Sooooo, did we all tune into the Olympics over the last couple of weeks? It truly is fascinating watching such talented young individuals represent and fight for the name of your country. We all became the most patriotic selves we’ve ever been – a feeling that reignites the spark that we feel for our homes. Records were broken, others were sealed, and the tally for gold kept climbing each week.
This year we witnessed both the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. Athletes left and right were getting proposed to right after winning gold, taking home both gold AND diamond at the end of the day. Another athlete lost his wedding ring in the River Seine, and immediately took to Instagram to write a paragraph dedicated to his wife, apologising and suggesting that she can throw her ring in the river too so that both their rings can be together in the riverbed of the city of love: Paris.
Love was written everywhere in this Olympics. It truly was a lovely tournament for many. Although many countries were celebrated with love for their strength and unity, others were put down with hate. It’s safe to say that hate was very much present this past month, of course, in the form of anti-Christianity and racism.
Every host, for what should have been a prestigious tournament, does have a ton of pressure to execute their opening ceremony, to make sure they are a stage where their culture and history are showcased. What I find funny is that the Olympics were vocal about keeping the event religion-neutral, and they even went as far as commanding athletes to not show the world their faith. One example is Brazilian surfer João Chianca, who was asked, two weeks before the tournament, to remove the image of Jesus Christ on his surfboard, or else he would be excluded from the competition. But then the Olympics proceeded to come up with the most twisted opening ceremony, where drag queens (apparently a worthy symbol of culture) “remade”, in their own circus-like way, the Last Supper. So, it’s not okay to celebrate faith but it’s okay to mock it? Got it. But it’s alright, a few hours later Paris experienced a power outage, and the only thing left standing lit up amidst the darkness was the Sacre-Coeur Church. Coincidence much? Yeah, don’t mock God.
When we think of gold-flashing performances and the smashing of world records, the first country that comes to mind this tournament is, in no doubt, China. I mean, a standing ovation for China for making it a national priority to have a smashing breakthrough and win gold, and for actually doing it. They didn’t only do it, they executed it and KILLED IT. Goodness gracious, I have never felt so proud to be Chinese. We did so well that the whole world questioned how it was humanly possible. Some countries questioned it so badly that they had to resort to racism to validate their feelings (I know, very cute) and spread Sinophobia just to manipulate other countries to despise us (yet again). It really was fascinating to see how each country coped with their insecurities. Some were vocal, others reflected it in their behaviour, which was a hard but funny watch. Let’s dig right in, shall we?
Where to begin? Let’s start with 20-year-old legend Pan Zhanle, my fellow SJTU student. Having won gold at the age of 19 (three days before his twentieth birthday) in the swimming 100m freestyle, he set the world record at 46.40 seconds, coming in at first place almost one whole second faster than Kyle Chalmers, second place. The whole of China rejoiced in glee and was in awe that such a youngster could establish himself this well in the Olympics. However, other people’s reaction took a much different turn. And this is where things get interesting…
After winning gold, Pan Zhanle took part in an interview and revealed the Western swimmers’ arrogance towards him. In Chinese he states: “I tried to greet Chalmers. He just ignored me. And Team USA’s Alexy… We were training and he purposely splashed water on our coaches. I feel that they look down on us.” I was like, "Okay, that’s nothing new in the way that they treat us Chinese", but what was surprising was how truly childish they are. Splashing water? Voilà. A child’s behaviour at a kid’s pool. And not greeting someone back out of spite? Shameful. But hey, what’s new?
Australian swim coach Brett Hawke took to Instagram and said ‘You don’t beat those guys by one full body length in a 100 freestyle. That’s not humanly possible, okay, so don’t sell it to me, don’t shove it down my throat. It’s not real.” First of all, “It always seems impossible until it’s done”, a quote from Nelson Mandela. Secondly, watch it get done. If it was an athlete from the USA, it would be a totally different story. It would most definitely be defined as humanly possible. Why? Because America does it aaallllll, right? When Phelps won 7 or 8 medals in one Olympics, no one questioned him. No one questioned him ever. Apparently, it’s not humanly possible because we’re Chinese. In response to this, a user on Instagram hilariously commented the following: “The Westerners can identify themselves as whatever, non-binary, “they/them”, a dog, a cat, but others can’t be beyond human?” JAW DROPPED.
You know what else was jaw-dropping? The anti-doping testing figures that were released.
