At a time of strife and suffering, the Olympics were a beacon of hope

The Paris Olympics got off to a rather shaky, wet, rat-infested and sabotaged start, passed through more than a fortnight of gripping sporting excitement, and culminated in the unalloyed relief that the event passed without any of the potential civil unrest or terrorism that might have turned joy into tragedy. Only the lone individual climbing the Eiffel Tower in the last hours of the proceedings came close to any sense of jeopardy.

Yes, it was a shame that the Seine couldn’t be cleaned up in time, but Paris is not the only capital city in the world with polluted waterways. Aside from some malicious disruption of rail and other communications, Paris was spared the crimes and scandals of previous Games. It is something to be grateful for in a world seemingly trapped in cycles of war and extremism.

Indeed, it may be said that the last few weeks have seen the French capital become a beacon of hope in torrid times. What we saw athletes from all over the world display was that spirit of intense but peaceful competition that was so much a part of the ancient as well as the modern event.

The antagonism of one competitor against another, to the ancient Greeks, implied strife; while competition more as a simple struggle to come first was a virtue. And, with some rare exceptions, that same spirit infused those taking part in Paris – fellow athletes embracing one another and celebrating together in mutual respect in a supremely multicultural, multiethnic environment.

There were many memorable moments, and most for all the right reasons. One which particularly stood out – and which went especially viral – was the display put on by the Australian “Raygun” (real name Rachael Gunn), who recalled Great Britain’s plucky skier Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards, the sensation of the 1988 Winter Olympics, with her endearingly eclectic breakdancing performance.

These days, thanks to the National Lottery, Team GB can look forward to every set of Olympics with the justified expectation of a disproportionately large haul of medals, and Paris has been no exception. True, the performance hasn’t been quite as strong as at some other recent championships, but the merits of the then prime minister John Major’s idea of a national lottery as a way to bypass the difficult politics of funding sport through general taxation have become glitteringly clear. It may even turn out to be the abiding success of his premiership.

From Keely Hodgkinson in the women’s 800m, to Katy Marchant, Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell in track cycling, to Toby Roberts in the climbing, to Emma Hayes leading the US women’s football team to gold, there were plenty of outstanding, world-beating achievements.

So, Paris was one of the more successful Games, though far from free of controversy. The gender status of the Algerian boxer Imane Khelif became a renewed focus for the debate on trans people in sport (she is not trans, as it happens), and, all too predictably, was traduced during one of Donald Trump’s tedious, rambling US presidential rallies. Suffice to say, the rows about Khelif confirm how much more work needs to be done to achieve a consensus on chromosomes in sport.

More broadly, the Games brought the world together. They are one of the few events of any kind that are genuinely global, and in troubled times, the modern Olympics serve two complementary roles – distraction and inspiration.

It is no bad thing to gain some respite from stories of war and political strife, and the athletes can always inspire others to emulate their accomplishments in sports and other walks of life. A figure such as Simone Biles, whose four medals in Paris have taken her overall tally to 11, redeemed herself in gymnastics after suffering a mental block, “the twisties” at Tokyo three years ago – encompassing an important message about mental health.

As the torch is passed once again, we look forward to the “Hollywood Olympics”, in Los Angeles in 2028, and hope they will pass on more peaceful, happier times (and without Mr Trump presiding over them with a running commentary).