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A return to normality
Paris 2024 officially starts today with an opening ceremony like no other. After Tokyo and Beijing were marred by COVID, real The Olympic Games are finally back.
From Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports:
It was a cold night at an outdoor stadium in the mountains of South Korea during the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Athletes marched in the Parade of Nations, all with beaming smiles, some sporting shiny medals around their necks. A K-pop boy band performed, as did a local children’s choir.
IOC President Thomas Bach declared the previous 16 days a great success, calling them “The Games of New Horizons.” No one knew what lay ahead: COVID-19, controversy, isolation, absurdity.
The Olympics have not been the Olympics since that night near PyeongChang, which makes the rekindling of the cauldron today in Paris all the more eagerly awaited.
With the pandemic now behind us, it is finally time for the Olympic Games to get back to normal. So welcome to the Olympic Games. A real Olympic Games this time.
As the world gathers again this week, this time in Paris no less, memories of daily Chinese swabs seemingly scraping brains and Japanese security workers cleaning the goalposts during halftime of outdoor soccer games have slowly, thankfully and mercifully faded.
From all corners of the world, young athletes watch the Olympic Games on television and then, duly inspired, work their whole lives to achieve that singular goal, let alone a medal. No one expects a dystopia. They expect… Paris.
Strolling around the Eiffel Tower. A big family dinner at a street café near Notre Dame. Attending other events. Listening to the roars of the crowd. Camaraderie with competitors, from the breakfast table in the village to the post-competition disco.
“The stage is set: the athletes are ready, the whole of France is ready,” Bach said last week. “We are all looking forward to an unforgettable celebration of Olympic sport and French culture.”
Read the full story.
Photos of the day
United States 3, Zambia 0: The United States women’s national team swept its first match after a spectacular first half, scoring on a Beautiful finish of Trinity Rodman and a double by Mallory Swanson, all in a span of eight minutes.
A brave effort: U.S. men’s rugby reached the quarterfinals with a win over Uruguay during Thursday’s early window, but fell to Australia later in the day to end their medal chase.
New world record: Lim Si-hyeon from South Korea set a new world record in Thursday’s archery preliminaries, scoring 694 points to break the mark set five years ago at the world championships.
First Lady in Paris: Jill Biden He spoke to a group of athletes from Team USA. On Thursday, before a training session, he even took part in a stationary relay exercise with some runners.
Has Canada been cheating for years?
We didn’t even make it to the opening ceremony. before a spy scandal rocked the Olympics.
Get up to speed quickly: A Canadian women’s soccer staff member was caught flying a drone over a New Zealand practice earlier this week ahead of their group stage match.
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The staff member was detained and eventually sent home from the Games after French police searched his hotel room and recovered the drone footage.
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Following their 2-1 win over New Zealand on Thursday, Canada Soccer announced that head coach Bev Priestman would also be sent home.
The plot thickens: Priestman’s firing coincided with a TSN report that claimed Canada’s men’s and women’s teams had been Relying on drones for yearsThe women’s team allegedly used them to spy on their opponents during the Tokyo Olympics, where they won gold.
Team USA is proudly funded by family, friends and fans like you. When you donate to the Team USA Fund, 100% of your donation goes to the athletes and the programs that support them. Donate today.
Featured athlete: Perry Baker made history on Thursday, becoming the first man to score four tries in an Olympic rugby sevens match in the United States’ 33-17 victory over Uruguay. The Americans won’t medal (the best they can finish is fifth), but this man deserves his flowers.
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Age: 38
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Native city: Daytona Beach, Florida.
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Fun Fact: He attended the same high school (Spruce Creek) as 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte.
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Statistics: Baker is tied with compatriot Carlin Isles for the most rugby sevens tries at the Olympics (9) and ranks second all-time for career tries (293).
How did you get here: Baker played college football at Division II Fairmont State (WV) and was signed by the Eagles in 2011 before a knee injury ended his NFL career. He played two seasons in the Arena Football League before switching to rugby at age 26, where he became a two-time World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year (2017-18).
Whats Next: Perry plans to retire after Paris. “I want to coach the sport, promote it more and make it more accessible,” she said. said NBC Sports. “To me, that’s the best thing an Olympian can do: make a difference in their community, use their platform to make the world and the people around them better.”
A letter from the CEO… Here’s USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland on this transformative decade for the sport.
“Ahead of the Opening Ceremony, we invite you to join in this celebration of sport and Team USA, to embrace the pursuit of the impossible, the strength of national pride, the diversity of competitions and athletes alike, and the collective values inherent in sport and those who hold it dear. … Together, we rise. One nation, one team, one incredible future. One for all.”
Quick links: Team USA | Athletes | Trade
Watchlist: Opening Ceremony
Today’s historic opening ceremony (1:30 p.m. ET, NBC) At the event, each nation’s delegation will be transported by boat down the River Seine. If you can’t watch it live, NBC will replay the ceremony in prime time. (7:30 pm).
The route: 94 boats carrying more than 10,000 athletes will travel nearly four miles from the Botanical Gardens to the Trocadéro, which sits across the river from the Eiffel Tower, passing other iconic landmarks along the way including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral.
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Standard bearers: LeBron James and Coco Gauff (who was born during LeBron’s rookie season!) will carry the flag for Team USA. See all flag bearers.
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Music: Celine Dion will do it reportedly will give his first performance in four years in a star-studded duet with Lady Gaga.
The great mystery: Who will light the cauldron?
Lightning round
A peaceful place: On the eve of the Olympic Games, the heart of Paris is silent. There are no horns or engines. There is only the sound of the wind, conversations and the gentle sigh that attracts tourists from an accordion playing “La vie en rose” somewhere nearby.
Dream Match: Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam winner, and Rafael Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, will meet in the second round of Roland-Garros if they win their opening matches.
Train lines attacked: Arsonists carried out coordinated attacks on France’s high-speed rail line on Friday, paralysing parts of the country’s rail network ahead of the opening ceremony.
The best doing BETTER things: Simone Biles performed her signature Yurchenko double jump, the most dangerous jump in gymnastics, during Thursday’s training session.
Murray retires: Andy Murray, the only tennis player with two Olympic singles gold medals, has retired from singles and will only play doubles in his final event before retirement.
Curiosities of Paris
The Eiffel Tower It was the tallest man-made structure in the world (1,024 feet) from 1889 until 1930, when it was surpassed by what building?
Clue: It held the title for only 11 months before the Empire State Building (1,250 feet) surpassed it.
Answer at the end.
In non-Olympic news…
Trivia Answer: Chrysler Building in Manhattan (318 meters)
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