“The Olympic athletes show the whole world that it is possible to compete with each other, while living peacefully together. In this world of uncertainty that we are living in today, the Olympic Games are even more relevant than ever.” — Thomas Back, International Olympic Committee president

With the Olympics now underway, we can watch as the world comes together in sports to play in the games and put everything else in the rearview.

A total of 206 countries and around 10,500 athletes are to compete in the 329 medal events and 32 sports this year’s Paris Olympic Games offer.

But there’s more to learn about and from the Olympics than how to play a sport.

The games go back around 3,000 years.

It’s said that the Olympics originated in 776 B.C. in ancient Greece. The first Olympic Games were held every four years during a religious festival in honor of the god Zeus in the city of Olympia, hence the name.

The games were a celebration and more than just a matter of competition.

As for the modern-day events, they began in 1894 in an effort to rekindle the spirit of the ancient Olympics in Greece and bring back those celebrations.

The first modern Games featured 43 events across 10 different sports. Up to 280 male athletes from 13 nations participated.

Gradually, the games continued to bring people together, growing in numbers each year.

It’s said that the first truly successful Olympic Games were held in 1924 with over 3,000 athletes, including more than 100 women, from 44 nations — not even half the numbers of today’s statistics.

That year, the first Winter Olympic Games were held, opening the world to new possibilities and finding more ways to unite countries in healthy competition.

Since then, the Olympics have sought to create a space for fair play to prevail and to encourage good governance in sports, as the International Olympic Committee’s mission states.

Blending sport with culture and education, the Olympics show examples of solidarity, integrity, equality and inclusion, sustainability, peace and development, and more.

In solidarity, athletes come together, putting their differences aside, to play a game that they love. On the field, court, or whatever arena in which they compete, they are simply people trying to do their best, all with a shared mindset, mutual understanding, and identical passions.

Clean athletes and clean competitions are top priorities for the International Olympic Committee when it comes to integrity. It entails credibility to maintain the respect of all athletes and their sport and country.

The Olympic Games have grown to be the largest, gender-equal sporting event in the world. Tokyo 2020, more than a century after women first competed in the games, saw female athletes numbers close to equal to those of the men. This year, though it took quite some time to get there, the games have finally reached 50-50 in the ratio of men to women.

A rule change in 2020 also allowed one male and one female to jointly carry their country’s flag during the Opening Ceremony. On Friday, LeBron James and Coco Gauff walked in representing the U.S.

With teams from all over the globe, the Olympic Games also highlight global efforts to address climate change and sustainability. Aside from the International Olympic Committee’s personal missions and eco-friendly plans, the Olympic Games host cities must meet operational requirements to ensure it’s cost-effective, sustainable, and legacy-enhancing.

The United Nations talks about sport as a universal language that can be a powerful tool to promote peace. It can speak volumes through the screen, too, as countries everywhere watch their teams compete against other countries, seeing how similar the two might be without even realizing it.

The Olympic Games continue to be an inspiration in many ways.

For some, like young athletes, it is a goal to strive for. For others, it’s a way of watching two teams from countries that might not normally be friendly to each other compete in a healthy manner and respect each other through sport.

So maybe the Olympic Games can provide us with a new perspective, along with the guaranteed entertainment of the best of the best competing in an array of 34 sports.

At the end of the day, we’re all just rooting for our team.

And though lately it seems like we forget it, sometimes, you, I, our neighbors, friends, and enemies are all Team USA.

Torianna Marasco can be reached at 989-358-5686 or tmarasco@thealpenanews.com.