Olympic and Paralympic Analysis 2024

Olympic and Paralympic Analysis 2024:
Mega events, media, and the politics of sport

Featuring over 100 contributors from leading institutions from around the world, this publication captures the immediate thoughts, reflections, and insights from the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games from the cutting edge of academic scholarship.

Published in the wake of the Paris 2024 Games, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the Olympics and Paralympics, including research findings and new theoretical insights. Contributions come from a rich array of disciplinary influences, including media, communication studies, education, kinesiology, history, sociology, political science, and psychology. The report is free to download and can be deposited in any repository or library.

We hope it makes for a vibrant, informative and engaging read.

PDF (via Dropbox)

Introduction and Acknowledgements (Daniel Jackson, Alina Bernstein, Michael Butterworth, Younghan Cho, Danielle Sarver Coombs, Michael Devlin, Ana Carolina Vimieiro)

Section 1: Host City & Mega-Events

  1. In Transit from Tokyo to Los Angeles via Paris: place, memory, fantasy and the Olympics/Paralympics. Prof. David Rowe
  2. July in Paris: The last month before the Games. Prof. Garry Whannell
  3. The role of legacy in the organization of the 2024 Olympic Games. Prof. Michaël Attali 
  4. How sustainable is Paris 2024? It depends. Dr. Sven Daniel Wolfe
  5. Environment and resistance. Dr. Toby Miller
  6. Paris Olympics promote sustainability for good reason: Climate change is putting athletes and their sports at risk. Dr. Brian McCullough
  7. Paris the “greenest” Games in history? The case of surfing suggests otherwise. Prof. Belinda Wheaton and Prof. Holly Thorpe
  8. Murky infection control policies at the Paris Olympics. Dr. Kathleen Bachynski
  9. The Olympic contestation over political meaning: Security, protest and paradoxes. Dr. Jan Ludvigsen and Dr. Adam Talbot
  10. From Long Beach to the 2024 Paris Olympics: The evolution of Snoop Dogg. Prof. Billy Hawkins and Dr. April Peters-Hawkins
  11. The Olympics and sports betting. Dr. Jason Kido Lopez
  12. A new chapter in Olympic sponsorship at Paris 2024. Dr. T. Bettina Cornwell
  13. The Evolution of Ambush Marketing: Social Media, Rule 40, and Brand Protection at the Paris 2024 Games. Dr. John Grady and Dr. Gashaw Abeza
  14. Amidst AI-fakery, an iconic feat of visual authenticity goes viral. Dr. Michael Serazio
  15. As athletes became media producers in Paris, does it make sense for non-rights holders to still attend the Games? Dr. Merryn Sherwood
  16. Legacy of the City of Light. Dr. Peter English
  17. Paris 2024 and the agenda of accessibility and inclusion. Prof. Laura Misener

Section 2: Media Coverage & Representation

  1. The Paralympic Games are still overshadowed by the Olympic Games in terms of media coverage. Dr. Christiana Schallhorn
  2. Crowds are important, but the true venue of the Olympics is TV and new media. Dr. Fernando Borges
  3. A sports media system breaking down like it took a punch from Imane Khelif. Dr. Michael Mirer
  4. The Olympic Channel’s position and content strategies on the road to Paris 2024. Dr. Xavier Ramon
  5. Broadening the Olympics coverage from the science side of sports . Dr. José Luis Rojas Torrijos
  6. Vitriol in Tokyo to sexism in Paris?  Narratives about Indian female athletes in Paris Olympics.  Dr. Kulveen Trehan
  7. Radio Olympics in the UK. Prof. Raymond Boyle
  8. Ethics and quality in journalistic coverage of Paris 2024 – The case of mass media in Colombia.  Prof. Francisco Buitrago Castillo
  9. Breaking the rings: Twitter’s role in fragmenting Israel’s Olympic media event. Dr. Haim Hagay and Dr. Alina Bernstein
  10. Olympics in the age of Netflix. Dr. Marcio Telles
  11. Team Brazil on YouTube: the content production of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Dr. William Douglas de Almeida and Prof. Katia Rubio
  12. The Streaming Games: Analyzing NBC’s Coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Peacock. Dr. Cody T. Havard
  13. Media coverage of the Olympic refugee team contributes to sportswashing. Dr. Steve Bien-Aimé, Dr. Umer Hussain and Hanbo Liu
  14. Parenting at the Olympics – how medal-winning mothers and fathers are portrayed in the media. Dr. Karsten Senkbeil 
  15. Sexist framing in the media coverage of the Paris Olympic Games (OG). Dr. Sandy Montañola
  16. Framing a retiring female athlete in the media – The legacy of a minority rugby star. Dr. Riikka Turtiainen
  17. Women’s participation in the Brazilian journalistic coverage of the Paris Olympic Games. Dr. Soraya Barreto Januário
  18. “The half-naked versus the covered”: On the development of sexualization in women’s competitive sport. Dr. Daniela Schaaf and Dr. Jörg-Uwe Nieland
  19. 2024 Paralympics para equestrians showcase interspecies interdependence on world stage. Melissa Marsden
  20. They’re mistaking rugby for basketball! How can this happen when national media cover the Paralympics? Dr Kristin Vindhol Evensen and Dr Marte Bentzen
  21. How the U.S. women’s basketball team did without Caitlin Clark – regardless of the gold medal? Dr. Molly Yanity
  22. India and Pakistan celebrate Arshad Nadeem together. Dr. M. Fahad Humayun
  23. The 2024 Olympics and the wars in Ukraine and Middle East – a Critical examination for the IOC and sports journalism. Dr. Jörg-Uwe Nieland
  24. Creating more media visibility for the Paralympics. Dr. David Cassilo
  25. Bruna Alexandre at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Gabriel Mayr and Giovana Alves Pinheiro 
  26. An exoskeleton on parade: Kevin Piette’s “historical” steps. Dr. James L. Cherney 
  27. Using humor vs. inspiration as a social media strategy for the Paralympic Games. Dr. Nicky Lewis  
  28. Environmental click bait and the 2024 Olympic Games. Dr. Jan Boehmer and Dr. Brian McCullough
  29. Just sport: Paralympic Games coverage indicates seismic shift in who counts as important in elite sport. Prof. Toni Bruce

