The Olympic Games are seeing a huge decrease in attraction as star athletes are calling it quits after dominating their events for many years.
Many top athletes have announced they will no longer be competing in the Olympics. The viewership of one of the most important international sporting events has seen a noticeable decline over the past few years as a result. Many people love to tune in to watch their idols compete, but now with those stars saying their goodbyes, the Olympics Games are in a decline.
Swimming was one of the first to see an icon resign from further competitions. The sport is having to say goodbye to 23-time gold medalist Michael Phelps. Phelps is considered one of the greatest swimmers of all time and has been integral to the huge success for the U.S. in the Olympics.
His fame erupted after collecting the most gold medals in a single Olympics game with eight medals total. The historic surge of medals led to an all-time high in viewership from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games. Since Phelps’ last competition in the Olympics, the games have lost around 10 million TV viewers.
Famous gymnast Simone Biles was also another cause of the dropped rates in views. Biles’s last competition in the Olympics was the Tokyo games. Unfortunately, her run was cut short as she withdrew for mental health reasons. The spike of mental health problems in athletes is concerning to many fans. Senior Kora Ruff relates to the stress and pressure athletes face regarding the hectic sport season. “Athletes go through a lot during their athletic season,” she said. “It is really difficult to stay on top of your game when there isn’t much rest time. I think athletes need that small bit of time to reset mentally.” Biles became one of the top rated gymnasts of all time after her performance in the Rio de Janeiro summer games. She was a must-see attraction and brought in millions of viewers, but now the Olympic committee will have to deal with the huge loss.
The most recent star to hang up their shoes is Shaun White. White is the most decorated Olympic snowboarder of all time and was looked up to by many. Senior Colin Meyer was a huge fan of Shaun White. “Growing up I loved skiing and snowboarding all because of him (Shaun White). Watching him compete in the Olympics is what gave me my love for the sport,” he said. “Now that he is retiring, I no longer have that strong tie to the Olympics I once had as a kid. It will be sad to see him go.”
White was a superstar amongst the field in the Winter Olympics and has been an icon to the young stars in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Jan Scherrer, a Swiss snowboarder who placed on the podium in the previous games, idolizes what White has done for the snowboarding community. “Everyone else who was riding today grew up looking up to him as a huge idol,” he said. “When I was 15, he was just so much better than everyone else, and I feel he was probably the most dominant snowboard character in competition ever.” Although White has contributed to the loss of viewership, he has also paved the way for new riders.
The Olympics was once a must-see attraction across the world as famous athletes took the stage under the bright lights. The downfall in views of the Olympics has raised concern and left many to wonder if it will ever reach its peak platform again. With the exit of old superstars and a sharp decline in views, the doors are wide open for new, exciting athletes to regain the games’ popularity.
Jaxson Sutter • Mar 5, 2022 at 12:00 am
It makes complete sense that viewership is dropping after some of the world’s favorite Olympic athletes have been retiring but it is strange that there hasn’t been any new major athletes to catch the public eye. I wonder how this will affect future Olympic game.
Kris Basnet • Mar 4, 2022 at 8:28 am
Great Article Bryce! Seeing all these great athletes retire is very sad. Along with Colin seeing Shaun White retire was very emotional and sad to see. but it is the way of life. These top athletes are growing old and keeping up with the new generation is going to get harder and harder with all the new talent coming in. With the amazing career Shaun White had he will be missed. Even in the future when Lebron James retires it is going to feel weird but the next generation has to step up and lead the torch.