As the Olympic Games come to a close and with the Paralympics still to come, we have already seen some tremendous highs and lows.
Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron at the opening ceremony in a breakthrough moment of representation, only to get bounced in the third round of the women’s tennis tournament. The tiny nation of Fiji triumphantly took gold in men’s rugby, but Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa left the court in a wheelchair, suffering from heatstroke. Japan cheered as 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya took home the first women’s street skateboarding gold, and COVID-19 has been spreading throughout Tokyo during the entire affair.
Japanese grammar has abundant structures to describe wins and losses, the highs and lows of an event like the Olympics. Let’s start on a low note: 敗北者 (haibokusha, the losers/the defeated).