MITCHELL JOHNSON: Australia had great Paris Olympics so let’s hope Brisbane 2032 is just as good

With the Paris Olympics over, there is so much to digest.

While it’s a long four-year wait in between Olympic Games, the 16 days of competition is intense.

And that’s just for us armchair experts! It’s confusing at times deciding which events to watch and you ride the ups and downs, like I did screaming at the TV for the Aussie men’s K4 500m sprint rowers who got pipped in a photo finish.

While I have mostly watched the Australian athletes, I’ve enjoyed some of the other countries and events. When these athletes leave it all out there, go for it and come out on top, that is satisfying to watch regardless of what flag they are competing under.

For the most part, the rivalries and sportsmanship was inspiring to watch and for the next generation, especially with the Brisbane Olympics on the horizon in 2032, this Games will hopefully encourage some future stars.

Despite the trumpeting throughout the media over the past few days about Australia’s “greatest Olympics ever”, there is some debate over whether this truly is our best performance.

The 18 gold medals is the most by an Australian team, surpassing the 17 golds at Athens 2004 and Tokyo three years ago.

And the Aussie team finished off the Olympics strongly with the Opals snaring a bronze and our cyclists also winning a silver and bronze at the velodrome the night after Jessica Hull won an historic silver medal in the 1500m.

But given the massive increase in sports and events over the years, I wonder if a simple comparison with Australia’s previous medal hauls really does justice to the past.

Especially given our success in some of the new additions such as skateboarding.

At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Australia won 13 golds from just 151 available. This time around, the 18 has come from more than double the number of events – 329.

The other consideration is the total medal tally. Our 53 medals was just shy of the 58 medals won at the Sydney Games.

The other side of the coin is that perhaps the depth is now greater than ever.

Only 67 countries competed in 1956. There were more than 200 nations represented in Paris.

Australia finished fourth on the medal tally behind the USA and China which both won 40 gold, while Japan were a surprise third-place with 20 gold. What an incredible achievement.

Compared to the massive populations of the United States and China, in fact most nations in top 10, we have done exceptionally well.

But that’s just as a fan sitting on the outside. It would be interesting to know what the athletes themselves think and what the internal goals were and did they succeed?

Like I wrote in an earlier piece, measuring up to your own expectations is sometimes the most important thing of all.

So when you are seeing athletes with personal bests, season bests and showing a will to never give up, that is what counts.

The 2024 Olympics began with controversy over the “woke” opening ceremony and ended with more with a gold medal to Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in the women’s 66kg event.

I’ve been pretty consistent with my thoughts on politics and sports, and unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what I say; the Games go on.

The decision of Italian boxer Angela Carini to pull out during her fight with Khelif – amid controversy over her opponent’s gender and testosterone levels - caused a stir around the world.

Calls to boycott the Olympics over the opening ceremony were unfair on the athletes who have worked so hard to realise their dream of competing on that stage.

At the end of the day it’s about the athletes competing not about the opening ceremony. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute.

The athletes should never be put in these positions.

I’m personally looking forward to the Brisbane Olympics. My kids asked me the other day if we could go. That was really cool.

I love the fact that kids all around Australia who have had the opportunity to sit and watch the Paris Games, may have a chance to go and watch an event or two in Brisbane in eight years.

The excitement that surrounded Sydney 2000 was huge and those who went to see live events have everlasting memories. After a lot of issues and indecision, I really hope the Queensland government can pull it all together and put on a show for Australians to be proud of.

It’s funny that after watching the Olympics or going to a live sporting event of any kind, I still find myself wanting to throw the javelin or do a 100m sprint.

But what’s even better and more encouraging is seeing my kids being inspired by Paris 2024. This week they wanted to head down to the park or use their school lunch break to have a go at doing long jump or have a race.

Despite all the politics, cost blowouts and controversies that accompany any Olympic Games, it seems the event still has the power to inspire the next generation.