The Olympics has just ended, with the U.S. winning more gold metals than any other country. Not far behind were China and Japan. We witnessed incredible feats of strength, agility, and advocacy for mental health.
Surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and karate were added to the Olympics for the first time this year. These four additions showed the incredible athleticism that people from all over the world can poses. But what are we missing?
There are plenty of other sports out there that we haven't included. Let's see what the people are clamoring to see on the international Olympic stage for 2024.
Redditor BMD04 wanted to know:
"What sport should be in the Olympics but isn't?"
Check out some of these genius suggestions.
Archery, but add a little... spice.
"Archery with moving targets is something I'd like to see return."
"It's not livin' if you're a moving target."
"Archery on horseback."
"I love archery at the Olympics, but would like to see the events expanded more. Other bow styles (compound, barebow, longbow/traditional) as well as like you said horseback archery."
Bring back an ancient favorite.
"Old Greek naked hand to hand combat."
"Pankration!"
- Vanatru
"Will there ever be a Pankrationist as legendary as Arrhichion, who in 564 BC managed to defeat an opponent after pulling a move that resulted in his own death?"
Maybe that's why we don't do this sport anymore.
Dreaming of this Paralympic challenge.
"I had a weird dream that one of the events was people in wheelchairs going down a steep ramp, and hitting an angled jump that made them barrel roll. They had to dunk a basketball while mid roll. I'm not sure how the scoring works, but that one."
- sosogos
"Sounds like a wheely ballsy sport with a steep learning curve."
"Happy Wheels."
"I had a weird dream where blind people threw a rugby ball into an open fridge, and scored based on how much groceries came flying out."
"It took place on a pier and all the spectators [wore] black and white and dressed from the 30s. Weird stuff."
"There was some little shops and stuff, slap in the middle was an open fridge. I was competing against the blind guy and he was kicking my a**."
An elementary school classic.
"Dodgeball."
"On the final day of the Olympics, anyone who has won a medal has to compete. More medals, bigger team."
"Nah, only gold medal winners."
"And it's a free for all, no country alliances."
"All to determine the ultimate Olympic champion."
Probably one of the more dangerous suggestions.
"They should totally bring back tug of war!"
"There is a massive tournament in Thailand where people have lost limbs if their team loses the rope - good international coverage."
- BMD04
"I vaguely recall seeing an explanation that the energy in the rope is absurdly high. Not something to play without constraints."
This person found a website that really takes a look at the science behind tug-of-war.
"'If we figured out how to manufacture large ropes out of graphene ribbons, which have tensile strengths over 10 times higher than existing materials, we could theoretically support a tug-of-war between teams of up to 100,000 players each. Such a rope would be over 200 miles long, and could stretch from New York to Washington."'
"Yeah but you'd have to dig a tunnel due to the Earth's curvature."
"And that's why we need to get started on this sooner rather than later."
We have got to give our teachers more credit.
"Listening to a child in the 4-7 age range tell a story. Whoever goes the longest without waving their hand to speed up the story wins the gold."
"As a teacher I appreciate this."
- BMD04
"As a teacher I hate this."
Better than Soccer.
"It's more suited for the Olympics than the football itself and much more entertaining for casual audiences."
- thehdv7
"True! I would be in favor for changing football to futsal in a heartbeat. We already have the world cup so Olympics feel a bit meh for me."
Why hasn't this been added?
"Squash - without a doubt."
- "An extremely popular worldwide sport."
- "Popular with both men and women."
- "The top 50 players for both men and women come from almost every region in the world - definitely Egypt-heavy but top players come from Peru, Colombia, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, the US, and multiple other countries."
- "Fast-paced and easy to televise. Okay - trading 20 rails in a row might not be that interesting to the new viewer but how exciting is a 1500M swim or a 2-person row."
- "Skill and experience can match up well with youth and energy; so an "older" squash player could still beat a younger inexperienced one."
"I consistently played squash for about 2 years 1-2 times a week from a complete beginner level. The guy I played was a decent player and after those 2 years we were fairly consistent in him or myself winning equally. I got a chance to play a friend of my sisters who taught squash, I knew I still weren't that great, but to get better you've got to play higher-skilled people. He owned me badly. He put me anywhere on the court he wanted. It was an amazing experience, seeing the levels in the game."- grayz81"
I think you find that with all sports. You get to a level where you think "yeh I'm pretty good at this", until you meet someone who really is good."- user deleted
It seems it's a long process to get a sport into the Olympic arena. It involves a lot of paperwork, recognition, and approval from the International Olympic Committee, the International Sports Federation, and the Olympic Charter.
