By Aiden Plumbe
The Olympics are an inspiring set of events that have pushed athletes to their limits and have allowed them to achieve amazing things. The Games have been going on for years now, dating back to the first modern Olympics in 1896. Throughout its history, there have been some iconic and motivational moments. However, there have also been some downright funny moments as well.
What would you do to compete in the Olympics? There are several things that we sacrifice for things in our life that we love. But Matthew Dawson from the Australian hockey team took it to the next level. About two weeks prior to the 2024 Olympics, Dawson broke his ring finger during training. The injury was so severe that he would have to undergo surgery, and the recovery would take over six months, causing him to miss the Games. However, Dawson wasn’t going to miss these Games, as they might have been his last. So, Dawson got his ring finger amputated in order to compete.
In the current 2024 Paris Olympics, Yusuf Dikec won silver for Turkey in the mixed team 10m air pistol shooting event. This was Turkey’s first ever medal in Olympic shooting. But Yusuf became so popular because of his so-called ‘casual approach’. Numerous shooters wear special technology to enhance their performance such as visors to reduce the light’s glare and blinders over one eye to get a better view. Many of this eye material also includes prescription for better vision while shooting. Additionally, several athletes will wear large ear defenders to concentrate. Yusuf, however, showed up with a pair of glasses, normal earplugs, one hand in his pocket and a casual look on his face. This photo went viral, commenting on how little tech he used for the event.
The Olympics is full of talented athletes, and apparently amateurs as well. In the 2018 Winter Olympics, there was one skier who was strangely bad. She did no tricks at all and looked like an absolute beginner. It turns out that Elizabeth Swaney had found some sort of loophole in the Olympics. To compete in the Olympics, every skier must first compete in international competitions and events to prove their capabilities. Elizabeth Swaney discovered that she didn’t need to be good at skiing; she only had to score top 30 in one event and accumulate 50 points overall across her events. So, Elizabeth began attending any event she could around the world, performing the simplest routine but performing it perfectly. This placed her higher than some of the more skilled athletes who performed harder stunts but failed. Additionally, she would attend competitions with less than 30 women competing. After a few years, she qualified for the Olympics, even ranking 34th in the world. She competed for Hungary and ended up getting one of the lowest scores in Olympic history.
If you have heard of Steven Bradbury, then you will know that he is an icon in Australian sport. You probably would have also heard the saying, “doing a Bradbury”. So, how did this Australian man become so iconic? Bradbury was an athlete who dedicated his life to speed skating despite coming from outback Australia in Queensland, which has a notable lack of snow. Bradbury had been competing for years and the 2002 Winter Olympics arrived, which might have been his last time at the Games. He was a complete underdog, many believing he wouldn’t make it to the Quarterfinals. However, luck was on Bradbury’s side, and he passed the Quarterfinals due to another athlete being disqualified. But his luck wasn’t done there. In the Semifinals, three skaters fell over, and the other was disqualified, leaving Bradbury to win by default. In the Finals, luck sided with Bradbury once again. He was falling drastically behind, almost getting lapped by the others. However, in the last lap one skater fell and caused everyone else to fall as well. Bradbury casually skated past the finish line and Brough home the very first God medal for Australia in speed skating.
These tales of inspiration, dedication, loopholes, and casualness are a testament to the surprising events that happen in even the most highly regarded sporting events. The Olympics has shown us great feats that we didn’t think were possible. We’ll only have to wait for the next moment in the 2024 Paris Olympics.