The Summer Olympics are officially back!
The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad have opened in Paris. The first competitions will take place on July 24, and the unique opening ceremony down the Seine River will take place on July 26. For the next few weeks, the world will be captivated by the best athletes at the top of their game.
With 10,672 athletes from 206 nations competing in 329 events across 32 sports, the Olympics are always a sports fan’s dream. From Michael Phelps to Katie Ledecky to Simone Biles to Florence Griffith-Joyner to Nadia Comǎneci to Carl Lewis to Usain Bolt, many athletes have carved out their legacies from their performances on the world stage.
The Summer Games are most known for gymnastics, track and field, swimming and diving, basketball, soccer, and beach volleyball. This year, we’ll also see four new sports make their Olympic debut, including surfing, sport climbing, skateboarding, and breaking — more commonly known as breakdancing.
While the excitement gets underway in Paris, here in the Diocese of Brooklyn, our local priests with international ties will surely be tuning in to the action.
Father Peter Ma, parochial vicar at Good Shepherd-Resurrection, Marine Park/Gerritsen Beach, was born in China and did not grow up playing sports. However, when he was in the seminary in China, he loved playing basketball — especially as a needed break from all his studying.
When he came to the U.S. in 2018, he continued to follow the Chinese national team in Olympic play. He recently was transferred to Brooklyn, and ever since, he’s been enjoying taking long runs as he settles into his new role.
“I’ve been jogging every day,” Father Ma said. “I enjoy watching it and also doing it.” He is eager to watch some of the track events during the Games, especially the long-distance runs.
Father Chin Nguyen, parochial vicar at St. Luke’s, Whitestone, was born in Vietnam and came to the States in 2010. Growing up, he played volleyball and soccer, though soccer quickly became his true passion.
“I grew up with soccer, and everything is about soccer in Vietnam,” Father Nguyen said. “We are crazy about soccer. All you need is a ball. That’s it. I even played without shoes on the concrete.”
He always follows all the international soccer tournaments, so he’s looking forward to this year’s Olympics. In men’s soccer, he’s rooting for Brazil, Italy, and the host nation of France.
For Father Nnamdi Eusebius Eze, parochial vicar at St. Gregory the Great, Bellerose, soccer is also a way of life. Born in Nigeria, he played soccer, volleyball, and table tennis growing up before arriving stateside in 2016. When it comes to the Olympics, though, he’s more interested in the sports he doesn’t typically get to watch.
“I’m looking forward to mostly everything because I like to widen my engagement with sports,” he said. “I’ll be following closely.”
The world needs love now, and there’s no better world-unifying event than the Olympics in Paris, the city of love. Between wars in the Middle East and Europe and political unrest at home heading into an election, we need this distraction more than ever.
“I believe the spirit of the Olympics is people gathered together bringing some sense of peace, which is so important in these times,” Father Ma said. “It’s so important to have people live together peacefully. We really need this peace.”
“Even with all the hatred and (division) out there, sometimes sport can bring us together,” Father Nguyen said. “The Olympics are all about how they bring us all together and supporting each other in a way that the world still needs.”
“It’s a way for us to enjoy what the world’s athletes have to offer us,” Father Eze said. “We must make it a point to look beyond who wins the gold medal and instead as something that brings us together as one. It’s a sign that there is hope for us.”
For the next two weeks, enjoy the best of the best doing what they love, not for a paycheck but because they truly love representing their country on the biggest stage.
But also enjoy this moment of peace, since that’s exactly what we need right now.