Paris 2024: Unveiling the Visual Demands of Olympic Athletes

We appreciate the International Olympic Committee’s vision in choosing Paris for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games: A popular bucket-list travel destination hosting the world’s best athletes competing for gold! Ultimately, nearly 330 competitions across 32 athletic disciplines will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.  While a wide spectrum of physical skills will be displayed at these Games, one common factor for most athletes is the need for excellent vision to perform at the highest levels of competition. All the training, focus, and commitment must be matched by eye-hand coordination, spatial awareness, reflexes, and visual tracking to be the best.

The following guide to the competition will help fans get the most out of the packed schedule in Paris and give some perception of how vision plays into some of the more popular sporting events. For the updated and detailed schedule, including exact times and broadcasting details, check the official Olympics website or local broadcasters closer to the event dates.

Tips for Watching the 2024 Olympics in Paris:

Swimming: Key finals usually in the evenings (local time)

Track & Field: Also known as Athletics, the track events take place in the mornings and evenings (local time)

Gymnastics: Artistic finals during the first week, Rhythmic in the second week

Basketball, Volleyball, Handball: Finals typically in the last few days

Football (Soccer): Men’s final on August 10, Women’s final on August 9

Week 1: July 26 – August 1, 2024

The Opening Ceremony will be held on July 26, starting at 7:30 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time) where, for the first time, the parade of athletes will not be held in a stadium. For Paris 2024 Olympics the parade will take place along the iconic Siene River over a 6-kilometer course, concluding at the Trocadero.

Medal Events:

July 27 – 28: Swimming, Cycling (Road), Skateboarding, Judo, Shooting, and Archery

July 29 – 31: Swimming, Gymnastics, Rowing, Triathalon and Fencing

August 1: Track & Field, Swimming, Gymnastics (Artistic), and Fencing

Week 2: August 2 – August 11, 2024

Medal Events:

August 2 – 4: Track & Field, Swimming, Gymnastics, Cycling (Track), and Weightlifting

August 5 – 7: Track & Field, Gymnastics (Rhythmic), Wrestling, and Sailing

August 8 – 10: Track & Field, Basketball, Handball, and Volleyball

August 11: Track & Field, Basketball, Handball, Volleyball

While the program details are currently under wraps, the Closing Ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games is scheduled for August 11 at 8 p.m. CEST at the Stade de France.

Athletes Rely on Excellent Vision for Olympic Performance

Olympic events that are most visually demanding for athletes often involve high levels of coordination, precision, and spatial awareness. Here are some of the most visually demanding events:

Gymnastics (Artistic and Rhythmic), Breaking

– Artistic Gymnastics: Requires athletes to perform complex routines on apparatus like the balance beam, uneven bars, and floor. Precision and spatial awareness are critical.

– Rhythmic Gymnastics: Involves handling apparatus like ribbons, hoops, and balls while performing choreographed routines, demanding excellent visual tracking and coordination.

-Breaking: Moving to the beat with high-value breaking skills, including rapid-fire inversions and spins, puts a lot of demand on visual acuity, spatial awareness, and eye-hand coordination.

Diving

– Athletes perform intricate dives from varying heights, requiring precise timing, body control, and spatial orientation to execute flips and twists while keeping track of their position relative to the water.

Fencing

– Fencers rely heavily on visual cues to anticipate and react to their opponent’s moves. Speed and accuracy in visual processing are crucial for success.

Shooting and Archery

– Both sports require intense concentration and visual precision to hit targets accurately. Athletes need to control their breath, maintain steady hands, and focus sharply on distant targets.

Cycling (Track and Road)

– Track cyclists must navigate tight, high-speed turns on a velodrome, requiring excellent peripheral vision and spatial awareness.

– Road cyclists face varying terrains and must be vigilant of their surroundings, other competitors, and potential obstacles.

Football, Basketball, Volleyball and Handball

Players rely heavily on eye-hand coordination, tracking, and depth perception to navigate the court or pitch, ball handling, and scoring.

With the visual demands placed on elite athletes, it is not surprising that vision correction procedures including LASIK, SMILE, ICL and PRK are popular vision correction options among Olympians.  While your athletic pursuits may not be Olympic-class, that doesn’t mean your vision shouldn’t support your best performance.  Having a LASIK evaluation by a highly qualified refractive surgeon to determine if you are a candidate for one or more vision correction procedures is the best first step for deciding if it is time to move beyond glasses and contacts to see clearly.