The Paradox of the Olympic Spirit

Issue 44: How the Olympics can create collective celebration amidst national competition

The women's slopestyle snowboarding finale came to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday. American Julia Marino had taken the top score early on with a fantastic run and held off competitor after competitor who just couldn't seem to match her. After every run, Marino remained in the lead. 

It came to the very last run by the very last competitor, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. The 20-year-old New Zealander laid down a brilliant performance, putting Marino's top position in jeopardy.  But as she made it to the finishing area to await the judge's scores, a gleeful Marino enfolded her in a congratulatory hug.

When the score came in and Sadowski-Synnott clinched the gold, all of her competitors flung themselves at her in a massive celebratory embrace in the snow. 
This spontaneous moment of collective joy speaks to the cohesive and supportive norms of the competitive snowboarding community—a stark contrast to the stony faced or angry reactions we are used to seeing from bested competitors in other sports…