the yelling, the cameras all around them. They practice all year, many years, just to at one point: Qualify for and participate in the Olympic Games.

After all that work, they show up with the hope to get the gold, the silver, or the bronze. A medal. That’s all they want, all they work for so hard. Sometimes they get it, and many times they don’t. I can only imagine the disappointment that they feel when they have a fall, or when their body doesn’t respond as expected. Years of practice can go down the drain in one split second! And what do they do when this happens? They do it all over again the next year, and in four more years, they’re again at the Olympics. I call this resilience at its best.

But, after all the fun, the excitement, the nerve-racking, nail-biting, tear-jerking Olympic games were over, I asked myself one question: If I could make any changes to this incredible international competition, what would those changes be?

This is how a sport can make it into the Olympic program:

A) A sport has to be recognized. It must be administered by the International Federation, which ensures that the sport’s activities follow the Olympic Charter. B) It should be widely practiced around the world. C) It must meet a number of criteria established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A recognized sport may be added to the Olympic program on the recommendation of the IOC’s Program Commission.”

There were 26 sports included in the London Olympics, some of which seem ancient and not widely practiced in today’s world. Take the javelin throw, the hammer or discus throw, or the shotput as examples. These sports seem to occur only in the Olympics. In any case, I might be willing to get rid of those. On the other hand, I would love to see other more popular sports, such as bowling for instance, included in the Olympic games.

If you could do it, which sport would you include or exclude from the Olympic games?