As I write this, it is the morning after the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremonies. Like many people, I relished these Games — the variety of sporting activities, like gymnastics, judo, and canoeing. I liked seeing what people can accomplish when they commit to a craft and work hard. And I appreciated being exposed to dance moves that I cannot do … yet.
Track and field, as usual, was incredible. It was full of surprising triumphs (1), athletes rising to new levels of success on the global stage (2), wild feats (3), and ascendent figures in the sport who shined despite the massive expectations placed on them (4). People ran fast, and it was exciting.
What We Can Learn
I am not done thinking about the Olympics. And, anyway, to let the Olympics pass — a stage where we saw so much excellence on display — without learning anything, would be a mistake.
I am sure there are lessons a coach or physiologist would report that would differ from my own. Here are my takeaways as a moral philosopher.
Stade de France, ready to host the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo: Shutterstock
1. You Can Be a Great Athlete and a Good Person
Prior to the Olympic games, Nike aired a commercial that featured several star athletes, labeled with words like “deceptive,” “single-minded,” and “obsessive.” Then it posed a question: “Am I a bad person?” As in, does competitive success require the presence of vices — traits that otherwise detract from a good life, yet make us more successful in our sports?
The impact of character on sports performance is complex. Character in sports (as it is in most human domains) is a messy landscape of virtues, vices, and everything in between. And this is a topic that benefits from being more precisely framed — for example, the impacts of pride on teamwork in soccer, or the effects of perseverance on distance running. If you are interested in a more thorough treatment of this topic, you can find one in my book here.
Regardless, while there were certainly bad actors and instances of vice (5), good character was also on display throughout the Games. For example, American gymnast Simone Biles cheered for and celebrated the victory of her Brazilian opponent, Rebeca Andrade. She called Andrade a “phenomenal” athlete who “put me on my toes (6).”
Simone Biles at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Photo: Shutterstock
A second example was Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Olympic 1,500-meter champion and one of the favorites for this year’s event. After finishing a disappointing (for him) fourth place, he expressed gratitude for his supporters and graciously thanked his competitors (7).
American swimmer Katie Ledecky invited her teammate to the top of the podium with her to share her gold medal moment, and tennis players Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Rafael Nadal (Spain) gave each other hugs and exchanged words of respect after their match.
I left the Games hopeful that peak sports performance need not come at the cost of a good character.
Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo: By Like tears in rain – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=151172242
2. We Do Not Become Excellent on Our Own
There is an error that pride often commits. It is forgetful of the goods it has received by others and thus arrives at a “false estimate of [its] own self-sufficient greatness (8).” Pride thinks, “I accomplished this myself.”
Realistically, pretty much anything we achieve is due to the investments of others — often our parents or other caretakers who feed us and love us, the support of coaches and teachers, the kindness of neighbors and friends, and the teammates and competitors who refine us. And this was the message I heard as a refrain throughout the Olympics.
Post-competition interviews had a theme: gratitude for the people in their lives who helped them accomplish what they did. We depend on others. We can’t become excellent by ourselves.
3. Don’t Listen to What the Masses Say About You
Prior to the 2024 Olympics, I had never observed synchronized diving. But this did not prevent me from having opinions about it. After five minutes of watching the divers compete, I was on my feet, giving them feedback through my television.
One good reminder from the Olympics is that people may have strong opinions about what you should or should not do with your life. For example, I felt bad for the runners who did (or did not) participate in the relay events at the start of the track meet.
Those who did were criticized for not prioritizing their primary events. Those who did not were criticized for putting themselves first, over the interest of their country. There was no way to win in the eyes of the public.
Most of us live quieter lives and do not have to worry about the opinions of the many — large swaths of people disagreeing about our life choices. Even so, this is a good reminder to have a few key people in your life whom you trust, who know you, and will your good. Take feedback from these people. Have integrity before them.
Final Thoughts
The Olympic Games were a great opportunity to learn about what it means to be excellent. There are many more lessons we could have gleaned, beyond the three we explored above.
From marathoners and training partners, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, we learned that friendship refines us and makes the journey more enjoyable.
From Cole Hocker — who found a small window of space on the rail to sneak through and claim Olympic gold in the 1,500 meters — we learned that strategy is important, and there is a bit of luck involved in victory.
And from Dutch runner Sifan Hassan, who ran three distance events and went home with three medals, we learned to take one day — and one difficult thing — at a time. If she dwelled on the enormity of the task before her, it may have been overwhelming. But she got it done, one race at a time.
The men’s 1,500-meter final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The U.S.’s Cole Hocker (back right) moved up on the inside late to beat favorites Josh Kerr (U.K.) and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway). Photo: Filip Bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Call for Comments
- For you, what was the most inspiring moment in the Paris Olympics?
- What other life lessons did you take from the Games?
References/Notes
- Kenneth Rooks’ silver medal in the steeplechase, Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse in the men’s 1,500 meters.
- Grant Fisher’s double bronze in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races.
- The Netherlands’s Sifan Hassan’s gold medal in the marathon, following bronze medals in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races.
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400-meter hurdles, Keely Hodgkinson in the 800 meters, and Gabby Thomas in the 200-meter run.
- Consider the Canadian soccer staff that was banned for spying on other teams.
- Contreras. Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles Explain Their Viral Podium Photo with Rebeca Andrade. “NBC News.” 5 August 2024. Web <https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/simone-biles-jordan-chiles-bow-to-rebeca-andrade-on-podium> Accessed 12 August 2024.
- See Jakob’s Instagram post here.
- Herdt. 2008. “Putting on Virtue: The Legacy of the Splendid Vices. University of Chicago Press.” p. 42.