Section 3: Performance & Identity

  1. How much is a gold medal worth? Dr. Tatiane Hilgemberg
  2. From sponsorship to transformational social change: the power of paralympic partnerships. Dr. Olga Kolotouchkina, Prof. Carmen Llorente Barrosso and Luis Leardy
  3. The “value” of participating in the Games: about media, money, pressure and representation in sport. Dr. Thomas Horky and Dr. Meistra Budiasa  
  4. On and off the field of play: Equity and Paralympic sport medicine. Dr. Nancy (Quinn) Harrington
  5. Safeguarding at Paris 2024: A turning point? Carole Gomez 
  6. #Notplayinggames: Social media and disability at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Dr. Filippo Trevisan
  7. Champions of the mind: Positive mental health narratives shaping Olympic athlete success. Dr. Kim Bissell
  8. Stories of sexual abuse within Olympic and Paralympic movement point to need for increased policies and protections for athlete-survivors. Lilah Drafts-Johnson
  9. Fingernails, tattoos, and iconic photos: Personal branding at the 2024 Olympics. Dr. Jana Wiske 
  10. The Ilona Maher effect. Dr. Courtney M. Cox
  11. Life after the medal: Brazilian Rayssa Leal’s challenges in high-performance skateboarding. Monique de Souza Sant’Anna Fogliatto
  12. Hijab ban demonstrates hypocritical nature of “liberté, egalité, fraternité” for French Muslim sportswomen. Dr. Adrianne Grubic
  13. A kayak repairer working with Olympic athletes: An unknown profession that impacts high-performance. Rémi Delafont, Dr. Helene Joncheray and Dr. Sylvaine Derycke
  14. Paris 2024 and the LGBTQ+ athlete. Dr. Rory Magrath
  15. Simone Biles did not need “redemption”. Dr. Shanice Jones Cameron and Dr. Daniel A. Grano
  16. Black girl magic: The unprecedented triumph of three Black women gymnasts at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Dr. April Peters-Hawkins and Prof. Billy Hawkins
  17. Masculinity and the Asian turn at the Olympics.  Dr. Michelle H. S. Ho and Dr. Wesley Lim 
  18. Beyond football: Stefano Peschiera’s Olympic legacy. Dr. Alonso Pahuacho Portella
  19. Latino underrepresentation in Team USA: Systemic barriers ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics. Dr. Vincent Peña
  20. Paris 2024: South Korean competitive sports at a crossroads. Dr. Guy Podoler
  21. What is next for Olympic surfing? Tiago Brant de Carvalho, Dr. Kevin Filo and Dr. Popi Sotiriadou
  22. Breaking menstrual taboos during the Olympic Games. Dr. Honorata Jakubowska
  23. From motherhood to medals: New research sheds light on postpartum guidelines for returning to sport. Dr. Jenna Schulz and Dr. Jane Thornton
  24. Weber & Duplantis & Paris 2024 – an unlikely love story? Prof. Aage Radmann and Prof. Susanna Hedenborg
  25. On the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon qualification controversy: Is it worth fighting for a dream? Dr. Kateřina Turková
  26. Glory, gold and GoFundMe’s: Who really profits at the Olympic Games? Dr. Amira Rose Davis 
  27. Athletes with intellectual impairments and the Paralympics: Achievements and challenges. Prof Jan Burns

