GOING FOR THE GOLD IN 2018

By MELISSA NOLAN 

This year in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, the 2018 winter Olympics will be taking place.  This is one of the most well known events in the world.  It takes place in different countries every two years, alternating between the summer and winter games.  The Olympic Games consist of the best of the best in each sport.  From Michael Phelps, to Usain Bolt, all athletes have one goal in mind:  bringing home the gold. 

MELISSA NOLAN FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY 

According to history.com, “The Olympic Games, which originated in ancient Greece as many as 3,000 years ago, were revived in the late 19th century and have become the world’s preeminent sporting competition.”  The first modern Olympics took place in Athens in 1896, and since 1994, the winter and summer Olympics have alternated every two years. Both Olympics consist of different sports, such as skiing, ice hockey, bobsledding, and figure skating in the winter, and swimming, soccer, fencing, and mountain biking in the summer, just to name a few. 

The symbol associated with the games is iconic and one that just about everyone recognizes:  the Olympic Rings.  The Olympic Rings consist of five colors- blue, yellow, black, green and red- that symbolize the, “union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games,” as explained by olympic.org.  Since 1913 when the first rings were created, they went through some slight changes, but in 2010 they were returned to their original design, as will be displayed this winter. 

The Olympic Games are always a special time for families to get together to cheer on their country.  Mrs. Connolly, an English teacher at WHS reminisced, “Watching the Olympics with my family was a tradition we looked forward to all year.”  She also added, “I loved the figure skating and the gymnastic events the most.  They were so much fun to watch and my sisters and I would spend hours pretending to be Olympic athletes ourselves.”  Mrs. Connolly still continues this tradition with her family to this day. 

Although the Olympics have been around for what seems like forever, senior Kristen Boerke has a different view.  She explained, “Nowadays the Olympics are something that I watch if nothing else is on.  I don’t really go out of my way to watch it.”  When she does watch, she really enjoys the bobsledding, hockey, and figure skating events because, “They are the most interesting and I have done the bobsled track in Lake Placid with my family.  It was where the 1980 Olympics were held.”

This year, there are 92 countries participating in this Winter's Games.  It will not be one to miss, as the next time the winter Olympics come around will be in 2022.  Viewers can watch the opening ceremony on Friday, February 9th at 6:00 AM. The official games started on Wednesday, February 7th and will continue through Sunday, February 25th where the closing ceremony will take place.  Tune in to watch your favorite athletes compete, or to start a new family tradition of your own.