SPORTS
Editors: Claudia Gontijo and Alma Hemnani
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By. E. Rizkallah  A lot of people nowadays say that Formula 1 pilots are massively overpaid for simply driving a car around a track which actually isn't true. F1 drivers earn a lot of money because their job is much more than simply driving a car around a track. Formula 1 can be considered one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs in sports and they are paid correctly.
F1 drivers are risking their lives every time they get in the car. They get paid millions every year because of the risk/return logic. Even with all the improvements to safety features and modern technology that there is in the car nowadays, the car can still crash at 300 km/h, which no matter how many safety features there are in the car, it's still really dangerous. Drivers basically can't commit a single mistake throughout the whole race. One small mistake like if a driver accelerates a fraction of a second faster than usual can cause the car to lose grip and end up risking the driver's life and costing the team millions of dollars. People say that they are overpaid but they forget the pressure they are under when they enter the car knowing that any race could be their last. Also, To become a F1 driver, it takes years of hard work and talent. It is considered the highest level of motorsport and its only 20 drivers that race in F1 out of the millions who try to get there. Most drivers start with karting when they're really young - around 8 to 9 years of age- and they spend huge amount of time and money on their career when they are young. It can be considered one of the most competitive careers in the whole world since there is such a limited amount of drivers that race on the grid. Not only that, but people think that driving a F1 car is easy and its like driving a normal car, that couldn't be farther from the truth. It takes crazy levels of strength, focus and endurance to drive a F1 car. They need to train their whole body to withstand G-forces that can exceed what a fighter jet pilot feels. And they need to stay focused because anything could change within a split-second. A F1 driver even needs to know when to blink, because if they blink during a turn or when overtaking someone, they are going so fast that during the time that they blink they miss around 30 – 40 meters of the track. In the end, F1 drivers aren't just driving a car in circles, but they are cheating death and maintaining nonstop focus for around 2 hours straight every time they get in that car.
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By Z. Arwas  Mental health is a key part of all our lives. It not only affects our way of thinking but also influences our behaviour. It can be especially important in sports because it impacts an athlete's performance, well-being, and overall success. Having a positive mindset and thinking clearly enables athletes to enhance their focus, decision making, and resilience. However, neglecting your mental health can lead to burnout, hinder performances and, in extreme cases, increase the risk of sustaining an injury.
Participating in sports can have many protective benefits for your mental health which is why many people turn to them when feeling down or deenergised. Exercise has been proven to significantly boost your mental state by releasing mood-enhancing endorphins, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving sleep, cognitive function, and self-esteem. Another advantage of playing a sport can be being surrounded by a supportive environment. For example, depending on teammates or being advised by a coach. Regardless of all these positives it can be difficult to maintain strong mental health in competitive sports. Risk factors can include the time and physical demands of competition and travel, the stress of high competition levels, which can contribute to fear of failure, pressure to meet expectations, or worries about letting down other people in practices or games. This is why more and more athletes are becoming aware of their personal mental health issues and being encouraged to take action. A quotation that encompasses the importance of taking care of yourself in athletic environments is “Mental health is like a muscle. Just like we physically train and condition our muscles, it’s also important to practice and develop these mental skills. The more you practice them, the stronger and more effective they become” - Dr Rachel Vanderkruik (2024). An example of this is Dele Alli, once seen as one of football’s potential young talents, debuted professionally at 16 and joined the Tottenham Hotspur in 2015. His fame rose with amazing performances, playing for England in the 2018 World Cup and helping the Spurs reach the Champions League final in 2019. However, his career started to decline after a transfer to Everton in 2022 which eventually led to a loan to Turkey’s Beşiktaş. Amid tabloid rumours of partying, Alli later revealed deeper personal struggles behind his downturn. In an interview he decided to open up about his mental health struggles, many of which stemmed from having been abused as a child. In 2023, Alli took a break from playing competitively and revealed that he would be pausing football for his mental health and attending rehab to deal with his addiction to sleeping pills. Alli said “Hopefully me coming out and speaking about it can help people ... To take a sleeping tablet to sleep and be ready is fine but when your dopamine system is broken as I am, it can obviously have the reverse effect because it does work for the problems you want to deal with and that’s the problem. It works until it doesn’t.” This reflects how taking time as a professional athlete to care for your mental health is important and can affect your career if it is not monitored. By T. Fakhoury  Its 1984, and The NBA Season Began, all New Draft all new players, But what the people were most exited, is to see Michael Jordan play, yet still a rookie, but as the Larry Bird and Magic Jonhson era ended, new players where the future of the NBA, Michael Jordan Won the State Championship with North Carolina and had just finish closing a deal with Nike, which made a shoe that would break the NBA color rules. And so went Michael Jordan, as he began to set new league records, win rookie of the year, become an all-star and much more. And now looking back,he did become the Most Successful Basketball Player ever, Michael Jordan Became the figure of Basketball, everybody would talk about Michael this Michael that… All his amazing stats and his ability to jump over 114 cm and his impressive Championship 3 Peat, even winning a Championship after retiring and coming back, but sooner or later he became old. Michael Jordan Became the name of the highest sneaker selling Brand the Jordans, everybody wanted Jordans, everybody wanted something that Jordan used, and so Jordan solidified his status as The Best Basketball Player ever.
