It has been a week since the opening ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics, yet I have not seen or heard any news regarding the events. This is a complete contrast from the Summer Olympics. I asked several of my classmates which Olympics they preferred Summer or Winter. All of the people asked said Summer. In the United States, the Summer Olympics are almost a lifestyle. All the trials events for Summer Olympics are major televised events, but the winter trials are not.
I feel as an American, I am uneducated on the selection processes for the athletes representing my country in the Winter Olympics. Winter Olympians happen to also be more underrated than Summer Olympians. I may be young and have only been interested in the Olympics more in the last two years, however, I can name on one hand the people considered to be "famous" Olympians for the winter Olympics. In contrast, when it comes to the Summer Olympics there are handfuls fo recognizable athletes considered to be "famous."
The thing that I don't understand is that the Winter Olympics are truly artistic. It contains a beautiful balance between creative sports as well as athletically demanding events. Just to name a few: figure skating, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and freestyle snowboarding to many can be seen as creative requiring sports. The reason I say alpine skiing may be for personal reasons.
As someone who is a strong skier, I find it beautiful to see how someone can defy speed going down a mountain at speeds faster than a car. Now that is an adrenaline pumping sport. It is also defying gravity and creative flips and turns that makeup freestyle skiing and snowboarding. Athletes of these sports are to land on a board or two skis, not feet!
Does the spotlight miss the Winter Olympics because the United States does not hold a consistent winning streak compared to the Summer Olympics? It has become apparent that with seven full days into the Winter Olympics we have only won seven medals and are ranked in fifth place as a country. If as a viewer was not searching after results of each event, I would not have any idea who has won medals and which events. We are the largest team consisting of over 200 athletes.
The is over 200 dreams of athletes coming true. I think as a country instead of focusing on what we are good at because we win, there should still be an equal amount of support for these athletes participating in the Winter Olympics.These athletes train just as hard as summer athletes and deserve the equal amount of media attention, recognition of athlete successes, and education to the public on the United States participation in the Winter Olympics.
