EDITORIAL | Let the conversations begin and the torch shine brightly on them

There have been many firsts for the Tokyo Summer Games, some better than others. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Olympic event is well documented, causing the only postponement in history, barring those of the first and second world wars. Empty stadiums and masked athletes are the order of the day at the world’s biggest sporting event.

The postponement from last year to this offered opportunities for some athletes who would not have been able to participate if it weren’t for the one-year delay. While there is no universal minimum age for Olympians, some sports have age limits. For example, gymnasts must turn 16 during the year of the Games. This meant the women gymnasts who would not have met the age eligibility criterion if the Tokyo Games had been held in 2020 were this year offered the chance to perform. The International Gymnastics Federation decided to allow those turning 16 in 2021, instead of 2020, to compete in Tokyo. A wise 15-year-old, Jutta Verkest of Belgium, offered a sobering remark about the opportunity: “I think that nobody is happy to have coronavirus ... because imagine if the Olympics could have taken place without all these masks? Then I would not have been part of it, but everything would have been much bigger and very different.”

The Tokyo Olympics is being celebrated for having the most gender-equal games. However, these athletes are showing us that there are still significant issues surrounding gender that aren’t fixed by just increasing numbers.

—  US gender and ethnic studies professor Kendra Gage

The Covid-19 pandemic aside, this year’s Olympics also offered some firsts unrelated to sport. It shone the spotlight on mental health as US gold medallist Simone Biles, who has more than 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, shocked the world and her team when she started in the women’s team final, then pulled out. Instead of sticking to the USA Gymnastics version that she retired due to a medical issue, Biles was happy to speak out and say it was not a physical injury that caused her withdrawal, but her mental health, which she deemed more important than a gold medal. She received an outpouring of support, including from International Olympic Commission president Thomas Bach and former US first lady Michelle Obama. 

There were other significant firsts. The German women’s gymnastics team wore ankle-length unitards instead of the usual bikini-cut leotards, a strong statement against the sexualisation of female athletes. They were inspired by the Norwegian beach handball players who were fined for opting for shorts instead of the sport’s typical bikini bottoms during an Olympic qualifier.

NBC News quoted US gender and ethnic studies professor Kendra Gage as saying: “These Games are a turning point for women athletes to take control over arbitrary uniform requirements that have nothing to do with improving their participation, but are a form of controlling their bodies.

“The Tokyo Olympics is being celebrated for having the most gender-equal games. However, these athletes are showing us that there are still significant issues surrounding gender that aren’t fixed by just increasing numbers,” Gage added.

Carol-Angela Orchard, a Canadian gymnast, pointed out that the gymnastics world was still recovering from the revelations that now jailed US gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar sexually assaulted hundreds of patients. “Most athletes don’t feel completely comfortable in a leotard, but it’s something they’ve always had to put up with,” Orchard told CBS.

This brings us to another first — these are the first Summer Games since Nassar was sent to prison for the sexual abuse of gymnasts, including the biggest stars, such as Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney. Biles is the only Olympic gymnast who continued competing at elite level after speaking out against Nassar.

These Olympic Games came a year late, but some of the victories unrelated to sport could not have happened soon enough. May this signal the beginning of the event also becoming the world platform for matters more important than gold medals.