Years Later, and a very Promising high school player appeared on the Radar, his name? Lebron James, and he ended up being the 1st pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, and Just as Michael Jordan, so did Lebron Start of very promising, having over 20 ppg and winning the Rookie of the Year. Lebron also went on to Dominate the NBA, Win 4 NBA Championships, have the most total point in NBA History and Become the Only NBA Player to keep playing for over 21 years in the league. Now By just looking at this, you may say that of course Lebron is better, looking as his history, but Michael Jordan is known for his impact, he changed the way that basketball was played, he completely dominated any team that stood upfront of Him, he also played a Conference Finals Game 7, with a flu, and scored over 36 point to win the game, out of the 6 times that Jordan went to the NBA Finals, he won 6/6, he never lost an NBA Championship, Jordan also has a more impactful space out of the court, and at his time the player were much more aggressive and fouls where super common, and referees weren’t as tightly as they are now adays. But where the difference is spot able is the amount of time. Yes of course, Lebron Played for more time than Jordan did, but Lebron for the past 20 Years has been the League’s most dominant player, he dominated every single year, Lebron is still dominating to this day, and managed to play with his own son. Michael Jordan did retire but come back to play later, in the Washington Wizards, and he averaged over 16 ppg, whilst Lebron has a 20 Year streak of 20+ppg every game. Both are amazing Players, but the decision of who is better comes down to you, who do you believed has the merits of the Best NBA Player ever Title, as there is no clear winner, it’s up to you shall decide, who is the GOAT of Basketball? By T. Belmonte  As of 2004, transgender people have been allowed to participate in the Olympics. However, the first transgender athlete to ever compete was in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Every year different controversies emerge surrounding transgender athletes competing at the Olympic level, especially transgender women. Most issues surround the fact that many believe that it’s unfair against biological women, as transgender women, even with hormone blockers, still have a higher level of testosterone.
This article will talk about one of the biggest controversies of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won a match against Italian boxer Angela Carini in just 46 seconds. Carini surrendered the match, stating she had never been hit so hard in her life. This incident raised speculations surrounding Khelif’s biological sex, as it was uncovered that in 2023, she was eliminated by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from an international boxing competition for failing to complete a gender test. Many believed she was not a biological woman and accused her participation in the Olympics to be unfair against other competitors, as she was “too strong”. The media also enlarged this issue, as celebrities and billionaires such as Elon Musk, were constantly fuelling speculations through their huge platforms on social media. Transforming this small internal issue into a public debate. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) questioned the IBA and accused them of corruption and prejudice. The IOC later declared that Khelif was indeed eligible for the Olympics as she was assigned female at birth. Truthfully, she did have higher testosterone levels in her body. However, she was still within the scale permitted by the IOC. Many successful women athletes are constantly questioned, especially if they don’t fit society’s parameter of femininity. Serena Williams has been accused time and time again of not being a “real woman”. And this is generated by people’s and athletes’ fear of men “pretending” to be women to compete at the Olympic level. By. S. Chamberlain  129 years... thats how long the Modern Olympic Games have been going on for. 3,000 years is how long ago the ancient Olympic games happened. The games are literally history. We need to think about our future. The games are no longer only about celebration and sport, they have also become about politics; athletes are protesting instead of competing. The games are becoming a form of sportswashing, and they are leaving the host cities in serious debt.
