Is this the worst Olympics in history?

This year’s Olympics in Beijing may go down as the worst in history. It has been filled with controversy, reported poor conditions, and odd views and settings, and cultural appropriation. Before the Olympics even began, the NHL pulled their hockey players out of the Olympics due to the COVID-19 rules and regulations that could keep them in quarantine, unable to leave the country.

The United States opted out of sending many Olympians to Beijing due to human rights issues for the China Games. This left many Americans with a sour taste in their mouth, thus many people in the U.S. have opted out of watching the Olympics.

Since the Olympics have begun, there have been various reports of poor living conditions, malnutrition, and overall poor treatment of Olympians and people involved in the Olympics.

Athletes from multiple countries participating in the Olympic games have shared the lack of nutritious food on social media. There has been a lack of greens and vegetables, as well as very small portions served to Olympians.

The Beijing Games have reached a record low rating and the worst TV viewership in Olympic history according to Bloomberg reports. There are many reasons viewership is down this year. People from around the world have shared their thoughts and left reviews online throughout the games.

People have sited low competition and athleticism compared to past winter Olympic Games as one reason for not watching the games, others have stated overall just lack of appeal. Those who have tuned in have shared their thoughts on the hideous backdrop of the big air slope. What looked like a nuclear power plant, is tall chimney stacks of an old steel mill according to CNN.

A backdrop that could have been beautiful and scenic, filled with snowcapped mountains, viewers were instead distracted by the worn looking chimney stacks. Typically, the Olympics is a way to showcase scenic views of where they are located that year, and a representation of that country’s culture.

On top of the negative images being shared from the Olympics, scandal has hit the games and has angered viewers. Russian figure-skater, Kamila Valieva has been allowed to continue competing, despite a positive drug test. Valieva tested positive for the drug trimetzidine according to CBS. Due to her positive test, the medal ceremony for the tea figure-skating event was canceled. Viewers have seen this situation to be unfair.

China has also been accused of cultural appropriation during the 2022 Winter Olympics. South Korean people were outraged during the opening ceremony, when a woman on stage was wearing a traditional Korean dress according to CNN. Although relations between the two countries have not been positive, this gained a lot of attention on social media. Cultural appropriation is an issue that has been addressed more and more in recent years, making viewers see the Olympics in a negative light for stealing other cultures and traditions.

With all the negativity holding all the title worthy news for the Olympics, the actual competitions and medal winners are being outshined. Despite the poor conditions, unappealing scenery, and scandal this year’s Olympics has seen some highlights and big moments as the Olympic Games typically do.

Unfortunately, the negative seems to be outweighing the positive at the 2022 Games. Which raises the question “Is this the worst Olympics in history?” At this point it is up to the viewer. Great achievements have been made by many athletes during the Games this year.

The United States Monobob team made history this year, bringing home the first gold medal in Monobob for Team USA. American Olympic Snowboarder, Shawn White finished his final competition, retiring after an amazing career. Goa Tingyu of China set an Olympic record for long-track speed skating. U.S. Snowboarder Chloe Kim won her second straight Olympic halfpipe gold medal. Fifteen-year-old Kamila Valiyeva of Russia became the first woman to successfully land a quad at the winter Olympics.

Those are just some of the many highlights from this year’s winter Olympics. With the negative, comes the positive. With viewership down, and negative headlines everywhere, these athletes continue to compete and go for gold.