From the glorious opening ceremonies along the Seine River more than two weeks ago to Sunday’s closing and traditional pass-off of the Olympic flag to Los Angeles, the site of the 2028 Summer Olympics, the Paris Olympics were spectacular in every respect.
The performances by the athletes featured both incredible, come-from-behind, down-to-the-wire finishes (such as Noah Lyles in the 100 dash and Cole Hocker in the 1500) and dominating efforts (such as Katie Ledecky in the distance swims and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400 hurdles) that created Olympic moments that will last a lifetime for American fans.
The exhilarating victories in the final weekend by the women’s soccer team and the men’s and women’s basketball teams placed an exclamation point on the games for Team USA, which far outdistanced the field in the medal count.
As usual, the games provided a respite from the trials and tribulations of the world and offered a glimmer of hope that the spirit of the games, in which athletes from nations across the globe can come together to compete with honor and sportsmanship, might transcend the forces of evil that bring so much suffering to our world.
For our part, the Olympics always had been a shared experience with our family and friends when we were younger, and then with our own children. But our Olympics these days are a solo event, though we immediately send texts to our kids and their significant others when something big happens.
We don’t mean to sound maudlin, but it made us realize that though we now have many new Olympic memories, we’re at an age where we wonder how many more we’ll have in the future. (And we’ll just leave it at that).
On the other hand, we can’t wait until Los Angeles, 2028!