Isn’t it hilarious that China is tested the most at a staggering 19,228 times, when we’re the ones who least violate doping violations, at 0.2%? Meanwhile, the States got tested 3 times less than us (6,782 times), even when their percentage of doping violations stand at 1.2%. And guess what? There’s more. On the World Aquatics website, China has 31 swimmers. Each of them got tested 21 times A DAY, when the USA has 46 swimmers and each of them only got tested 6 times a day. Isn’t it just hilarious? More stats came out, saying that Chinese swimmers get tested 200 times in 10 days, and that the total number of doping tests performed on the Chinese swimming team has exceeded 600, SINCE JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. Yet, funnily enough, each and every Chinese athlete has come out clean and innocent. Michael Phelps even came out to say that all athletes who have previously tested positive for drugs should forever be banned from competing at a high level, and advocated for an increase in the testing of Chinese athletes. Okay, so can he explain why he’s saying all this about us (who are clean, by the way) when his own country has swimmers in the female section who have purple faces after racing? Not so clean there are ya…
Qin Haiyang, a swimmer representing China, also came out to talk about this issue, stating in Chinese: “This proves that the European and American teams feel threatened by the performance of the Chinese team in recent years.” He goes on to reveal, “The tests come early in the morning before we’re even awake, during midday rest periods, forcing us to rest on hotel lobby sofas, and even late at night, keeping us up past midnight.” He follows this up by saying “Some tricks aim to disrupt our preparation rhythm and destroy our psychological defense. But we are not afraid. When you have a clear conscience, you do not fear slander. The team is currently preparing at the established pace. My teammates and I will resist the pressure and win more medals to silence the skeptics.” And that’s exactly what they did.
On 5th August (coincidentally one day after Pan Zhanle’s twentieth birthday), the world was awaiting the men’s 4x100 medley relay to see which country would silence the world. With the world on the edge of its seat, the race started with the backstroke, with Team USA in the lead. But at the first change-over, China had a narrow lead by Qin Haiyang. From then up until the third change-over, France was in the lead, with the US in second, and China, third. But on the final length of the pool (50m), Pan Zhanle charged past both France and the US, and touched first place by half a second and half a body length, rewriting the record books, handing the gold over to China, and ultimately putting an end to the United States’ 64-year reign over this race. I couldn’t believe the sight. I couldn’t believe what I just witnessed, even with my glasses on. I guess this is what happens when you get the last laugh. Someone even commented: “Is it just me or is China just winning on every stage of the world these days? Could this be the beginning of the end of the USA’s winning streak in everything?”
You can watch the full video of the race posted by the official Olympics YouTube account. What’s funny is that China won and the official Olympics YouTube account didn’t even put them in the thumbnail. "Didn't" or "couldn't"? Like, really? Is this how you’re going to cope… How low can you go? Both your laughter and your tears helped fuel us to reach the finish line. Try harder next time.
Ooooo and you know how the truth always comes to light? Did you know that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) came out stating that as many as 90% of US athletes don't undergo anti-doping tests as required? It has also recently been disclosed that the United States has allowed their athletes to cheat and take performance-enhancement drugs like steroids for a decade now, whilst accusing other countries for violations? The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which internationally monitors athletes to make sure they don’t use illegal drugs to compete, released a statement this month, saying that since 2011, the US Government’s USADA (the United States Anti-Doping Agency), has allowed American athletes to use illegal substances, in the name of “spying" on and retrieving information from other athletes, despite consuming illegal substances themselves. What in the world of excuses is that?
At the end of the day, they just came back empty-handed because hey, China didn’t dope. They just fooled themselves. This came to light in 2021, 10 years after the beginning of such clownery, but WADA was forced by the United States to close this case and remain silent. It was never published, the athletes who took the drugs and violated rules were never disqualified, prize money was never returned and no suspension was ever served. Why? Because those American athletes, who have previously competed internationally and at a world-class level are retired now. Any names that come to mind?
On the brighter side, after winning, Pan Zhanle broke his silence and addressed Australian swim coach Brett Hawke’s condescending remarks about him, who previously stated that his record was “humanly impossible”, which was more of a compliment than criticism, but anywho. “What he said is good, and I wish he could say more to mislead the West while we keep growing even stronger. What he said shows that he is still thinking inside the box, not outside the box. The “box” is a limit that we human beings set for ourselves.” When the interviewer asked him whether it’s affected him in any way, he responded, saying “Yes, but in a good way. Whether it’s praise or a put-down, they all become my source of energy to strive.”
Oooofff... Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly how you win. This is the mindset of a real winner. This is how you win on every level. You gracefully and silently do your job and let time tell. Silence the haters, treat them as your motivators, and take your pot of gold home, whilst not being proud and putting other people down. This is the Chinese mentality. Even after we win, we aren’t proud. We remain humble because we know that this is only the beginning of our journey. We have a lot more to learn. C’est la vie. There’s nothing else to be done. Let people's actions speak for themselves. The others already did everything in their power to disrupt us and put us down, yet we still rise.
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