As thousands of top-notch athletes from across the globe assemble every four years for the celebration of the Olympic Games, they carry varying emotions of anticipation, apprehension, and aspirations, with each instance of the grand sports spectacle adding uniquely to its illustrious legacy. Paris 2024 follows suit, as it gears up to captivate not just the billions glued to their television screens, but also the ten million attendees set to witness heart-thumping actions across 32 different sports over a span of 16 days.
This event is starkly different from its precursor in Paris, a hundred years ago, wherein just a tad above 3,000 competitors took part, including the newly independent Ireland debuting at the Games. While 1924 saw 48 Irish representatives, the current year has a robust team of 133 men and women carrying their nation’s hopes over the next two weeks. Where the 1924 squad was a symbol of a nation on the rise eager to make its mark globally, this year reflects Ireland’s evolution as a country fostering exceptional athletes from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Despite ballooning costs and the increase in size, the Olympics manages to retain an unmatched appeal compared to any other sports event. It’s truly international, with 184 countries vying for glory in Paris and boasting of a television reach in billions. The monumental dimension of the games makes it a potential security concern, with the French administration already having tackled an assault on their high-speed rail network. Managing security has now become as integral to hosting the Olympics as the construction of venues.
The Irish contingent, competing across 15 unique sports, harbor legitimate hopes for an unprecedented medal tally, aiming to outdo their 2012 London achievement of six medals. A significant onus lays on the 64 women in the team, which presents a stark contrast to the 1924 contingent featuring only two females. Regardless of the final medal outcome, one certainty stands: the Irish athletes won’t be replicating Jack B Yeats and Oliver St John Gogarty’s 1924 achievements of bagging silver and bronze in arts and literature, respectively. Paris 2024 is all set to script its own unique chapter in Olympic history.