Op-Ed: Behind the scenes of the Olympics

Some of us might watch the Olympics on television, others might not. That’s okay though, not everyone enjoys watching these types of sports.

The Olympics are a combination of different sporting events in which every country that has athletes qualify may join.

Athletes have the chance to show the world how hard they worked on their ability in the past years. In the Winter Olympics there are many events like Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Bobsleigh, Curling, and much more. Besides an event to show athleticism for the world, why are the Olympics important?

The Olympics recognizes people for their hard work. It shows the effort they put into their sport to represent their country they were born in. To show their talents, athletes that come out on top receive a golden, silver, or a bronze medal. The golden medal not only brings the bragging rights of first place, it is worth $25,000.

Receiving the silver medal is the event’s second place winner and is worth $15,000. The bronze medal goes to the third place winner and its worth $10,000. It’s safe to say that not everyone has the ability to win at the Olympics, and that winning one of these metals shows will see how much effort those that receive them have put in and how much they have trained their body for this incredible success.

There are, however, certain requirements that need to be met before the event takes place and  before athletes take part in the games. In order to be the hosting a city, certain requirements must be followed before it is eligible.

The way countries choose a city is by voting using a secret ballot or other groups. However, the Candidate City is not taken into consideration until they meet more requirements.

Certain forms that must be submitted in order to participate in the Olympics, which means that it is important for countries to keep a good record of things like safety and be able to accommodate millions of spectators. Therefore, the National Olympic Committee is the main organization that is charge to analyze who is eligible as a candidate city and who can compete in the Olympics.

Being part of the Olympics is certainly stressful to those that participate, whether athletes, spectators, media, or organizers. Athletes want to show their skills to everyone and the hosting event wants everything to be flawlessly executed in order to show the world the worth of their country.

After all, it’s not easy to win a gold, silver, or bronze medal since there are many people competing with each other. Even though most of the participants don’t receive a medal, their efforts are showcased and they have had the honor of competing in the most prestigious athletic event for themselves and their country.