Summer Olympics: What Should Viewers Expect?

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Stephanie Brogna, Editor-in-Chief/ Photographer

Summer is quickly approaching and the Olympics in Rio will be underway shortly. Before you sit down in front of your TV screen to watch all of the athletes, action, and entertainment, here is everything you need to know about the games.

  1. There will be a team of all refugees.

 

One of the biggest additions to this year’s Olympics is a team of Refugees.Forty-three candidates have been selected, but only 10 of them will compete in the games. These refugees are from all over the world and will still participate in the flag ceremony regardless of their nationality. These people will also carry out the Olympic flag. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said, “We want to send a message of hope to all the refugees in the world. This team will be treated like all the other teams.” The candidates for these games include a Syrian swimmer, an Iranian taekwondo fighter, and a Congolese judoka.

 

  1. The Zika virus is still a concern.

 

In particular among American female athletes, the Zika virus is a great concern for those competing in Rio this summer. Athletes like American soccer player Hope Solo and New Zealand runner Angie Petty are questioning their dwindling immunity.

 

The World Health Organization says that fans and athletes alike should have no fear of the Zika virus. During the time the games begin, the mosquito carrying the virus will be less rampant.

 

President of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, has assured people that there will be an emergency committee to help with the outbreak. “Unfortunately, at this point we don’t have a vaccine yet, we don’t have a reliable diagnostic test, and we don’t have therapeutic interventions to stop this scourge,” says Chan.

 

The Olympic Games will still be held in Rio despite the outbreak, and chaos.

 

  1. 2020 Olympics will take place in Tokyo.

 

Baseball/Softball, bowling, climbing, karate, kung fu, roller sports, squash, and surfing have all been suggested as candidates for additional games to be played in the 2020 Olympics. Of these sports, Japan is trying to select the ones that will open the Olympics to a broader audience. In past years, Baseball and softball were popular events from 1992 up until 2008 when they were voted out. It is highly likely that Japan will bring these sports back because they are so popular in their country. If bowling makes it in, there will be modifications of the scoring system. However, surfing is an unlikely candidate because it requires additional funding to make the competition fair.

 

The designers of the stadium for the 2020 Olympics have also forgotten one crucial design flaw while building. The most iconic part of the Olympic Games, the cauldron, was not integrated into design plans. The only problem with adding this bowl of fire, the new stadium is built of mostly wood. If it is not placed in a very strategic place, the cauldron will set fire to the entire stadium leaving Japan with more problems than initially intended.  The cauldron that was built in the stadium that had been destroyed years earlier.