“Olympics Shouldn’t be the Only Measure”: US and NBC Challenged By Australian Gymnast For Unrealistic Expectations On Elite Athletes

The Olympic stage is majorly the ultimate for athletes aspiring and veterans alike. For decades, the finest of the fields have rushed ahead to rise atop affecting the political and societal outcome in a chain reaction. The pattern has remained persistent with the roots stemming from elite competitions. The path further down has defined much of an athlete’s journey and value. However, Australian gymnastics star, Heath Thorpe stands to redefine.

The 2022 Worlds gymnast, Heath Thorpe recently picked on an idea of elite sports to the Olympics. The opinion, however, emphasized a notion centric to the States. Discussing the dominance and measures of success, Thorpe presented an X (Twitter) post.

Heath Thorpe sheds light on measuring success

The Australian gymnastics sensation, recently took to X to share an opinion through his post. “Sorry but the US-centric opinion that elite is only worth it if you make an Olympics needs to phase out,” he started. The elite programs in the States are particularly designed to provide a gateway for aspiring athletes to the Olympics. Stating how it has been the sole definition of success and the path forward, Thorpe pointed out the missed direction. “People have different goals for their careers and the Olympics shouldn’t be the only measure of success,” his further post read.

While advocating the need to acknowledge individual goals and definitions of success, the gymnast also remarked on the root of an athlete’s interest: fun. “What happened to fun,” the 2023 Australian gymnastics Champion wrote, further highlighting the NBC. “I also blame NBC fluff pieces for this lmao,” his tweet read.

The issue challenged by the gymnastics star

The initial issue Thorpe emphasized about NBC has previously been met with criticisms online. The repeated presentation or storylines in the display have been named a concern by columnists years before. However, while that remains the initial reason stated by Thorpe, it wasn’t the only one on the list.  “Also I say it’s US-centric because with how dominant the WAG team has been, a team at the Olympics is a given. Outside of World and Olympic teams there historically have been limited int. competitions…” the gymnast added.

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The narrowed-down contests to the Worlds and Olympics have centered the talks on success to the mentioned stages’ significance. The substantial pressure to make it to the national team while entering the elite, plants the seed of limited visible success. According to reports, only 2% make it to the elite level numbing the path of the rest. Success in the defined stages with the suggested numbers might thus bring help bring about wider options.

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