Reading the Olympics

Louis Menand on what we are really watching when we watch the Games, a competition where contestants pursue not “victory” but “glory.”

A more principled reason for this indifference was an aversion to the belief, popular when I was growing up, that the ability to run faster or throw farther than other people is a contribution to the common good, and that we ought to honor the athlete in the same way that we honor the artist and the statesman. Games, in my house, were O.K., because games are fun. Sports are games taken much too seriously.

And the otherworldly gymnasts, who have a different relation to gravity from the rest of us: Larysa Latynina, who won eighteen medals, the most of any athlete ever; Nadia Comăneci, who scored the first perfect ten in gymnastics competition ; the charismatic seventeen-year-old Olga Korbut, whose backward somersaults on the balance beam and the uneven bars, in the 1972 Games, stunned the crowd; sixteen-year-old, four-foot-nine Mary Lou Retton, a human beach ball, who came from behind with two...

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

NewYorker /  🏆 90. in US

British Navy England Great Britain Gymnasts London Lu Marathons Michael Phelps Oscar Pistorius Sports The Olympics

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Countdown to the 2024 Olympics: Join us for an exclusive Paris Olympics watch party!A look the latest news in the 2024 Olympic Games.
Read more »

Saint Louis, Missouri job with Washington University in Saint Louis Division of ImmunobiologyThe Division of Immunobiology within the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is seeking exceptional candidates with PhD, MD/PhD, or MD in basic and/or translational immunology. This is an open call, and candidates in all areas of immunology are welcome to apply.
Read more »

Music Review: 'Louis in London,' a 1968 live album, captures a joyful, late-career Louis ArmstrongAt the end of his career, every note from Louis Armstrong still exuded the joy of being alive.
Read more »

Music Review: 'Louis in London,' a 1968 live album, captures a joyful, late-career Louis ArmstrongA new Louis Armstrong album is heralded in promotional material as his “last great performance.” The set, titled “Louis in London,” captures Armstrong and a five-piece backing combo recorded before an audience at the BBC in 1968. Armstrong’s chronic health issues soon worsened, and he died in 1971.
Read more »

Inside Louis Vuitton Trunks for Paris Olympics 2024: A Closer Look [PHOTOS]Louis Vuitton's bespoke trunks contain and protect torches and medals for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Take a look inside.
Read more »

Best Dressed at the Prelude to the Olympics at Fondation Louis Vuitton: Zendaya, Tyla and MoreDiscover the best dressed guests from 2024 Fondation Louis Vuitton's Prelude to the Olympics, including Zendaya, Serena Williams and more in Paris.
Read more »