How the French embarrassingly killed the 'Olympic Spirit'

The Paris Olympics exceeded many people's expectations, but the French fans sometimes crossed the line.

When nations host the Olympics, they expect to have a groundswell of support behind them, often culminating in record-breaking medal tallies. In some instances, that support can turn ugly, as the home fans choose to boo and jeer athletes from opposing nations. Paris 2024 has seen a number of instances of home town support turning ugly.

Tom Pidcock produced one of the greatest rides ever seen in any cycling discipline to overcome a 40 second deficit to Frenchman Victor Koretzky following a puncture. Having battled Koretzky all the way to the line, Pidcock pulled away in the final stages, earning boos from the French fans in attendance.

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Following his victory, Pidcock told reporters, “The boos are a shame because that’s not the spirit of the Olympics.” In what should have been a moment of glory and celebration, the Brit faced parochial home support.

The boos were directed in part due to Koretzky missing out on gold, and in part due to the nature of how that happened. With just metres to go in the race, Pidcock pulled off an astonishing move on a narrow path in the forest to overtake, and ultimately break, the Frenchman. Some saw the move as risky and even illegal, but per Mountain Bike Rider, no complaint was lodged by the French team.

According to reports by The Telegraph, objects were thrown at Pidcock as he attempted to enjoy his victory, with a bottle narrowly missing him just beyond the finish line.

Ultimately, Pidcock wasn’t too disappointed with the boos, claiming, “I do understand that the French are very passionate, they wanted Victor to win. That was understandable. They didn’t boo the rock that made me puncture.”

Unfortunately, there have been other ugly scenes from crowds at the Olympics, with fans booing athletes in various sports throughout the games, at times for more understandable reasons than others.

Cameroonian-born NBA star Joel Embiid, who chose to represent the USA at the Paris Olympics, faced boos from the French-majority crowd due to his decision not to represent France at the Games. 

Per The Daily Mail, Embiid was “furiously booed” throughout the US’ opening game against Serbia, with the crowd jeering everything he did, from warmups to the game itself.

Team GB boxer Rosie Eccles was defeated by Aneta Rygielska in the 66kg women’s boxing category in a controversial decision, per Metro. With the decision made, fans inside the arena let their displeasure known, booing the judges involved. Eccles claimed, “I knew I’d won the fight. I’m really, really shocked,” following the bout, suggesting maybe the fans had some knowledge in this instance.

Argentinian football has not made itself popular in France over the past few years, first beating them in the 2022 World Cup Final, and more recently singing a seemingly racist song about the French team. In their Olympic opener against Morocco, the Argentinians were met with relentless boos. Their rugby sevens team faced the same fate, but as SunSport points out, “it is not clear if the boos during the Olympic Games are directly related to the video.”

The Olympics is meant to be a time for fans to enjoy, and celebrate sporting achievement, instead, the French fans have chosen to target certain individuals with boos and negativity. Is that simply part and parcel of competitive sport, or have these fans gone too far?

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