In the spring of 2020, the world plunged into a pandemic. The COVID-19 virus caused drastic changes to the lives of nearly everyone on the planet. A consequence to the spreading of the virus was the delaying of the 2020 Summer Olympics by an entire year. Not only did the competing athletes have their training schedules heavily altered, but a lifetime of preparation was disrupted.

The world heavily anticipated tuning in to watch the event, especially in conditions so far from our normality. However, the sense of unity was lost when we learned that the families of athletes couldn’t attend. It would have been totally probable for families to participate more intimately with the games under socially distant or under pandemic precautions. Not to mention the emotional anticipation of the athletes having their loved ones participate in this climaxing event.

With the participation of the entire world, there must have been a better way to involve families rather than have them remain at home. Such solutions could have been allowing a single family member of an athlete to attend in person, or isolated observation booths or decks for families to watch without interacting with each other.

Athletes are used to feeding off of adrenaline, and are often fueled by the support of the crowd. The events of these unique Olympic events are something we could have better addressed.

Christian Hansen

Parker