If you want to see a sport added to the next Olympic games in Paris, you'd better start applying!
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Former Olympian Dominique Moceanu Shows Exactly Why Simone Biles Was Right To Drop Out Of Competition
This week multi-medalist Simone Biles chose to step down from the United States women's gymnastics team final at the Olympics due her growing concern for her own mental and physical health.
Although Biles made the best choice for her well-being she still faced backlash from mostly men over her decision to withdraw. However, as quick as some were to criticize, so were many just as fast with an outpouring of respect and support for the champion athlete.
Former Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Dominique Moceanu spoke out on Twitter. She shared why Biles made the right choice in stepping out of the competition.
You can see her tweet and video here:
I was 14 y/o w/ a tibial stress fracture, left alone w/ no cervical spine exam after this fall. I competed in the O… https://t.co/uWF7abLkED— Dominique Moceanu (@Dominique Moceanu) 1627483863.0
In our sport, we essentially dive into a pool w/ no water. When you lose your ability to find the ground—which app… https://t.co/4ItAGMPIZj— Dominique Moceanu (@Dominique Moceanu) 1627491095.0
In a video she shared, Moceanu was performing a balance beam routine and landed directly on her head at only 14 years old.
Moceanu pointed out how even after such an alarming fall, along with a stress fracture in one leg, she did not receive any medical examination and was pushed to immediately perform her floor routine.
Fellow Olympic gymnast and gold medalist Kerri Strug, who was famously pushed to continue performing while injured, offered her support as well.
Sending love to you @Simone_Biles 🐐❤️-Team UNITED States of America 🇺🇸— Kerri Strug (@Kerri Strug) 1627404466.0
While those mostly male armchair critics are using Moceanu, Strug and other Olympians to point out what's wrong with Biles' decision, the women themselves are pointing out how they had no control, weren't asked for their consent and the pressure they were under to win at all costs was dangerous and abusive.
@bribanksy @Dmoceanu @Simone_Biles Google "Elena Mukhina" Russian gymnast in 1978, broke her leg, coaches forced d… https://t.co/uDWNMkXiRA— James DeYoung (@James DeYoung) 1627522705.0
Biles is the most decorated American gymnast with a combined total of 30 World and Olympic medals. She is the first female gymnast to successfully complete the dangerous triple double—a skill in which she launches herself high into the air after two backflips to complete three full rotations before landing.
As physical and mental pressures mounted, Biles participated in the team final for one vault. However, she was only able to make 1.5 out of her usual 2.5 rotations before a difficult landing resulted in her scoring to be subpar compared to her usual level of performance.
Given the risks involved and the long history of inadequate medical care and documented abuse of young female athletes in gymnastics, most of Biles' fellow gymnasts are pushing back against all the armchair critics.
When Biles said she felt “a little lost in the air" and couldn't trust herself at the moment, it was clear her decision was made with safety in mind.
You can see Biles astounding triple double skill below.
Everyone, this is Jade Carey — because of her AA qualifiers ranking, she will step in for Simone Biles — shes a v… https://t.co/xwH4pqL05b— JADE CAREY 🥇 (@JADE CAREY 🥇) 1627462763.0
The Twitter community applauded Moceanu's response to the Biles backlash and responded with deep support for both women.
@Dmoceanu I was twelve years old in 1996, and you were my absolute idol. As an adult I look back at what our gymnas… https://t.co/5Lo19WviFG— Ally (@Ally) 1627557887.0
Anyone who is rlly upset that a 24 year old they've never met decided not to do a million flips for them, I have an… https://t.co/KZvMdkxw3l— pat regan (@pat regan) 1627482811.0
@MofomanMX @Dmoceanu She shouldn't have had to. If she was injured she should have been encouraged to withdraw..she… https://t.co/DPi0iZL9J6— Ronnie Two Flutes (@Ronnie Two Flutes) 1627564977.0
No one should doubt Simone Biles' commitment to gymnastics. She has worked harder to be the best than most of us co… https://t.co/SgGmNLQHFc— Kyle Becker (@Kyle Becker) 1627485673.0
@andrewscorgie @Dmoceanu @Simone_Biles @bisping Welcome to what women have known for centuries! We always get criti… https://t.co/3xxsBrbyUR— Mimi Wells 💛🐝 (@Mimi Wells 💛🐝) 1627572667.0
@nowwhat45981772 @Dmoceanu It is becoming more obvious over time that the purpose of USA Gymnastics and the doctors… https://t.co/R5anvMHP0o— PhotoMatt (@PhotoMatt) 1627565860.0
Despite pressures, original intention, or entertainment value it is important to remember these athletes are human and need to take care of themselves too and we all have the right to personal choice.
