Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"
Aubrey Carter
"3 Keys IELTS Certified Coach"

Are you watching the 2024 summer Olympics?

There are controversial topics that come up often when it comes to the Olympics.

It might be politics, economics, or challenges faced by athletes.

Listen in today to find out about these interesting conversation topics.

Olympic conversations

Aubrey shares that the Olympics are a popular conversation topic in the U.S.

Lindsay and Aubrey encourage you to engage in these interesting conversations.

They can involve current events, politics, or controversies.

Your English allows you to exchange ideas and opinions.

In this way, you can build good rapport with the people around you.

Controversial topics are a great way to spark a good conversation.

Why is controversy interesting?

Many people have differing opinions about controversial topics.

These are issues that people care passionately about.

This makes for a much more interesting conversation!

You can learn more about your friends and their opinions through these discussions.

Today we dive into controversies that involve the Olympics and share phrases to use.

#1: SLC bribery scandal

Aubrey was in Salt Lake City when this happened.

While bids were being considered for the 2002 winter Olympics, a vote-buying scheme was uncovered.

The city of SLC was trying to gain support for its bid among members of the International Olympic Committee.

The scandal broke in 1998 and led to 10 International Olympic Committee members resigning or being expelled.

This was due to their admittance of accepting cash and gifts and from Salt Lake City’s Olympic bid committee.

This corruption triggered reform to the IOC’s bidding process.

#2: Transgender athletes

This is a very controversial topic in the Olympics and all competitive sports.

Many people do not see eye-to-eye on this issue.

In January 2024, the International Olympic Committee issues new guidelines on transgender athletes.

It announced a new policy to no longer require transgender athletes to undergo hormone level modifications to compete.

“This Framework recognises both the need to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their gender identity or sex variations, can practice sport in a safe, harassment-free environment that recognises and respects their needs and identities,” the committee said.

#3: Doping

Doping means the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The first Olympic athlete to test positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs was at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

He lost his bronze medal for alcohol use and said he had drunk two beers to steady his nerves.

Today there are a variety of drugs prohibited that athletes are at times caught using.

#4: Mental health and overtraining

Mental health and overtraining is a big issue for many athletes.

Serena Williams has said that her dad helped her find balance so she didn’t overtrain.

She believes this helped her avoid mental breakdowns from working herself too hard.

With sports on all levels, parents struggle to know how hard to push children.

Simone Manuel has been open about her debilitating case of overtraining syndrome.

It caused her body to break down before the 2021 Tokyo Games.

#5: Sexual abuse by coaches

This is a very sad and horrific controversy.

Simone Biles was one of many witnesses against gymnastics coach Larry Nassar.

She said the lingering trauma from his abuse played a factor in her decision to opt out of several Olympic competitions.

She said to lawmakers, “To be clear: I blame Larry Nassar, but I blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse.”

265 athletes accused Larry Nassar of child sexual abuse, often under the guise of medical care.

This is an ongoing problem and is definitely highly discussed.

#6: Economics

A lot of cities bid to host the Olympics, but is it worth it?

Cities invest millions of dollars evaluating, preparing, and submitting a bid to the IOC.

The cost of planning, hiring consultants, organizing events, and the necessary travel consistently falls between $50 and $100 million.

Once a city is chosen to host, it has nearly a decade to prepare for the influx of athletes and tourists.

The Summer Games are far larger, attracting hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists.

Often costs far surpass profits.

For example, Beijing’s 2008 Summer Olympics generated only $3.6 billion in revenue, compared with over $40 billion in costs.

Additionally, these events disrupt the city and there are additional costs for sports facilities as well as infrastructure.

This might include housing, rail, roads, and airports, as well as environmental clean-up efforts.

Takeaway

Many controversies have accompanied the Olympics throughout the years.

Each of these make for interesting conversations and are thought-provoking about what should be done to improve matters for the future.

Engaging in these discussions can help you build connections in English.

You may learn different points of view and interesting takes on the controversies.

What topic about the Olympics interests you the most?

Share it in the comments below.

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