Olympic Games Symbolize Hope

(reprint, Toronto Sun, August 5, 2016),

The Games of the 31st Olympiad began in Rio de Janeiro this weekend and the news from Brazil to date has been overwhelmingly negative. Zika, pollution, political unrest, crime – all have taken precedence over the real purpose of these Olympics – and that is to showcase the extraordinary accomplishments of athletes from across the globe and engender national pride in their country’s citizens. Lofty goals, but why not?

This is not the first Olympics beset with problems. Every Games experiences highs and lows, both in the run-up to the competitions themselves or during and after the Olympic flame has been extinguished. One of the main reasons why we are privy to all that is wrong in Rio, is that a democratic press can report it. Do you really think that Beijing and Sochi were bereft of problems – or is it more likely a repressive government controlled the messaging?

The Olympics should embody the best of athletic competition and for the most part they do. There are concerns over illegal doping that can overshadow the contests, but today an athlete takes a significant risk in cheating their way to the top. Recent examples where blood samples have been re-tested years after the competitions allow those policing the sports to keep up with advanced doping techniques. Staying ahead of the detection tools and methods is no longer a safe bet, as eventually testing procedures do catch up. As the competitions begin, the thoughts and concerns of the past several months will fade as the world tunes in to the watch feats of extraordinary athleticism.

Sports that lay dormant between Olympiads will suddenly take over the media platforms. Viewers will watch replays of gold medal performances as they join in the medalists’ joy. There will be heartbreaks, failures, disappointments, but what the Olympics generates more than any other competition is empathy and redemption.

If not these games, then the next. If these are the next, then accept that you did the best you could. And that is worth celebrating anytime.

Rio by any measure will be extraordinary. The setting, the competitions, the drama will all be highlighted by what the Games mean to so many – hope. Hope in the sense that a struggling country can take its place on the global stage and create an atmosphere where the world’s very best athletes can compete for medals instead of dollars. Hope for young people around the world who may have their own Olympic dreams. Hope that for 19 days, we can put the calamities of the day aside and rejoice in the purity of sport.

For Canadian athletes in Rio, significant resources have been put in place to guarantee their safety and allow them concentrate on their respective performances. And that is where the focus should shift. Rather than dwelling on the negatives, we should get behind our Canadian team as they prepare to join athletes from around the world and exorcise all the demons they have faced in getting to this pinnacle of competitive sport.

And we should rejoice in their exploits and accomplishments, whether they win medals or not, because in the final analysis, we all win by embracing the hope that the Olympics bring by allowing nations, friendly or not, to set aside their differences and compete for the joy of sport and celebration of national pride.

Richard C. Powers is with the Rotman School of Management and is President of Commonwealth Games Canada.