The John Griff column: It’s a never ending story
The star-studded closing ceremony might have finally taken place in Paris, the rings are being brought down from multiple locations and the hotels are disgorging their recent block and capacity bookings. Grounded, the cauldron has finally had its water and electricity supplies turned off, extinguishing the unique ‘flame that was never a flame’ in the process. But are the Olympic Games over? No.
Last week I wrote about the legacy of the Paris Olympic Games and what the wider world might be able to learn from the exploits of its young – and not so young – global representatives. Now is the time for that legacy to start to emerge. In Paris right now, I think many will be experiencing mixed emotions, as might a lot of us further afield. On Sunday night I went to bed with a sense of disappointment that The Games were no longer with us at the push of a button, so much a part of our daily routine had they become. A lot of positive noises were being made about the success of The Games in France, some saying that they were one of the best iterations of Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s vision for a global sporting festival, played out in the spirit of France’s own national motto – ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ – ‘liberty, equality, fraternity’. Bravo France. Notwithstanding the challenges of trying to stage races for swimmers in a below-par and somewhat toxic River Seine as well as an opening ceremony which delivered more for the television cameras than it did for its onsite audiences (and participants), your organising committee delivered a truly impressive spectacle.
And now it’s gone.
Time will tell what follows and not only for the city of Paris which undoubtedly went the extra mile for sport and global unity. Expectations of an economic and sociological dividend will be high and although he kept a fairly low profile, Emmanuel Macron will be looking for a political boost of his own as the Republic’s 25th President. Just as with every other staging, The Games proved themselves far from immune from controversy and from a variety of directions. There will be much for the IOC and competing nation committees to ponder and learn from, especially over gender balance, identification and policy implementation. There will also be the reviews of the new ‘sports’ which offered taster sessions of themselves for the future. I don’t know whether Breaking will see the light of day under an Olympic flag ever again, but it certainly offered something different to the mases and the opportunity for its competitors to spread the word of its vitality – and competition – on the widest possible stage. It will not be part of the 2028 Games and because a sport has to appear three times consecutively for it to be accepted as a core element, it looks likely that Breaking will be little more than a footnote in the annals of sporting history. And yet, there it was – like one of this week’s miniscule Perseid meteors which streaked across the night sky creating a fleeting trail before disappearing again.
Maybe that’s one of the Olympic legacies – change. Change is a constant wherever you look, even in elements of life which appear to be everlasting and never changing. The world’s Olympians (and shortly to be Paralympians) are aware of this, preparing as they do for what might be a single, fleeting performance of brilliance, or one cut down by injury or the circumstances of the day. Northampton’s own Derek Redmond knows it only too well, despite remarkable, title-winning performances elsewhere. A much sought after and motivational speaker, he harnessed the power of rolling with whatever life throws at you – and reinvention. Some stars of today will perhaps have different roles as pundits or coaches next time – a number of Team GB luminaries have already announced their departures from competition, among them Max Whitlock, Tom Daley and, of course, Sir Andy Murray. But young people are wired to succeed because nobody has told them that the flipside of the coin is not to succeed, this time. That is different to failure. It is instead an opportunity to refocus, learn and go again. It is a step forward along the path to eventual success. And therein lies perhaps the greatest lesson in living a life that comes for all of us but once. Learn the lesson early enough and it becomes a powerful mantra FOR life – witness the successful sporting people go on to successful careers outside of their original chosen sports. And no, I don’t mean punditry in front of a TV camera or microphone. Local businesses here would do well to study the mindsets and campaigns of our Olympians. Politicians too.
I found it powerful just how many athletes revealed their emotions and emotional struggles both before and during The Olympics – some will need support long after the Olympic Flame has left Europe, bound for Los Angeles. I was fascinated by the preparedness of elite athletes and household names like gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Matthew Peaty, heptathlete Katerina Johnson-Thompson and diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix to talk about their challenges both physical and mental. In so doing they have become role models for us all and huge credit is due to them for that.
So despite or perhaps because of the uniqueness of its Gallic character this time, the Paris Olympics of 2024 have charmed, charmingly. In 2028 the next chapter in the ongoing, never-ending story of The Olympics will be written in the USA. It’s sure to be a very different kind of gathering of greats, perhaps brash, effects-filled and undoubtedly cinematic. It started on Sunday night with Tom Cruise abseiling Mission Impossible-style into the Stade De France, riding out of it and into the back of a transport plane which flew him instantaneously (and Mission Impossibly) to Hollywood. The Games will certainly have a big budget feel to them – but Hollywood is the master of illusion on any budget. Electioneering will be on the US agenda again and I hope that in passing the flag and flame, France will have successfully passed on its own ethos of ‘liberty, equality, fraternity’ to the New World’s Olympic custodians too.