During the Olympic Games, records tumbled in the pool, on the track, and throughout Paris. However, history was written even before competitors arrived at Olympic Village.
The following are the historic firsts from the Olympic Games in Paris, both on and off the playing fields:
An Eco-Friendly Olympic Games
Ninety-five percent of the sporting venues in Paris would be temporary or pre-existing structures, the city decided early in its preparations to host the Summer Olympics.
This decision was taken in part because Paris has a large number of sports facilities in the city and surrounding areas. However, Paris also sought to make the Summer Games more environmentally friendly.
In order to lessen the carbon impact of major athletic events, Paris aimed “to halve the carbon footprint of the Games compared with the average for London 2012 and Rio 2016,” according to the official Paris Olympic website. Paris therefore intended to employ pre-existing facilities while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy sources as a top
priority for powering the venues and through sponsoring carbon capture and offsetting techniques.
Among the sustainable practices are funding the establishment of a forest that could absorb carbon emissions in the Pierrelaye-Bessancourt plain, an outer suburb of Paris; providing public transportation access to all Olympic venues; and guaranteeing that a large portion of the infrastructure and equipment are rented and reused following the Games.
Bringing About Gender Parity
For the first time, women made up 50% of the athletes at the Paris Games, making them the first Olympic Games to be numerically gender-equal. Moreover, of the 329 medal events in total, 152 were held by women and 157 by men. There were also 20 mixed-gender medal events. And out of the 32 sports in Paris, 28 were fully gender equal, according to the International Olympic Committee
The New Olympic Games
The sport of breaking, often called breakdancing, which had its Olympic debut in the last days of the Games, was another first in Paris. To further promote inclusivity and appeal to younger audiences, Paris has reinstated three sports that had their Olympic debuts in Tokyo 2020: sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding.
Opening Ceremony that Will Make History
For the first time, the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics was held outside of a stadium this year. In a departure from the customary ceremony of marching around a track, athletes paraded down the Seine river on boats.
Leading Positions in the Competition
During the Olympics in Paris, athletes and their nations have made history as well. South Sudan made its Olympic team debut in the men’s basketball competition, while Azerbaijan participated in its first-ever Olympic team sport event in 3×3 basketball.
This year, two Caribbean nations took home their first-ever Olympic medals: sprinter Julien Alfred of St. Lucia won the gold in the women’s 100 meters and the silver in the 200 meters, while long jumper Thea LaFond of Dominica won the gold in the women’s triple jump.
