Rice University Experts Offer Key Insights to Media During Paris Olympics
As the world’s attention turned to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics from July 26 to Aug. 11, experts from Rice University lent their expertise to major national news outlets, offering insights on various Olympic-related topics.
Business issues surrounding the 2024 Games
Carrie Potter, a lecturer in sport management at Rice, spoke with the Los Angeles Times about the financial hurdles U.S. Olympians face. A recent congressional report revealed that U.S. athletes must, on average, find nearly $12,000 annually to supplement their funding.
Potter explained that as the International Olympic Committee’s rules evolved, the U.S. shifted the fundraising responsibility to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the governing bodies of each sport, relying on donations and corporate sponsorships. “It goes to the fundamentals of what the Olympic Games mean to our country. The way the United States approached it was to say, ‘let’s keep politics out of sports,’” Potter said.
Training half as much
John DeWitt, director of applied sports science, was featured in The Wall Street Journal, where he discussed Olivia Reeves, the American weightlifter who ended Team USA’s 24-year gold-medal drought in the sport. DeWitt highlighted Reeves’ unique training method, focusing on intensity rather than frequency. “It’s not about how many times you lift,” DeWitt said. “It’s about how much you lift, the intensity.”
Olympic experience
In a live appearance on NewsNation Now with Nichole Berlie, Funmi Jimoh, director of administration in Rice’s Department of Athletics, provided perspective on what athletes could expect at the Paris Games. Jimoh, who represented the U.S. in the long jump at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and competed in three World Athletics Championships, shared her insights based on her own Olympic experience. “Sleep, recovery, and trying to keep things as consistent as possible to replicate your training environment is super important,” Jimoh said.
Breaking as an Olympic sport
Anatolia Vick-Kregel, assistant director of fitness and wellness, discussed the debut of breaking, commonly known as breakdancing, at the Paris Games with United Press International. Vick-Kregel emphasized the importance of core strength, conditioning, and mobility to avoid injuries. “That should be across the board, but especially for all breakers, it is vital to have a strong core, which is more than just your abs,” she said.
Engaging your core
Vick-Kregel also spoke with The New York Times about what it means to engage your core, which is beneficial in everything you do, she said. Vick-Kregel explained that activating the core involves “creating a brace, by drawing your belly button into your spine, as if you’re about to get punched in the stomach” to create a belt of stability in the spine and pelvis, which reduces the strain on your back when exercising.
Optimism through the Olympic Games
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, offered his perspective on the world’s optimism and excitement for the Olympic Games in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor. He noted that the Games provided an escape from global issues, including the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the U.S. election.
“It gives a temporary kind of relief from everyday events, and I think at this moment in time, when there’s so much going on… it could be the right place at the right time, especially in a place like Paris,” Ulrichsen said.