The media 'hype the Olympics' and all the various sporting events especially the golden events such as the 100 metres blue ribbon track and field along with the swimming events.
Then there are all the other sports that feature in the Olympics - basketball, hockey, volleyball, diving, equestrian, cycling, sailing …. along with the rest of them.
These are all big deals for the athletes involved and coming home with any medal, let alone a Gold Medal will often mean remarkable publicity and commercial advances.
The swimmers lead the way in this with top swimmers gaining positions at corporate level but the same usually does not apply to the divers, the hockey players, the volleyballers to name but three.
With the international nature of such sports, the coaches and support staffs meet each other Olympics after Olympics where advancement opportunities exist. One example of this are the Olympic diving coaches – see photo above.
But all this is only one aspect of any Olympics.
Olympic sport is one place where good-will is beyond politics where key strategists for national governments meet, renew friendships, continue to build bonds and often get to issues before they get to belligerence stage.
All this is done behind closed doors where no one outside these parties is allowed in, where the best of wines are served, where family news is shared, major political scenarios and avoided but where discussions take place to bring something else to such agendas.
The Olympics are much more than sport. The Olympics must be more than sport. The Olympics is a venue where a whole different aspect is explored. But it is the Olympic sports that allow all this to flourish. Much prayer is raised to the heavenlies that this continues.
Josh Hinds is a school chaplain, been writing sport for Christian Today for m10 years and is an experienced international sport writer.