With the games being just around the corner only a few weeks away, and the insistence that things will be going ahead as planned, many fans and punters will be getting into the Olympic spirit for the games. Bookies have already started to offer different odds on many of the favourites too – with hundreds of athletes all coming together, which are the favourite games for viewers at the Olympics?
Gymnastics – One of the biggest draws of any sport is the thought from the viewer that there’s the possibility that they may be able to replicate the performance that they see from their favourite stars, whether this comes from a few hours out on the pitch for a game of football with some friends or shooting hoops in the driveway. Gymnastics is a very different story as some of the athletic feats seen at the Olympics look impossible, and there’s a reason the biggest gymnastics stars are often some of the biggest draws of the Olympics too. With different heats within including floor routines, the beam, and vault amongst others, there’s always something interesting going on in the world of gymnastics, and the bar is always being pushed higher by the sports younger prodigies.
Track – In a similar vein, track and field inspires the same level of awe from many viewers – those who first saw Usain Bolt break the 100m records and look absolutely dominate the sport watched on in wonder, with marathon runners able to run the distance in some instances under the two-hour mark are just as exciting too. It also has the benefit of being a sport where a clear winner is shown, if you’re faster, you win the race, and it can’t be any more black and white than that where other sports at the Olympics can often seem a little more difficult to follow in that same regard.
Table Tennis – It may seem like an outlier for some but is one of the more popular games for combined reasons of the above. It’s a sport that you’ve likely played in your life and watching it especially in the early stages is a sport that you feel could be accessible to you too, that is until you watch the competitors standing twenty feet away from the table hitting with the same accuracy and precision. It’s also a game that shows a clear winner and loser too, making it very easy to follow, and is what has helped the game become another of the big favourites, as well as an Olympics staple.