Winter Olympics were again unrelatable and ‘useless’ and yet utterly astounding to watch

<p>The Games offer little fame or fortune but the purity of the athletes and their stories made them great</p><p>It was the Olympics of politics and penises, of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/07/jd-vance-boos-winter-olympics">JD&nbsp;Vance being jeered</a> and of Ukrainian bobsledders <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/12/ukraine-vladyslav-heraskevych-disqualified-winter-olympics-skeleton-helmet-protest-war-deaths">being banned</a> from the competition, of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/11/winter-olympics-french-biathlete-guilty-fraud-wins-gold-julia-simon">a convicted criminal beating the teammate</a> she was guilty of defrauding, of Lindsey&nbsp;Vonn <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/08/lindsey-vonn-crash-olympics-skiing">crashing out</a> 12&nbsp;seconds into the race and of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/14/ilia-malinin-winter-olympics-figure-skating-2026">Ilia Malinin making one mistake too many</a>, of the internet became momentarily obsessed with slow‑motion videos of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/17/winter-olympics-2026-curling-double-touch-canada-sweden-milano-cortina">a Canadian stroking a curling stone</a> with the tip of his finger, and it was the Olympics where the Norwegian ski‑jump team <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/09/ski-jumpers-winter-olympics-2026-milano-cortina-">refused to dignify questions</a> about whether or not they were injecting acid into their&nbsp;genitals.</p><p>Like I said right at the beginning, Pierre de Coubertin never wanted a Winter Olympics. If that line sounds a little familiar it might be because <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/06/italy-winter-olympics-financial-env