Section 4: Fandom & National Identity

  1. Renewing the fandom of the Olympic Games young audiences, videogames and esports. Dr. Adolfo Gracia Vázquez
  2. Fringe to flag: Nation, the Olympics, and the popularization of golf. Dr. Lou Antolihao
  3. Coco Gauff and LeBron James cross the Delaware. Dr. Ever Josue Figueroa
  4. Fanship and the Caitlin Clark “snub”: social media and U.S. women’s 5×5 Olympic basketball. Prof. Pam Creedon and Dr. Laura A. Wackwitz
  5. Propagating ideological discourse through sports and media framing in Iran. Dr. Mahdi Latififard and Dr. Sean R. Sadri
  6. The appeal of watching the Paralympic Games: “I care about my relatives, not about the sports”. Dr. Veronika Macková and Dr. Ondřej Trunečka 
  7. Brazilian soccer legend Marta massively attacked by hate speech at the Paris Olympics. João Vítor Marques
  8. Paris 2024: Spanish women break barriers and make Olympic history. Dr. Nahuel Ivan Faedo
  9. Gang members and a German who forfeited her citizenship: Kenya’s fencers for 2024 Paris. Dr. Linda K. Fuller
  10. It’s not all about you: American perceptions of the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony. Dr. Dorothy Collins
  11. The Queen’s Legacy: Brazil can play without Marta. Dr. Leda Maria da Costa
  12. From gold medal to cyberbullying: Imane Khelif’s Olympic experience highlights persistent issues of online abuse. Dr. Tammy Rae Matthews
  13. The influencers’ games: Communication strategies of the Brazilian Olympic Committee for Paris 2024. Dr. Fausto Amaro and Isadora Ortiz
  14. IOC’s positive social media shift: Paris 2024 online reactions.  Dr. Roxane Coche and Dr. Nathan Carpenter
  15. Success or failure? – Mediated national expectations and reactions on Olympic performance in Hungary. Dr. Dunja Antunovic and Dr. Tamás Dóczi
  16. Online violence and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Dr. Emma Kavanagh and Dr. Keith D. Parry
  17. Bidding for a future capital: Indonesia’s worlding ambitions for Nusantara 2036. Dr. Friederike Trotier 

Section 5: Politics of Sport

  1. The optics of parity.  Dr. Amy Bass
  2. How Paris 2024 exposed a nexus of governance gaps, gender eligibility chaos and universality utopia. Prof. Dikaia Chatziefstathiou
  3. Paris 2024 turned into a platform for geopolitical contention. Dr. Jung Woo Lee 
  4. The new era of the Olympic movement. Dr. Yoav Dubinsky 
  5. The sports diplomacy of Paris ‘24. Dr. J. Simon Rofe 
  6. Stepping into the void: American conservative outrage about the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony. Dr. Michael L. Butterworth and Dr. Douglas Hartmann
  7. Ageism is an overlooked form of discrimination when it comes to Olympic participation. Dr. Brigid McCarthy
  8. Paris 2024 demonstrated the role of unpredictability in competitive surfing, raising discussions about the use of wave pools in the future. André Tavares
  9. Technology has helped para-athletes compete for decades. But it can also create an unfair advantage. Prof. John Cairney, Dr. Emma Beckman and Prof. Sean Tweedy
  10. A growing basketball rivalry: writing new chapters in France and U.S. sports diplomacy. Dr. Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff
  11. The Olympic drone-spying scandal and Nike ad campaign: Why the myth of sport always wins. Dr. Karen L. Hartman
  12. Media sports events and soft disempowerment: Spotlight on the Zimbabwean delegation to the Olympic games . Dr. Tendai Chari
  13. Fighting for the country: Mediated Ukrainian athletes’ success in Paris. Dr. Alice Němcová Tejkalová 
  14. Gender equality at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games: The enduring legacy and unfinished work of Alice Milliat. Prof Ellen Staurowsky
  15. Dualism at play: The politics of sport for development and peace. Prof. Shaun Anderson
  16. Brazilian media coverage of Olympians’ protests and demonstrations in Paris 2024. Clarisse Silva Caetano et al.
  17. Beyond the podium: The role of protest at the Olympic Games and rule 50. Dr. Jake Kucek
  18. Did that upset you? – Activism at the Paris 2024 Games.  Dr. Anthony Cavaiani and Dr. Megan Klukowski 
  19. Anti-Olympics activism.  Prof. Jules Boykoff