With the Vancouver Olympics wrapping up, it’s time to start looking forward to the next Olympic games. In a normal year, it would be simple enough: the London games are next in 2012. But times have changed for the Olympics, and it’s not that simple.

The next event on the Olympic calendar is the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, this year. It’s less than six months away. I have no idea what to expect with these new Youth Olympics. The event is supposed to be a low-pressure event for the younger athletes, yet they hired Michael Phelps as an ambassador. I’m not sure how much publicity these games are likely to get. The Paralympic games, which will take place in a little less than two weeks, don’t get much publicity at all.

In 1924 in Chamonix, the first Olympic games wasn’t even called an Olympics. It was then known as “International Sports Week”, but was relabeled after the fact. It only had 16 events and 325 competitors from 16 countries. The recent Vancouver Olympics, in comparison, had 86 events and 2,629 athletes from 82 nations. What the Youth Olympics start out as may not be what they end up actually being.

So it should be interesting to see. Also, it will be interesting to see who does well at the first Youth Olympic games, if it is covered by the media. Many of the first Youth Olympic champions will be seen on the podiums in 2012, especially in fields like gymnastics, where younger athletes are favored. Then again, some athletes in events like gymnastics may reach the height of their careers before 2012.

While I do intend on including some coverage of the Paralympic games, the big focus for now will be on Singapore and London, the two upcoming games.

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