The earliest written records of the Olympic Games date back to 776 B.C. A 192-meter footrace was the sole event. By the end of the sixth century B.C., the Olympics had become the most famous of all Greek sporting festivals and were held every four years. An event that began as an athletic competition/religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus evolved over the centuries to become the biannual event that we now know.

In modern times, the Olympics are a chance for nations to come together, test their athletic skills against each other, cheer on the home team, shine a cultural spotlight on the host nation, and inspire the world with an unparalleled display of skill and sportsmanship.

Well, that’s the ideal, anyway. In years past, watching the Olympics on TV was an accessible way for the average citizen to participate in the grand event. But the advent of life stream technology has changed the viewing experience. For the Olympics of my childhood, people gathered around their boxy televisions and watched the action together, at the same time, with commercials and no pause button. With today’s coverage on social media, Google News alerts, and instant notifications, it’s hard to not find out the results of your favorite event before you have a chance to watch the actual competition.

Actually, it’s pretty difficult to watch the competition in any form besides 20-second clips on a social media newsfeed. NBC has exclusive coverage of the Olympics, but their app isn’t supported by all internet service providers. Olympic fans who get WiFi from an out of network provider (such as myself) are out of luck if they want to watch premium coverage on their smart TV. Reading developing stories online and catching a few YouTube clips isn’t nearly as inspiring as watching the world’s elite athletes compete in sport’s most prestigious competition.

 But, will the Olympics continue to be the most elite sporting event in the world? This year’s 2020 Tokyo Games have revealed a multitude of flaws in the system. The headline incident is Simone Biles’ unexpected departure from the team competition, after which Team USA won the silver medal behind Russia in women’s gymnastics. Biles cited mental health concerns as her reason for stepping back from competition. Japan’s Naomi Osaka played an uncharacteristically poor game of tennis, eliminating her from the Games in a major upset. 

Two of the biggest sports stars are officially out of the rest of the Olympics. Biles is often touted as the “greatest woman gymnast the world has ever known,” “GOAT” (greatest of all time), the face of Team USA, the biggest draw of the Olympics, “otherworldly,” and her gymnastic team’s leader. Osaka was considered the biggest name in her country – the host nation – and fans are still reeling from her absence. 

And the presence of other athletes that is only through a loophole. Russia was banned from the Olympics until December 2022 due to being found of guilty of state-sponsored doping. The Russian name, flag, and anthem are not allowed at the 2020 Tokyo Games, but Russian athletes can compete under a different name. The Russian Olympics Committee is the title of the 335-strong contingent of Russian athletes competing at the Games. After the ban is lifted, Russia can return full force to Olympic competition as long as it respects the rules and pays a fine to the World Anti-Doping Agency. 

With an increasing number of athletes bowing out due to intense pressure, decreasing viewership numbers, and advertisers wondering if they got their money’s worth out of Olympic commercials, I can’t help but wonder if the Olympics can adapt to the changing times, or if they will grow more irrelevant in tomorrow’s global society.