I often say that the Olympics have many more incredible stories than the thousands of journalists covering the event can tell. There are several of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which end on Sunday (22).
For the Italians, they will be proud of their fantastic sporting campaign as host country. By the time the column was written, they had already won 26 medals, nine gold. They rose from tenth place overall in Beijing-2022 to third – for now –, just behind the powers Norway and the United States.
Those who like curious scenes won’t forget the Norwegian who, minutes after winning bronze in biathlon, declared to the whole world that he cheated on his girlfriend, in the hope that the public confession would help him win her heart back (so far, it doesn’t seem to have worked). Or you loved watching the moment a cute puppy stormed the cross-country ski trail and crossed the finish line.
Anyone interested in geopolitics certainly followed the drama of the Ukrainian skeleton athlete, disqualified because he insisted on competing with a helmet with photos of war dead – political demonstrations are prohibited by Olympic rules.
We, Brazilians, gained an idol: Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, gold in alpine skiing. What touches me most about Lucas’ story is not just the extraordinary feat of winning the first medal in Brazil’s history at the Winter Olympic Games. Or the courage of the son of a Brazilian mother and a Norwegian father to cut ties with an Olympic power – he was competing for Norway – and choose to defend the colors of Brazil.
What really impressed me was watching an interview with Lucas, before the unreleased gold, talking about something fundamental: the feeling of belonging. He said that as a child, in Norway, he was considered Brazilian and, when he went to Brazil, they called him foreign. He grew up without confidence, with the feeling “of being wrong, as if he were never at home.” He said that it was in sport that he found belonging, because, there, all children were equal.
As I have been away from Brazil for almost nine years, the statement hit me hard. I’m very proud to be Brazilian, it’s where my roots are, and I always think about how I would like a future child to feel the same, or to find their sense of belonging wherever they are. This is one of the many benefits of playing sports and it applies to other aspects of life. How many people are unhappy at work, they don’t feel included in that environment because, by choice or necessity, they ended up in that job instead of doing what they love?
In another sincere interview, this one right after the gold, Lucas said that his story was not conventional, but it was “his”. And he was sure that if he followed his heart, he would be successful, and that’s why he was an Olympic champion.
I heard some people say that, with the world at war and unstable, there was no climate for the Olympic Games. But it is precisely in these moments that sport matters. If politicians sometimes show the most perverse side of human beings, athletes are the best of us. And, in the end, that’s what remains of each Olympics: these great stories.
The columnist is in Milan as a reporter for the organization responsible for the official broadcast of the Olympic Games
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