For many host cities, the price of Olympic Glory is long term debt and even experiencing stagnation. Most countries spend between USD 10 – 50 billion on flashy stadiums, Olympic villages and infrastructure, for only 2 weeks of games. These projects usually run over budget, and put pressure on city governments. Millions of people are also displaced due to the Olympics. In Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the favela Community of Vila Autodromo was destroyed. Dwellings were demolished and hundreds of families were forced to leave so they could build for the upcoming sports events. Not only are the Olympics a financial burden but they also uproot families, not necessarily for the better? In theory the Olympics are supposed to be an international event, including all nations, however it actually reflects the inequality amongst countries. The same countries are always winning, for instance the USA, China, Russia, the UK, Japan and Germany. This is because they are wealthier countries, and invest more into their athletes training and practice. For instance, during Tokyo Olympics 2022 the top 10 countries won aproximately 60% of the medals, while over 70 nations didn’t win a single medal. This shows that developing nations have a much smaller chance at winning the games when compared with more developed countries, suggesting that only economically advanced nations really compete against each other. Before globalization started the Olympics were glorified and known as a celebration. However, nowadays it is more of a way to position your nation in society. It is no longer a tradition, it has become an unacceptable way to enhance your global reputation. The nations use the games as a method to show off, it makes them look powerful internationally, they spend billions to show a polished image to the public. Not only this, but countries also boycott others for political statements. An example is the 1980 and 1984 games where the US and the Soviet Union boycotted each other’s games during the cold war. Moreover, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC), banned South Africa from participating in the Games due to their apartheid policies, further proving how politics are a major factor in the Olympics. Not only do the nations themselves get involved politically, but so do individual athletes, from black power salutes to kneeling during national anthems. Many have been punished instead of celebrated for speaking out and protesting. The Olympics sell themselves as prestigieous and unifying. However in reality the games are only leaving debt and gradual deterioration to their host countries. These games are expensive, political and unfair. It is time we question ourselves; what are we really cheering for? By A. Hemnani  Every athlete dreams of the glory of victory, many are willing to go the extra mile and will train and do anything in their power to achieve their goal. But at what cost?
Nowadays with sports technology, scientists have been developing new ways to enhance performance in sports. These substances promise to push the boundaries of human performance, but at what cost? From problems in health to changed legacies, the cost of victory can be higher than any athlete would think. Would they still gain the glory they have always dreamt about like this? Or would they feel as if they just cheated their dream? Although the short term benefits such as, increased muscle mass, improved recovery, fat loss, and boosted endurance may seem worth it at the time. Have the athletes really stopped to think about the side effects this may bring in the future? In the US alone 80% of athletes that take steroids regularly, have suffered with health issues later in their career. Such as, Biochemical problems in the liver, Kidney failure and hormonal imbalance. Unfortunately, health issues aren’t the only dilemma athletes have faced along their career using steroids. In many competitions such as the Olympics, the use of steroids have been strictly banned due to unfair advantage by enhancing performance beyond natural limits. The use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs cheats the principles of fair play and equal competition. Using steroids in the Olympics can lead to severe consequences. Athletes caught doping, face disqualification, stripped medals, and bans competing. Apart from the immediate consequences, their reputation often suffers damage, and they may loose sponsorships and financial support, leading to a potential end of their sports career. Ben Johnson was a Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter, and gained the title as the fastest man ever! During 1987 and 1988, he became famous by setting world records in the 100 meters and 60 meters indoor races. He won gold medals at the 1987 World Championships and the 1988 Summer Olympics, where he ran the 100-meter dash in an unbelievable 9.79 seconds—breaking the world record. His career was full of amazing accomplishments and unforgettable moments. However just three days later, Johnson's urine sample tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. The International Olympic Committee stripped him of his gold medal, erased his record, and disqualified him from the Games. Ben remains a significant figure in sports history, symbolizing the dangers of chasing glory at any cost. Athletes often face a difficult choice between the glory of victory and fair competition. Steroids may offer short-term gains, but they bring long-term costs, damaged health and broken dreams. Victory isn't just about crossing the finish line - it's about achieving your dreams with perseverance. By V. Messana  When talking about sports, there are always unpopular opinions. These are the takes that divide group chats, flood comment sections, and spark heated arguments among fans. But what does the St Paul’s community think? We went around the school to gather some of the most controversial and unpopular opinions. Here’s what we found:
Khamzat Chimaev would win from Alex Pereira (UFC). The sport you need less skill to be able to play is basketball. (Basketball) McGregor wasn’t worth all the hype. (UFC) The governing bodies use sports events to distract the working class from social inequalities. E-sports should be in the Olympics. Kylian Mbappé is overrated. (Soccer) Serena Williams’ is overrated due to a weak era in women’s tennis. (Tennis) The car matters more than the driver. (F1) Russell Westbrook is one of the most overrated MVPs ever. (Basketball) Neymar wasted his prime. (Soccer) Dancing is not a sport. Max Verstappen is this generation's Ayrton Senna. (F1) So, do you agree with these opinions? Let us know on The Lion’s Instagram page! |
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