Ask the Faculty is an Inside Marist recurring feature that delivers the inside scoop on the most pressing and peculiar topics of our time as our faculty provides insight into societal issues, cultural touchstones, technological developments and other hot topics of interest.

This Edition's Topic: 

• The Summer Olympic Games bring the world together both on and off the fields of competition. With the Games starting soon in Paris, we’re drawing on the knowledge of Marist faculty experts to provide background and context on this major event.
   

Dr. Zachary Arth: Assistant Director for Sports Communication 

Dr. Arth's research focuses on sports media, examining ethnicity, nationality, and gender issues, primarily through global competitions like the Olympic Games. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist College.

Question: Olympic broadcasts are highly viewed and receive much scrutiny. How do global competitions like the Olympic Games shape public perceptions of ethnicity, nationality, and gender in sports media?

Perhaps the best thing about the Olympic Games is the way individuals from around the world compete against one another. It’s a source of national pride for the U.S. to say that, in 2020, they won more medals (113) than any other country. But it's also a source of national pride for a country like Bermuda, which won only one medal (gold, no less) despite having just two athletes competing in 2020.

The coverage of the Olympics tends to be very storyline-driven, contributing to the typically high ratings. You don't need to be a sports fan to enjoy the Olympics, root for your country, or support an athlete with an interesting backstory. For the U.S. viewing audience, political adversaries often become sports adversaries, as we still compete with Russia and China in events like gymnastics.

Additionally, there is no greater stage for women's sports than the Olympic Games. Since tracking began in the 1990s, men always received more TV coverage during the Olympics than women. But since London 2012, women have received the majority of coverage in five of the last six Olympics, with the high-water mark being 60% during Beijing 2022. 

Similarly, while it often feels as though women's sports are well behind men's in the U.S., women have been winning more medals in recent years.

Dr. Michael Powers: Director of Athletic Training Education Program 

Dr. Powers has worked as an athletic trainer at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 and did a rotation at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in 2000. Photo by Carlo de Jesus/Marist College.

Question: Olympic athletes are considered to be among the fittest individuals in the world. What specific training and lifestyle factors contribute to their exceptional levels of fitness and performance?

The great thing about the Olympic Games is the wide variety in the type of contests. Some are high intensity for which strength and power dominate, while others are low intensity and longer in duration requiring significant endurance. There are even sports that require neither, as they are precision type events like shooting and archery.

Regardless of the type of competition, these athletes train daily and place significant stress on their bodies. Strength and power training typically creates microtrauma within the muscle, while endurance training stresses the muscle energy systems and depletes energy stores. Both of these require recovery time to avoid overtraining and injury. Many high-level athletes are able to incorporate technology into their training, which allows them to monitor the body systems and adjust their training volume. This is a major advantage. 

Sleep and diet are important factors of recovery. Olympic athletes need to eat to maximize muscle recovery, maintain bone strength and to fully replenish energy stores for the next training session or competition. High level athletes typically do not consume your normal 3 meals a day. Eating is part of the job and is scheduled around their training. Many will use nutritional supplements to aid in recovery, however they must first assure that there is nothing in the supplement that would cause a failed drug test.

Sean Byron: Marist Women's Volleyball Coach 

Byron teaches Principles and Problems of Coaching. Photo courtesy of Marist College Athletics.

Question: What does it take to become an Olympic athlete, particularly in terms of the commitment and time required to reach such an elite level?

The requirements to be an Olympic athlete vary from sport to sport and even within sports. I can speak to volleyball specifically, having coached ten of the twelve men’s players on this quad's roster in Paris. Max Holt and Matt Anderson (both 37) are two of the eldest athletes on Team USA. They have been training year-round since the age of 16, moving from college to summer USA Development teams to their professional careers overseas, and then returning to compete with Team USA each summer. 

Both men sacrificed to get to this point, as playing professionally overseas for 7-8 months a year isn’t conducive to building a family or relationships. The travel alone, coupled with the hours in the weight room, practice gym, film study, and all the things required to keep your body in a position to perform, are exhausting. The internal rewards are immense in terms of self-worth, confidence, and self-esteem.

In some sports, athletes have "aged out" by the time they’re 20 years old. However, with fine motor skill sports, the athletes are generally older. This unique phenomenon is what makes the Olympic Games so special. Retirement-age equestrian riders compete side by side with pre-teen gymnasts and collegiate-age swimmers, truly allowing people to connect with sport through their own lens.

To book an interview with a Marist faculty expert, contact the Media Relations team.

  3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601  |   (845) 575-3430  |    mediarelations@marist.edu

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