Rio 2016 is shaping up to be another example of national pride and a remarkable display of what it means to be an Australian. With each new Olympic day we ride the roller coaster of joy and partake in bitter sweet sorrow of losing.
So many great Australian stories have emerged, like the sudden emergence of Kyle Chalmers, akin to that of the way Ahston Agar burst onto the cricket scene with an almighty Ashes performance.
This truly must be a Utopia of sporting journalism for Australian media .... and that is why this Olympics has been, in my view a great shame for the athletes and real a monumental insult to their efforts in becoming Olympians.
The three shames
Number 1. Chef De Mission, Kitty Chiller, we live in a global world with many cultures and standards of living. Kitty's first mistake in my view, was "going global" with her public condemnation of the Olympic village set a poor example for athletes and officials. The public war of words with Nick Kyrgios is beyond what you would expect off someone holding that position.
Number 2. Rick Charlesworth's comments regarding the Olympic Gold Medal in the women's rugby was particularly disappointing and also very surprising. I can understand Rick being disappointed that this is rugby's first Olympics and the attention the rugby was given by the Australian media has cast an almighty shadow over his beloved hockey.
His use of the word "soft" is extremely reactionary and definitely a little short sided. I can understand that hockey has always held Olympic pride of place and also that hockey needs the Olympics to survive in Australia's ever competitive sporting landscape, but this, in my view is no way to behave.
Number 3. Officials calling for a review into the Australian swimming team's performance. Our country historically has a strong swim team and this Olympics has continued the tradition.
Placing a 'number' on the team as to how many medals makes a successful Olympics is totally absurd. Every performance is based on so many different factoids that no amount of sponsorship money can buy.
Not only is this insulting to our athletes, it is also an arrogant swipe at competitors from other nations. We need to share in the joy of performances from wider than our Australian shores.
As a nation we have such a great opportunity to embrace the wonderful stories and moments Australians are creating every day through out these Games. How about getting out of there and focus on the real stories. So c'mon Kitty and Rick, step aside and let our athletes shine.
Josh Hinds is a school chaplain on the Gold Coast, a family man and PSI's IT professional. Josh is an experienced writer on international sport.
Josh Hinds' previous articles may be vie/wed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/joshua-hinds.html