Recently, we finally got to see an Olympics that everyone can get behind. At these Games, there was no pandemic, no blistering heat, and no threat of a tropical storm. There were, unfortunately, few spectators. This isn’t a reference to the cursed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but rather the makeshift, unofficial “Space Olympics” held at the International Space Station.
Astronauts created their own version of Olympic events in space on Friday, debuting the “lack-of-floor routine,” “no-handball,” “synchronised space swimming,” and “weightless sharpshooting.” The videos were shared on Twitter by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet. While the international crew — very fitting for the Space Olympics — didn’t have the impressive gear and facilities in Tokyo, they managed to keep my eyes glued to the screen.
The four competitions also evoked just what you would expect from the Olympics: sportsmanship, excellence, passion, teamwork, concentration, and skill.
If you need an example, this is what Pesquet had to say about synchronised space swimming.
“Synchronised space swimming – an opportunity to show teamwork and crew cohesion,” he tweeted.
Overall though, the astronauts seemed to be having a blast at the Space Olympics and made me smile when I watched them. The Space Olympics also turned me into a synchronised space swimming super fan. Look at those moves!
You can check out each Space Olympics event in the videos below.
Lack-of-Floor Routine
Space #Olympics 1/4:
Lack-of-floor routine – much ???? to Pyotr for completing his routine without touching anything, a difficult feat!
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Gym hors-sol – on ne dirait pas comme ça, mais les immobilisations en plein vol de Piotr requièrent une grande expérience#MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/gXAHSHHmcu— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6, 2021
No-Handball
Space #Olympics 2/4:
No-handball – we had to adapt the rules a bit during the match, much investment on both sides for the win.
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Handball sans les mains – les règles ont dû être adaptées au cours d’un match que nous décrirons sobrement comme intense. pic.twitter.com/dVOv3GRThD— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6, 2021
Synchronised Space Swimming
Space #Olympics 3/4:
Synchronised space swimming – an opportunity to show teamwork and crew cohesion.
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Flottation synchronisée – l’occasion de démontrer une des plus importantes compétences un astronaute : l’esprit d’équipe #MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/Ljo65AkzNQ— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6, 2021
Weightless Sharpshooting
Space #Olympics 4/4:
Weightless sharpshooting – concentration and skill (or luck) proved necessary to reach the target.
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Tir sans gravité – concentration et persévérance ont dicté cette épreuve pour bien négocier la trajectoire des élastiques#MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/eV2cSxEWQ5— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 6, 2021
As far as the Tokyo Olympics being held on Earth go, they’re ending on Saturday.
Currently, the U.S. is in the lead for the most medals with 108 in total. China, on the other hand, is the leader for the most gold medals with 38. Japan, the Russian Olympic Committee, and Great Britain are next in line at the moment, ranking in the top five for both gold medals and total medals.
The closing ceremony will begin at 9 p.m. AEST on Saturday. It will feature the handover of the Olympic flag from Tokyo to Paris, which will host the Summer Games in 2024, a time we can only hope isn’t plagued by covid-19 and extreme weather. The weather thing might be difficult because of the climate crisis affecting our planet, but fingers crossed that our fight against covid-19 evolves favourably in that time.