The Paris Olympics ended six days ago, but it is still very much on the minds of most people around the world.
In Malaysia, the discussions revolve around our failure to win a gold medal despite spending hundreds of millions since the last Games in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021.
In our analysis, we stated that Malaysia needs to rethink its approach and prioritise sports in schools. Sadly, we have been saying the same thing for decades.
Will a future Olympic Games gold medallist be unearthed at the Malaysia Games (Sukma), which begins today in Sarawak? I won’t hold my breath.
Another significant issue from the Olympic Games was the impact of social media. A BBC report stated that the International Olympic Council estimated over half a billion social media posts related to the Olympics.
It added: “It would take close to 16 years to read if you gave each post one second of your time.”
There were many inspiring, funny, and good-hearted posts, but just as many were not.
The power of social media brought to light the inspiring stories of American cyclist Kristen Faulkner, who won two gold medals, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who won bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m, and the marathon gold, and Pakistan’s javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem, who set an Olympic record with a throw of 92.97m.
Faulkner took up cycling seven years ago as a hobby but became the third woman to win gold in two disciplines at a single Olympic Games – road race and track cycling pursuit team.
Sifan became the first woman to win medals in athletics’ three longest distance races – 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon.
Arshad set his record using a javelin he received before the Games after appealing for a new one on social media. Then, there was Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec, whose nonchalant hand-in-pocket, limited gear style broke the internet.
American gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik gained a following as many felt he looked like Clark Kent, and Bob ‘the Cap Catcher’, who became famous for his floral Speedo swimming trunks. Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa was also popular because of the viral photographs of her endorsing parmesan cheese.
On the flip side, many jumped on the bandwagon when Australian swimming coach Brett Hawke took issue with Pan Zhanle’s world record in the men’s 100m freestyle. Hawke claimed Pan’s time of 46.40s was not “humanly possible”, implying he had taken illegal substances.
Pan received tonnes of hate on social media – mostly from those in Western countries – despite passing a dope test after setting the record to win a gold medal.
Before the Olympics, Pan underwent 21 dope tests in 2024 alone and passed all of them. In 2023, he passed 29 tests.
Rachael Gunn, the Australian breakdancer who scored zero points, was also mocked online for her unusual dance moves.
The AP news agency reported that French prosecutors are investigating an online harassment complaint by welterweight boxing gold medallist Imane Khelif. The Algerian received a torrent of abuse and false claims about her sex, with many labelling her as transgender, even though she was born a woman.
Author J.K. Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk were reportedly named in the criminal complaint filed by Imane.
Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, also accused of being transgender, won the flyweight gold, but it was Imane who received the bulk of the hate.
There were many inspiring, funny, and good-hearted social media posts during the recently concluded Paris Olympics, but just as many were not. That’s simply the power and curse of social media.
