Water of the Seine River
How could we not start with the topic that caused controversy even before the games began? The Seine River underwent a multimillion-dollar decontamination process to host the triathlon and swimming marathon events. However, with only a few days left before the Olympics began, the river still showed unsafe pollution levels for athletes due to the persistent rains in the city. In the end, after many tests ensured that the river was clean enough, the athletes jumped into the water and completed their events in this iconic Parisian setting. Of course, there were one or two athletes who fell ill, did not finish their events, and left it unclear whether the cause was indeed the dirty water of the Seine River.
Women’s Boxing
Undoubtedly, the most controversial topic revolved around gender definition in women’s boxing. Two athletes, Algerian Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan, were accused by opponents of not being women. One of them, Italian Angela Carini, withdrew from her fight against Khelif arguing that it would be unfair. The controversy actually began long before the Olympics when the International Boxing Federation excluded these two athletes from women’s competitions after tests conducted by the organization showed that both had XY chromosomes (which define male sex). These tests were never substantiated. The Olympic Committee repudiated the result and stated that both were born female, have passports with female registration, have always fought as women, and therefore would continue their fights in women’s boxing in Paris. In conclusion, Khelif will compete in the final this Friday (9).
Prohibited Gestures
Paris warned that religious manifestations or any gesture that could offend other cultures and nationalities would not be tolerated at the Olympics. Rayssa Leal, one of the great phenomena of Brazilian skateboarding, won the bronze medal and celebrated one of her tricks by making a series of gestures in sign language for the camera. “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life,” she said with her hands. The gesture is a quote from a book in the Bible. The message is prohibited by the International Olympic Committee. Athletes can face penalties for speaking about religion or politics, as the competition involves various nations with different cultural aspects. As far as it became public, Rayssa’s strategy worked, and she was not reprimanded.
In another episode, the coach of Hungarian gymnast Fanni Pigniczki made a gesture used by white supremacists during the presentations in the individual all-around qualifiers. Noémi Gelle appeared on camera during the broadcast of the Games with her hand in an “OK” shape, which in recent years has been used by far-right groups to form the letters WP, an abbreviation for “white power.” The Olympic committee of Hungary stated that it was just an “OK” sign, and the organizers of the Olympics said that this controversy only happened in Brazil. No punishment was recorded.
Poor Food and Facilities
Olympic athletes complained about the Olympic Village in Paris, saying that the food was of poor quality, scarce, and lacking in protein. British swimmer Adam Peaty vented that the cafeteria food was far from ideal and revealed that athletes found “worms” in the fish served at the venue.
Athletes also complained about the beds, which were made of cardboard, a legacy from the Tokyo Olympics, and had hard mattresses. Reporters filmed members of the United States Olympic committee carrying separately purchased mattresses for their athletes. According to the Paris Olympic Committee, the entire structure of the Olympic Village in Paris was designed to be 100% sustainable.
And the complaints didn’t stop there. Thomas Ceccon, the Olympic champion in the 100-meter backstroke, of Italian descent, chose to sleep in a park instead of the facilities of the Paris 2024 Olympic Village. The reason, according to him, is the intense heat there, denouncing the lack of air conditioning.
Volleyball Player Booed
Steven van de Velde, the Dutch beach volleyball player, qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics to represent his national team. The controversy is that this man was sentenced to prison for raping a 12-year-old girl. He served only 4 years in prison, and the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC) allowed him to represent the country. He lost alongside his partner Matthew Immers in the round of 16 against Brazil. Of course, he was booed by the spectators and did not stay in the Olympic Village.