Hearts of gold
A love letter to the Paris Olympic Games
I’ve written before about my fascination with ordinary people doing extraordinary things— and surely the epitome of this is the Olympics.
Yes, this going to be an entire email about the Olympics. Apologies in advance.
In previous years, I haven’t been that bothered about it. I might have dipped in and out of the big events, glory hunting for Tom Daley or Jessica Ennis-Hill, but I have never sat down and watched it live.
This year, my second monitor is taking a break from showing spreadsheets, and is instead giving me the nerve-wracking background commentary of whatever obscure sport is taking place at that moment.
Why am I so hooked this year? Here is why I think the first post-pandemic Olympics is set to be the best of all time:
It’s about overcoming adversity
The week kicked off with Tom Daley coming out of semi-retirement to win a Silver medal alongside new diving partner Noah Williams. What I didn’t realise about Daley is that his dad passed away when the Olympian was just 17 years old. Robert Daley had championed Tom’s career, and the BBC screened clips of old interviews where he explained that Tom’s diving ambitions were his entire life. So, knowing Tom has continued to succeed on a world stage, and seeing his husband and two children (the eldest of which is named after his dad— an honour you know I appreciate having named my own child after my late mam), was truly awe-inspiring.
Losing a parent is hard at any age, but doing so when you are just 17 years old, in the public eye and already a household name is truly an unimaginable struggle.
As I was writing this, another incredible story popped up on my feed. Team GB just picked up a Gold in Women’s Quadruple Sculls Rowing. In the post-game interview, Lola Anderson tells a tear-jerking story about how she wrote on a piece of paper as a child, after watching the women’s rowing success at London 2012, that it “would be my biggest dream in life to go to the Olympics in rowing and if possible win a gold for GB.”
Unbeknownst to her, Anderson’s father kept this piece of paper and shared it with her seven years later, after his brain cancer diagnosis. Through tears, Anderson told the BBC: “I know that he would be so proud of me.”
I didn’t even know what scull-rowing was until today. I typically have little interest in sports. But what I do have great interest in is humanity's incredible drive. We continue to push for things that seem beyond our reach, even (and especially) in times of great adversity. This is what the Olympic Games are about.
It shows you can come back stronger
There are so many stories like this. Perhaps one of the most iconic is that of Team USA’s Simone Biles, the country’s most decorated gymnast who famously withdrew from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games to focus on her mental health.
I vividly remember an op-ed from Piers Morgan ripping into Biles, and especially her reasoning for stepping back from the world stage. Remember, this is the same athlete who was growing up in Team USA Gymnastics when convicted sexual abuser Larry Nassar was the team doctor. Biles actually gave testimony in Nassar’s trial, just over a month after her Tokyo withdrawal.
This is a woman who has experienced unknown trauma, and yet this hasn’t stopped her. Watching her and the team win Gold this week is likely to reign supreme as one of the biggest emotional highs of the whole games. It’s a comeback for the century, and big fuck-you to everyone who questioned her decision in 2021.
It’s a distraction
I know some will say it’s a distraction from the many ongoing global atrocities, but I say: what’s wrong with that? We can care about big world issues, and still enjoy watching people run really fast.
Of course, the games are not without their politics, but I do think showing the individual achievements of athletes all over the world encourages an open-mindedness that many other global sporting events do not.
There is (finally) gender equality
This is the first Olympic Games in history to have 50% gender parity.
I don’t need to explain why this is great (or long overdue). I am really interested in how the global visibility of female athletes at this competition will trickle down to a grassroots level.
Young women and girls need to see a diverse range of sportspeople— other people who look like them compete at a high level. To me, this is paramount for the much-needed shift away from exercise solely for the sake of weight loss, which is a motivator still heavily pushed onto women from a young age.
I could go on much longer about why I think the Olympic Games are so great, but I will spare you. If you’re watching all day every day, like I am, then let me know your highlights (and what you’re most looking forward to) in the comments below.
It’s finally sunny here, so I have been getting out and about with our toddler and touching plenty of grass. The National Trust membership has been particularly useful, as there are plenty of activities on all summer-long.
Other things I’ve enjoyed this week:
🎙️Should I Delete That? (Podcast) - I am a regular listener of this podcast from Em Clarkson and Alex Light, but I particularly enjoyed this week’s fun “Is It Just Me?” episode that had me chuckling away like a nutter on a run.
📺We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4) - Season 2 of this hilarious sitcom did not disappoint. It’s about a group of Muslim women who defy cultural expectations to become a pretty successful punk band. This is an easy watch and has some amazing musical numbers.
Like the things I like? Tomorrow, I’ll be publishing my monthly Touching Grass round-up, which includes a more personal blurb and greater detail into my top films, books and shows from the month of July.
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💌 About this email
I’m Ellen, and I write about mental health for the chronically online. I am a freelance copywriter, strategist and web designer, and I work from home with my husband, Craig, at Content By The Sea. We have two rescue greyhounds, Potter and Harmony, and a toddler.
I started this newsletter in March 2020 and have sent over 170 emails; currently, I have over 1,200 subscribers. I write about a wide variety of topics, including diet culture, my love of running, jealousy, my life falling apart, mam guilt, and this dystopian world we all live in.
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Loved this weeks email Ellen - I stayed up way past my bed time last night to watch some of the highlights of the day. My fave event has to be the swimming, having been a swimmer whilst at school. I am just in awe of the way they all move through the water. Absolutely stunned by Katie Ledecky's 1500m swim - she lead the race the whole way through and didn't seem to tire. Then there was the competition between the silver and bronze places during the race as there was just no catching Katie.. just amazing!