Olympic Dreams

 Olympic Dreams


The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have concluded. The many athletic competitions have been decided. The Olympic Medals have been awarded. The Olympiad Champions and their respective accomplishments have been recorded for history and posterity’s sake. The Olympic Flame in Paris has been extinguished until the next Olympic Games.


There is inevitably some kind of controversy surrounding large international events, such as the Olympic Games. Nevertheless, It was a good games and will be remembered as a successful athletic event. The controversies pertaining to the Paris 2024 Olympics seems to be a growing problem within the athletic community and needs to be addressed to ensure fair and equitable sporting events. My opinion is that biological males should not be allowed to compete in female sports. Female athletes should not be forced or required to share training facilities, bathrooms, shower facilities, locker rooms, the awards stage, or scholarship monies with other non-female athletes.


On a more personal level, I entertained my own Olympic Dreams for several years while in High School. I placed 5th in the State High School wrestling tournament my Freshman Year of High School. I won many high school level folk-style wrestling competitions. I, also, won a Freestyle Wrestling Tournament that qualified me to try-out for the U.S. Junior Olympics Wrestling Team. My highest finish was placing 2nd in the Virginia High School Wrestling Tournament, losing in the 112lb finals to long-time rival and returning State Champion from Grundy High School. After, briefly, wrestling as a red-shirt freshman for a Division I College program, I quickly realized there was no Olympic Medal in my future. Nevertheless, in today’s dollars, I estimate I received over $25,000 worth of self-defense hand-to-hand combat training over the 6 years of active wrestling and other MMA sports.


Online College degree programs fundamentally challenge the athletic hierarchy and structure that has been in place for the past 50 years. I do not know of any Athletic Scholarships for online college degree programs. However, many online college students are very active in local gyms and sports leagues. It is very possible a local Minor League sports team or sporting arena has several online college students attempting to achieve professional athlete status. Additionally, a single multi-million dollar professional sports contract could change the life of an athlete, and those who helped them achieve that goal.


The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have concluded. I was able to watch about 25 hours of live competitions, including many wrestling matches, over the nearly 3 weeks of competition. Despite the controversies, it was a successful sporting event. I congratulate the Olympic Victors and Medal Winners, athletes, and all those who made the Paris 2024 Olympic Games successful. The Olympic Dream lives on. 



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