Paris.— There is rarely a clearer image of the differences between the rich and the poor world than that seen in the Olympic Games.
If you take the medal table of Paris-2024, or any other of the previous events, and look at the first pavilions, you will notice that it looks more like a meeting of the G20 or one of the rich nations that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
That is why the first gold medals in the history of St. Lucia, Dominica and Guatemala are so valuable, even though they came 124 years after the start of these Games.
The three Brazilian, two Cuban, Ecuadorian and Chilean titles, those won by the African countries, the four silver medals won by Mexico and the Colombian medals are worth a great deal. They make us from the South sit in that luxurious hall, despite the fact that we are denied the business and technological development of the sport of the great powers.
And they are worth more, because the Paris Olympiad was very competitive, with 63 flags at the top of the award masts, at least once, and with 91 countries that registered in the list of medals.
These are also reasons to celebrate today, in the Homeland, our athletes – medalists or not – who will carry, in the invincible arms of Mijaín López Núñez, the lone star flag that they defended with so much fervor and love.