Long live the non-COVID Olympics.

No offence to the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games and 2022 Beijing Winter Games, but those Olympics during the pandemic couldn’t possibly have had the same drama as Paris 2024.

Seeing roaring crowds and emotional family members made a world of difference for the viewer. These were the Olympics as they’re meant to be contested.

Combine the vibrant scenes in Paris with exceptional performances by some of the biggest stars in international sport — Simone Biles, Steph Curry, Novak Djokovic, Léon Marchand, Lydia Ko and Canada’s own Summer McIntosh, just to name a few — and you had a recipe for truly compelling theatre.

Canada won a non-boycotted Summer Games record of 27 medals, exceeding projections and making Paris 2024 that much better for sports fans in this co

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