Students Celebrate 'Jim Thorpe Day' At Army War College Honoring The Native American Gold Medalist
Jim Thorpe is rightly remembered for his phenomenal sporting accomplishments, but not everyone knows about Thorpe's origins.
Thorpe was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, in what is now Oklahoma. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was an orphan when he was taken from his nation's reservation and sent to Carlisle Indian Industrial School.
The U.S. Army War College now stands where Carlisle once stood; the boarding school closed in 1918, six years before Indigenous Americans were even recognized as full US citizens.
The War College now celebrates Jim Thorpe Day: a day honoring both Thorpe's athletic achievements and the end of the academic year for the college's students.
Representative Deb Haaland joined the War College's students in the event this year as the keynote speaker. She spoke at length about Thorpe's life and athletic feats, as well as how the Carlisle Indian School affected her own family.
"Regardless of which team comes out on top, your service to our country makes every single one of you a winner," sa… https://t.co/d8kkIeBVam— Army War College (@Army War College) 1556289316.0
As it turns out, Haaland's great-grandfather was one of the many children pulled from his loving family to be sent to the school in the US government's plan to force assimilation of indigenous peoples into white society.
"My grandmother first told me that her father was sent to Carlisle. That was a story she told us often."
Haaland, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna, revealed that her family doesn't even know her great-grandfather's true name, because it was changed while he was at the school.
"I haven't found his name yet because they changed the names. But he came back as Gaylord Steele."
This was a common practice at residential schools such as Carlisle—it's how Thorpe got his name, as well—and was just one component of the US government's plans to "kill the Indian, save the man." There are many native families who still don't know what their ancestors true names were, in their own languages.
Children were also sold or adopted to White families in further attempts to destroy Native culture, together with laws that made the languages, religions, dances and traditional clothing of the tribes illegal.
The boarding schools in both the United States and Canada have shocking histories of abuse and death among the Native students.
Children were "recruited" for intertribal residential schools like Carlisle from whole, loving families by coercion, if not taken from them outright. Others attended the mandatory boarding schools with only members of their own tribe.
"In fact, a lot of the students they took from homes were not orphans, they had families intact with the Pueblo."
The mandatory boarding school system was not abolished in the United States until the 1970s, with the final classes graduating in the 1980s.
Carlisle, in particular, did have several highly successful alumni, but the school's history of inflicting abuse and trauma on its students and their families makes this a tainted achievement, at best.
Haaland touched on this as well:
"The education at Indian boarding schools came at a hefty cost."
Jim Thorpe was one of those who went on to greatness after graduating from Carlisle. He was a spectacular athlete, winning Olympic gold in both the pentathlon and decathlon in 1912.
It was not long before he was stripped of those medals over a technicality, though. Thorpe was not considered an amateur because he had been paid (as little as $2 per game) to play minor league baseball between 1909 and 1910.
Thorpe's athletic achievements are now celebrated every year at the War College, though. A group of representatives of various native communities attended the event this year, and have since 2012 in an attempt to reconcile the past with a more unified future.
Organized by Sandra Cianciulli, a descendant of Oglala Lakota students who attended the Carlisle, the group also contains Native American veterans from various branches of the US Armed Forces.
Cianciulli said of the event:
"This used to be kind of just a military tradition, but we got invited to it a while back and loved it."
The track-and-field competition kicked off on Thursday, April 25th this year, and ran until Saturday, April 27th. Those participating in the competition held in Thorpe's honor were members of different military branches.
Representative Haaland also shared photos of her time at the event to Twitter.
Some photos from my time at @ArmyWarCollege kicking off Jim Thorpe Days and raising awareness about the trauma assi… https://t.co/ARm4V2WAXy— Rep. Deb Haaland (@Rep. Deb Haaland) 1556316217.0
One Twitter user recalled how learning Thorpe's story helped him as a child.
@ArmyWarCollege @RepDebHaaland Jim Thorpe has been my hero since I was about 7 years young. I seen the movie and it… https://t.co/2keOX9WYxy— James McIntosh (@James McIntosh) 1556383454.0
The competition is fierce, but the true message of the event is one of unity.
Sportsmanship and camaraderie carried the day as representatives from five @DeptofDefense senior service war colleg… https://t.co/TsQC1ADo0m— Army War College (@Army War College) 1556295583.0
Maj. Gen. John Kem, commandant of the War College, said of the event:
"This is an event to bring us together and remind us we're all part of the same team."