Breaking boundaries in the Paris 2024 Olympics

“Citius, Altius, Fortius” or “Faster, Higher, Stronger” is the Olympian motto, and the concept of the Olympics is closely linked to measuring ourselves against what has come before. The athletes participating are in competition with each other, yes – but they are also competing against all who have ever participated, including their own past selves. To win a gold medal is the objective of every participant, but to break and hold a world record is the highest singular glory they can achieve. The Olympics is about breaking boundaries and redefining what we believe human bodies are capable of.

Now, perhaps we can apply these lessons to more than just athletics. Sports, as with the best expressions of human culture, is not only about what happens during the contest. During the Olympics, both the triumphs and defeats of our athletes, as well as the reactions to them, have much to tell us about human nature, and how there are boundaries and norms beyond the physical that deserve to be broken.

Among these boundaries are the age-old preconceptions and stereotypes about the sexes. In the wake of Carlos Yulo’s stellar double gold performance in Paris, several social media posts circulated which pointed out – rightly so – how our nation’s Olympic gold medals showcase just how obsolete many sex-based prejudices are. Our gold medals over the past two Olympics have come from a man, Carlos Yulo, in gymnastics; and from a woman, Hidlyn Diaz, in weightlifting. The old stereotypes would place matters of strength such as weightlifting in the male domain, while matters of agility and grace belonged in the female. Had Carlos and Hidlyn allowed themselves to be limited by such artificially imposed stereotypes, chances are high that our nation would continue to be without an Olympic gold medal to this day. Instead, due to their talent, perseverance and the fact they were not bound by gender stereotypes, the entire nation has been gifted with moments of patriotic celebration. Let us also not forget two more medals our women brought home this year, with Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas earning bronze medals in boxing, another sport primarily seen as masculine.

Boundaries were also broken in the just concluded Paris 2024 Olympics because for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the number of women athletes that participated in the Olympics is the same as the male athletes with 5,250 slots participated in by men and 5,250 slots participated in by women. Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), describes this milestone as “one of the most important moments in the history of women at the Olympic Games, and in sport overall.” And indeed, it is. The influence that sport has towards eliminating gender stereotypes and towards promoting gender equality is enormous. It is a great tool to propel girls’ and women’s empowerment and a powerful vehicle to improve the status of women and girls.

The journey towards achieving gender parity in the Olympics has been a long and laborious one. The IOC has taken major steps in the last three decades that have contributed to this milestone. The Olympic Charter was amended in 1996 to clearly state the IOC’s role in advancing women in sport. Policies to open up the eligibility in various sports, set quotas, increase in the number of medal events for female athletes and add mixed-gender events have contributed to promoting gender equality.

While achieving gender parity in the Olympics is a huge accomplishment; it is not just about having an equal number of women and men participating in the Olympic Games but how this translates to advancing gender equality outside of the Games. Every additional slot given to women in the Olympics leads to more opportunities for women athletes around the world. Although there is an equal number of men and women in the Olympics, opportunities for women and men to participate in sports is far from being equal, especially in developing countries. Women still face barriers to participation in sport as discrimination and gender stereotypes remain deeply ingrained in society.

Being able to have more women in the Olympics has a huge effect on empowering women and girls, and challenging gender norms. When girls and young women see other women succeed, win medals and break records in the Olympics it promotes the message that they too can achieve in their own chosen fields – whether it be in sport, business, information technology or science. It allows them to see their own potential and inspires them to work towards achieving it to the fullest.

However, despite the gains for gender inclusion in the Olympics, gender inequality is still prevalent in sport. We see this in the large pay gap between women and men athletes. Take, for example, the Tour de France where the prize fund for the women’s race is 250,000 euros compared to the prize fund for the men’s race which is 2.3 million euros. We also see this in the disproportionate media coverage for women’s sport. A Wasserman study in 2022 reported that only 16 percent of all sports media coverage is of women sports.

One of the lessons we take from these Olympics should be that world records should not be the only boundaries to be broken, and that the human body is not the only thing that needs to be pushed to improve. For all the flaws and limits of the Olympic games, gathering together as a community gives our athletes the opportunity to celebrate our common humanity: from Chinese gymnast Zhou Yaqin learning to bite her medal at the podium after seeing her peers do so, to the table tennis players of North and South Korea taking a selfie together. The Olympics at its finest allows us to celebrate the possibilities of humanity – and those possibilities should not be constrained by artificial, obsolete boundaries.

So here is to our 2024 Paris Olympic athletes, for the most successful Olympics the country has ever had: Carlos Yulo, Aira Villegas, Nesthy Petecio, EJ Obiena, Bianca Pagdanganan, Dottie Ardina, Carlo Paalam, Lauren Hoffman, John Cabang Tolentino, Eumir Marcial, Hergie Bacyadan, Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, Levi Jung-Ruivivar, Elreen Ando, John Ceniza, Vanessa Sarno, Kayla Sanchez, Jarod Hatch, Joanie Delgaco, Samantha Catantan and Kiyomi Watanabe.

Here’s to strength and grace, to grit and beauty. Here’s to breaking through every barrier between us and our best selves.