To say that the Paris 2024 Olympics has been riddled with controversy and missteps would be an understatement. The world’s foremost sports competition, featuring more than 200 countries and 11,000 athletes, represented in 42 Olympic disciplines, officially kicked off last Friday (July 26) with what was promised by the organisers as an opening ceremony that would be “bold, original, and unique”.

Those who may have witnessed the ceremony (or saw the reports on same) would have had mixed views on the explicit or implicit messaging included and possibly how the messaging ties in with the event itself. The aspect of the ceremony that got the most rise was the segment that featured drag performers seated behind a long banquet table, which many interpreted to be a vile depiction of Last Supper. The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, has repeatedly stated that he wasn’t inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting showing Jesus Christ and his apostles, but those who had seen it from that angle are unable to unsee. Many debates were ignited and the backlash has been far and wide, with some referring to the depiction as “pagan and satanic”. Olympics organisers have since apologised to anyone who was offended by the display, but insist it was not based on any religious template.

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games the opening ceremony did not take place in a stadium but was held along the city’s main artery, the Seine river. The traditional colourful parade of athletes took place in nearly 100 boats, along six kilometres of the Seine, passing the most iconic Parisian landmarks, and featured eclectic performances and musical presentations along the way. The rain-affected outdoor concept was reportedly the largest Olympic Opening Ceremony in terms of audience and geographical coverage.

Unfortunately, amidst the background of ongoing military conflicts (Russia vs Ukraine and Israel vs Palestine), protests played out in the streets of Paris and a couple of contestants bypassed the usual courteous handshake, extending the political tension from the battlefield into the competitive athletic arena. And among the many pitfalls plaguing Paris 2024 is the scourge of the now -viral racist video clip, posted by the Argentinian football team following their COPA victory in mid-July, which continues to haunt them into the Olympics, plus dangerous levels of pollution in the Seine that resulted in the postponement of the men’s individual triathlon event earlier this week.

However, the most noteworthy faux pas that has been highlighted is the inclusion of two ‘female’ boxers who were disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championships in March 2023 in New Delhi, India, after a series of DNA tests proved they have XY chromosomes and are biologically male. The boxers, Imane Khelif from Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting from Taiwan were cleared to compete against females by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), having stripped the right of the International Boxing Association (IBA) to run Olympic boxing competitions amid concerns over governance.

Since 2004, transgender athletes have been allowed to compete at the Olympics, but in recent times there have been controversies over their inclusion, especially transgender women who transitioned from being men after puberty. Athletes such as American runner Nikki Hiltz and Canadian footballer Quinn, both of whom identify as transgender and non-binary, are competing in Paris. Both were born women and are competing as women but have reportedly suspended their testosterone treatment to ensure their levels do not surpass the allowed limit.

American swimmer Lia Thomas, on the other hand, is not allowed to compete in the Olympics after losing a legal battle last month against World Aquatics in a bid to be able to compete at Paris 2024. Thomas, born male, first rose to prominence after becoming the first transgender athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) college title in 2022 and has since been banned from competing against biological women in international events following a change in regulations.

Transgender males have a distinctly unfair advantage over biological women due to superior physical strength and higher testosterone levels. This is ruthlessly exacerbated in sports like boxing in which this advantage can lead to significant injuries, both immediate and long term. This is the first Olympics in which the ratio of women to men is equal, and having this level of inequality is not only dangerous but is also bordering on criminal activity, thereby unsafely pushing inclusivity into overreach.

On a more positive note, the Jamaican track and field contingent begin their quest today in Paris, with hopes held aloft by Jamaicans at home and abroad. But lest we forget that the Olympics is always lined with feel-good stories, here are a few from the first week of competition:

• Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina earned the highest single wave score in Olympics history with a 9.90 on Monday en route to advancing to the men’s surfing quarter-final, and photographer Jerome Brouillet captured him in one of the most iconic photos from the Paris Games. Both Medina and his board appear to be defying gravity above the water as he holds his right arm in the air while making a number one sign with his index finger.

• Three-time Olympian, Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed that she is seven months pregnant following an upset victory over Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the United States to advance to the last-16 at the Olympics on Monday. The 26-year-old, however, went on to lose to South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung.

• Stephen Nedoroscik is the first American gymnast in history to make the Olympic team as a specialist in a single event (pommel horse), and on Monday he performed a near-perfect routine to clinch a bronze medal for Team USA, their first in 16 years for the discipline. The 25-year-old will go for pommel horse gold in the individual event tomorrow.

• On Tuesday, Daniel Wiffen became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win an Olympic gold medal in 36 years after a thrilling 800m freestyle swim, setting an Olympic record of 38.19 seconds in the process. The 23-year-old became the first Irish male swimmer to ever medal at the Olympics, the first individual Irish gold medalist since Lady Mary Peters won the pentathlon at the 1972 Games, and the first Olympian from Ireland to win a gold medal in swimming since 1996. And for the first time, the Irish national anthem – Amhran na bhFiann (The Soldier’s Song) – was played at an international men’s swimming event.

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