International Olympic Day - June 23rd

Are you excited to celebrate the International Olympic Day today?

I feel embarrassed to tell you that, despite my age of 79 years, 11 months, and eight days, I never heard of this special day until last night when I read Olympic sports reformer Eva Rodansky’s comment the following on the Facebook page:

Since tomorrow is the Olympic Day...I'll also mention that on the day the CSUSOP Report dropped, I made myself an Italian "blood orange" margarita before reading it:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has explained that “Olympic Day, established in 1948, is the global celebration of sport and getting active that takes place on June 23 each year to commemorate the day the IOC was founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin.”

Released on March 1, the Final Report of the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics (CSUSOP) did not mention “Olympic Day.”

In 2010, the U.S. Senate today unanimously passed a resolution authored by Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, designating June 23 as Olympic Day. Hey, it was 2010, not 2024. Read his statement.

According to the SwimSwam article, the United States Olympic Committee announced another record-setting year for the number of Olympic Day celebrations held across the United States in 2014. With 1,055 events to be hosted in 813 communities representing every state, an estimated 500,000 Americans celebrated the Olympic Movement that summer. This article included “Deaf Sports USA.”

Two years later, the same USOC “announced a record-setting participation for Olympic Day 2016, with 2,120 events scheduled in 1,503 communities across the country expected to engage more than 800,000 Americans in celebration of the Olympic Movement.” This article excluded “USA Deaf Sports Federation-!!!”

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) released the 2023 plan.

But I Googled the USOPC’s 2024 plan but did not find it.

Olympic track and field medal winner Jackie Joyner-Kersee walks the track of Francis Field with other Olympians celebrating Olympic & Paralympic Day in St. Louis on Friday, June 21, 2024. Also joining Joyner-Kersee, winner of 3 gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, were children from various Boys and Girls clubs in St. Louis to celebrate the games' anniversary. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Do you see any crowd in the above picture?

Surprisingly, the nation of India has so many “Olympic Day” events!

Please read the Indian version of the “International Olympic Day” Plan.

Again, are you excited to celebrate this special day today?

Not me, but I will celebrate it only after the US President signs the bill that would amend the Deaflympics into the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.