100 days until Paris 2024, 100 years later | This Tuesday the Olympic flame was lit

The Olympiad is the period that passes between the holding of the Olympic Games. In this case it is the shortest in history because Tokyo 2020 took place in 2021 due to the pandemic. The Olympic cycle then became smaller and the athletes immediately had to begin preparing for Paris 2024. 100 days before the start of a new edition, the Olympic flame was lit and will begin its journey through Greece to arrive in Marseille on May 8 and set foot for the first time on French soil, which will travel for 68 days.

How is the most visited city in the world prepared?

The opening ceremony (at least for now) will be unprecedented in the Olympic Games, but not in the Youth Olympic Games, since Buenos Aires 2018 was a pioneer in holding this event outdoors. In this case, the Seine River will host more than 10,500 athletes who will parade on a 6 km route that will end at the Trocadero, the same place where the Park of Champions will be, where the Olympic medalists will be able to share the celebration with the public. In recent weeks the authorities have spoken out due to events related to terrorism. This Monday Emmanuel Macron, French president, confirmed that they have a Plan B and C in case they consider it appropriate to modify the scenario. The Trocadero would be Plan B and the Stade de France, Plan C. Two weeks ago the intelligence services had recommended canceling the open-air ceremony after the attack in Moscow and based on threats that the French Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa- Castéra, had denied. The holding of a ceremony open to the world will depend on the guarantees that the “City of Light” has to ensure the famous “Olympic truce.”

100 years later

In 1924 the Games lasted 84 days, there were 3088 athletes from 44 countries, of which only 135 were women. There were 17 sports, there were art competitions and exhibition sports: Basque pelota, Canadian canoeing, French boxing and childhood games. The main stadium was the Colombes Stadium called Stade Olympique Yves du Manoir, where hockey will now take place. Regarding the stages used 100 years ago, the Olympic pool where Johnny Weissmuller (who later acted as Tarzan) competed and won four medals was renovated, but it will not be used for competition but for training. In Paris 1924, the motto “Citius, Altius, fortus” was used for the first time, which would remain in history with the addition of “Communiter” (Together) after the pandemic in 2021.

These Games marked a before and after, since they were the first after the two suspended by the First World War, the pioneers in holding the closing ceremony and in having a representative logo. Additionally, the story of Eric Lidell and Harold Abrahams inspired the iconic film “Chariots of Fire.”

Argentina in Paris 1924

100 years have also passed since the first participation of a national delegation in the Olympic Games. Argentina brought 93 athletes and 9 officials, among whom there were no women. The delegation participated in 11 disciplines and won six medals: gold in polo, silver in triple jump and the rest in boxing, two silver and two bronze. For the next Olympic Games so far there are 101 qualified athletes who will participate in 17 sports. There are still some chances such as men’s volleyball and some athletes who are in the race to achieve the minimum marks and times.

Towards Paris 2024, what remains of amateurism?

Since the constitution of the modern Olympic Games, amateurism was the sine qua non for the participation of athletes. Even in the Ancient Games, everything related to professionalism had less symbolic value in each victory because it was related to economic interest. Almost 100 years after the first modern edition in 1896, 1992 was the first time that professionals were part of the greatest multi-sport event, the NBA “Dream Team.” In Rio 2016, professional boxers were authorized to compete. But there was something that until now had preserved the “Olympic spirit” of the 19th century which boasted that athletes did not receive any financial reward for their performance. Nothing remains of this spirit with last week’s announcement by World Athletics, then the International Athletics Federation, that the Olympic champions will receive $50,000 as a prize. Times change and this edition will be the first with gender equality at least in regards to the participating athletes.

There is very little left until the Olympic Games that generate a lot of expectation since the public will return after the particular edition of Tokyo 2020. We will have to see what happens in 100 days when the cauldron is lit… in the Seine River or in the Stade from France?

2024-04-16 14:08:57
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