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By: Lloyd Brown-John
Truly, only France could combine history, culture and athletics into one magnificent rain-splashed opening of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Consider the parade of boats with athletes waving their country’s flag as they sailed along the Seine River. From a lone pianist and a grand piano on a bridge in the rain or a gorgeous performance of France’s national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’ from the Grand Palais roof by French mezzo-soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel.
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Statues of famous French women emerging from pillars honouring a commitment to gender equality. The flaming pianist and singer on a boat skimming along the Seine performing John Lennon’s song Imagine.
And then from an Eiffel Tower balcony, Canada’s Céline Dion singing Edith Piaf’s beautiful but tragic love song Hymne à l’amour. Although struggling with a rare disease known as stiff-person syndrome, Dion’s first public performance in four years was magnificent.
And lighting the Olympic flame in a balloon as a tribute to the world’s first flight by Montgolfier brothers in an hot-air balloon near Paris in November 1783.
France out-performed any previous Olympic opening ceremony by an engaging spectacle within the core of Paris, including the sparkling Louvre glass pyramid entrance.
My wife and I always enjoy France. We’ve wandered Paris a few times and traveled virtually the entire country, from the Pyrenees mountain range to the shores of La Manche on the Normandy coast. From raw oysters at Baie d’Arcachon to delicious white Gewürztraminer wines of Alsace and cheeses of Hautes-Alpes.
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The Olympics are a feast of sports and dazzling performances by the world’s finest athletes. But the Olympics are also intensely political, including flying national flags or singing national anthems upon a gold-medal performance.
Members of the International Olympic Committee are almost invariably rooted in the politics and often the patronage of their home country.
Dictatorships promote their winners as examples of “our great leader’s” direction.
Significant attempts are made to ensure that the participant country list is long. Paris hosts 203 countries with about 11,040 athletes competing in 329 events at 35 venues, including surfing in Tahiti, 15,800 km from Paris.
There is a general correlation between country wealth and numbers of athletes — the U.S. is on top with 592 athletes; host nation France (573), Japan (403), China (388) and Canada (315 athletes).
Tiny country participants include Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati, São Tomé et Principe and San Marino.
Some excellent local athletes are among the Canadians competing, such as Kylie Masse, Sarah Mitton, Linda Morais, and two paralympian members of Canada’s wheelchair rugby team, Matt Debly and Mike Whitehead; as well as UWindsor coach Brett Lumley.
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The Olympics are a feast for fans of athleticism. Our national broadcaster CBC offers a wealth of opportunities to view these competitions.
Regrettably, the good name of Canada was besmirched on day one by foolish activities of some persons associated with my favourite sport, soccer. Three members of the women’s team, including its highly regarded coach Bev Priestman, were sent home.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) quite correctly denounced as “offensive behaviour” the drone snooping on New Zealand’s women’s team practice.
But in addition to banning team staff members, including highly regarded head coach Bev Priestman, for one year each from the sport, FIFA also levied a $313,000 fine on Canada’s national soccer federation.
And the nastiest action by FIFA — imposing a six-point penalty (the equivalent of two game wins) on Canadian women’s soccer team, making it a monumental challenge to defend the team’s 2020 gold medal.
These women trained long and hard and there has been no evidence that any player participated in any drone snooping. So why are these athletes being punished?
An appeal by Canada of this unjust and unfair punishment to the Court of Arbitration for Sport saw the original decision upheld.
My response to FIFA and the Court of Arbitration’s six-point penalty is borrowed from what a former Canadian prime minister allegedly once told the House of Commons: Fuddle duddle.
Lloyd Brown-John is a University of Windsor professor emeritus of political science and director of Canterbury ElderCollege. He can be reached at lbj@uwindsor.ca.
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