Reasons to watch the Olympics can be various. Some look for national pride, some for cliffhangers (扣

Reasons to watch the Olympics can be various. Some look for national pride, some for cliffhangers (扣人心弦的比赛), and even some for fashion. What about those athletes' bodies? Zoe Williams of The Guardian recently wrote about her obsession with the perfect physical appearance of athletes. To Williams, watching these near-deities (神) for whom every muscle has a purpose and every tweak of a body is a bid for greatness, "we are allowed to make remarks we would never normally make. We're allowed to stare at perfection, marvel at beauty and make remards we would never normally make." Olympic-watchers admitted that open-mouthed staring was one of the core purposes of the s. In ancient Greece, the athletes were asked to march naked through the streets before the s began — it was a warm-up exercise for the spectators, before the main of watching them all compete naked, which takes an incredible amount of concentration. According to The Guardian, the story is that the naked-sport tradition began when a runner's loincloth (缠腰布) fell off, and he appeared to go faster than the others. At that time, wearing clothes came ually to signify barbarianism (野蛮), or at the very least, shame. Another reason why staring at an athlete's body is not offensive is that attention falls upon males and females equally. "When it falls equally upon everybody, you have to think that maybe there is no secret motive. Maybe we're staring because they're amazing. That's it!" "How are you going to not stare? That would be like being too polite to stare at a comet (彗星)," William wrote. Indeed, how top athletes' bodies work is amazing. Some lift weights many times greater than their own, while other run 100-meters in less than 10 seconds. "You do not debase (贬低) them when you go on about an athlete's thighs; his or her body is indivisible (不可分割的) from their life's work, which is their pride and joy," William said. "To say she's perfect is like telling someone they have cute children. Plus, there is the mathematics that it's impossible to offend, by objectifying, gazing, fixating, or obsessing over in any other way, someone who is so superior." "Look at this! What a beautiful boy! Sorry ... " The father of Chad Le Clos, talking as a guest commentator on the BBC, was overwhelmed. "Is this live?" he asked. "Yes." his partner said, cheerfully. Before he'd even considered the fact that South African swimmer Chad Le Clos had beaten Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympian of all time, in the 2000m butterfly, he was baffled (感到困惑的), brought to the very edge of comprehension, by his own son's beauty.

Zoe Williams' piece on the Olympics certainly sparks an interesting discussion about our relationship with athletes' bodies, especially in the context of their performances. The way she talks about the "perfection" of athletes’ physiques taps into this deep fascination people have with human strength and beauty, which seems almost mythic. She makes a compelling argument that we aren't just watching the athletic feats but are also entranced by the bodies that make them possible.

It's also fascinating how she frames the idea of staring at athletes as something not just permissible, but almost inevitable. In ancient Greece, where the tradition of nudity in the Olympics began, the body was seen not as a source of shame but as an embodiment of strength and skill. She seems to suggest that when we stare at these bodies, it's not to objectify them, but to acknowledge the incredible work and discipline that has gone into shaping them. They're living sculptures, their muscles sculpted through years of effort, and each movement speaks volumes about their dedication.

The example of Chad Le Clos' father also humanizes the entire spectacle. In the midst of a world-class competition, it's a moment of pure admiration—not just for his son’s athleticism, but for his physical form as well. It’s almost like the awe is a mix of fatherly pride and the kind of awe we feel when witnessing something extraordinary.

Do you agree with Williams' perspective, or do you think the fascination with athletes' bodies might be crossing a line into objectification?