Notes From Perry Street: Olympics tidbits and history
By JOHN A. WINTERS, Publisher
The Summer Olympics have started with the lighting of the Olympic torch, this time in Paris, as in France. Not Paris, Texas.
And so a few more tidbits to get you pumped for USA! USA!
There are plus or minus ( full disclosure I’m collecting this information from the Internet and from what I know are reputable sources and just not worrying about quote marks) 10,714 athletes from 206 different countries participating. Russia and Belarus were not invited because, well, the war in Ukraine.
The United States has the largest national delegation of athletes at 593. For those keep track at home, France is second with 573. Australia (460), Germany (427), Japan (404), Italy (403), China (388), Spain (382), Great Britain (327), and Canada (318) round out the Top 10.
At the other end of the spectrum, Belize (100-meter race), Liechtenstein (cross-country cycling), Nauru (100-meter race) and Somalia (800 meter race) are each sending one athlete. Admit it would be pretty cool for Belize and Nauru to race against each other.
Other countries include Cabo Verde, Comoros, Eritrea, Malawi, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe (all in Africa), Saint Ktts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadine (Americas); Tajikistan, Brunei Darussalam, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Asia); Andorra, Georgia (the country, not us), Montenegro, (Europe); Cook Islands, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Tuvalu, Vanuatu (Oceania) Note: No one from North or South Pole.
All medals, gold, silver and bronze, will have 18 grams of iron taken from the Eiffel Tower renovation and shaped into a hexagon within the medal. I think this is a great gesture, but now question the structural integrity of said tower
Making its Olympic debut – “Breaking,” aka Breakdancing. Sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing are also in for the second time. For all you surfers, if you bought a ticket to France, you won’t see much surfing as that contest is being held in Tahiti. I’m not a location scout, so I don’t know anything about that decision. I do know, however, the athletes will be housed in the Olympics’ first floating village. Dude.
Overall, there are 329 events among 32 different sports. We, as in the United States, are participating in 31 of those events. We are not participating in team handball. I got nothin.’
Karate, baseball and softball are out. Apparently the French can’t hit a ball with a stick even when it is coming right at them.
And apparently, we have gender equality for the first time: out of the roughly (see above note) 10,500 athletes, 5,250 are men and 5,250 are women. Again, roughly.
Finally, a little history.
The original Olympics were celebrated in Greece circa 776 BC. Events included discus, chariot racing and wrestling. Rome banned the Games in 396 AD, considering it a pagan ritual. This is when the Romans were Christians. The Olympics were not held for another 1,500 years until the modern Games began in Athens in 1896.
We are missing a few sports, like air ballooning, rope climbing and tug of war. That first modern Olympics only had 14 countries participating. Gold medals today are gold-plated and primary comprised of silver. The last real gold medals were made in 1912.
And finally, finally. We, again, as in the United States, have won a medal at every Winter Olympic Games. And we are the only country to do so.
Which of course leads me to close with USA! USA!
