The Paris Summer Olympics: A paris-olympics preview for the next 16 days of Olympic Games in France based on the COVID 19 pandemic
The French capital is preparing to welcome back the crowds after keeping them away from the last two Olympic Games because of the COVID 19 Pandemic.
A 16 day sporting event kicks off with an outdoor ceremony that is the largest one yet gauged by audience and geographical sprawl.
Outside of Paris, the Palace of Versailles will host equestrian events, while surfing will take place in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, 10,000 miles away.
Continuing its streak of domination at the Summer Games, the United States is expected to collect the most medals in Paris, followed by China, Great Britain, France and then Australia. Russia, meanwhile — typically a top contender — is sending a very small number of athletes to Paris following consequences related to their country’s doping and its invasion of Ukraine.
The open-air event is expected to draw some 300,000 spectators — most of whom will pay no admission fee to watch the parade from the river’s upper embankments.
The parade will travel east to west, starting at Austerlitz Bridge, and then pass by major landmarks and event venues like the Grand Palais. The parade ends at the Pont d’Iéna bridge before the finale at the Trocadéro opposite the Eiffel Tower.
The parade’s route also offers a sightseeing tour of some of the temporary sports venues, including an outdoor arena abutting the Eiffel Tower where beach volleyball games will take place.
Source: 8 storylines to follow as the Paris Summer Olympics get underway
Anti-corruption at the IOC: How French gymnastics meets Brazilian counterculture in the b-boys and french women’s gymnastics
Testing has turned up unsafe levels of E coli due to fecal matter, but it was found to be acceptable in earlier tests. In an effort to silence skeptics, last week Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo followed through on her promise to take a dip in the Seine and declared the waters perfectly safe.
Following the previous Summer Games’ addition of skateboarding and surfing, another sport with counterculture roots will take the Olympics stage for the first time in Paris. Breaking — best known to the uninitiated as “break-dancing” — is a dance style said to have originated in the 1970s from the streets of New York City’s South Bronx and inspired by the break beats and hip-hop tracks played by DJs and MCs. But the athleticism involved in the art form — head-spins, backflips and other acrobatics — is undeniable.
Although it’s an American export, other countries including Japan, Canada and The Netherlands boast talent that’s been known to surpass the U.S. competitively.
In Paris, there’s a battle at Place de la Concorde between 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls. The men and women will compete on Aug. 9 and 10. On Team USA, look out for medal contenders Victor Montalvo and Grace “Sunny” Choi.
The same gymnastics team that won a silver medal in the Olympics in Paris in 2016 wants to return the favor.
The most decorated gymnast of all time, Simone Leyes, was forced to pull out of multiple events because of a psychological condition called the “twisties”, which made it hard to concentrate on her mental health. In her place, Suni Lee emerged as the unexpected champion and went on to win a gold medal in the individual all-around competition.
The women have a united team in their goal of redemption and they are the favorites to win gold. And especially so, given that Russia, the defending gold medalist, won’t be there. The IOC will allow some Russian athletes to compete as “neutral athletes” but only after strict conditions are met. The absence of a country has a positive affect on the men’s medal chances in a sport usually dominated by Russia, China and Japan.
Entering her fourth Olympics, Katie Ledecky continues to dominate the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events, in both of which she still holds the world records. She has seven medals and is just two gold medals away from becoming the most decorated female athlete in Olympic history. Younger swimmers have Ledecky beat in the 400-meter freestyle: Australia’s Ariarne Titmus (who took gold in Tokyo and also reigns in the 200-meter event) and Canada’s Summer McIntosh have each knocked down Ledecky’s world record, which Titmus currently holds. The Titmus-McIntosh-Ledecky 400-meter race should make for a thrilling watch.
The U.S. is hoping that Caeleb Dressel is the one in men’s swimming. The 27-year-old won five gold medals in Tokyo — joining an elite few of swimmers that have won that many in a single Games, including Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz. Last month at the Olympic trials, Dressel showed that he is still very fast in the sprints after taking an eight-month break.
The two fastest swimmers in the world heading into Paris are not from the usual powerhouse countries such as Australia and the U.S., but from Canada and France, and that is both good news and bad.
Source: 8 storylines to follow as the Paris Summer Olympics get underway
The Jamaican women’s 200-meter sprint at the 100 meter and the Jamaican sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
The positive tests were the result of an accidental contamination. The World Anti-Doping Agency accepted that explanation after its investigation and said that international doping rules don’t require them to ban the athletes.
The agency’s handling of the positive tests raises doubts about whether the regulatory body that is supposed to control cheating holds certain countries to a higher standard than others.
The 100-meter sprint, the most popular track event, has shaped up to be a familiar two-nation race. Representing Jamaica in the women’s race is Shericka Jackson, whose biggest challenge is American Sha’Carri Richardson. But don’t overlook Jamaican sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who will race in her fifth and final Olympics 16 years after becoming the first Caribbean woman to win the 100-meter gold. They are chasing Florence Griffith Joyner’s record set in 1988.
Flo-Jo has a real chance of breaking her world record in the 200 meter when she runs 21.34 seconds. Jackson will go head-to-head with teammate Elaine Thompson-Herah and Gabby Thomas of Team USA.
The 200 is a race that does not open like the 100. He’s the one to beat because he won the men’s race last week at an international meet in Monaco.
Source: 8 storylines to follow as the Paris Summer Olympics get underway
The men’s soccer team of the UNIVERSE women’s national team kicks off with a 2-0 victory over France in the first game
Soccer starts before the Games officially kick off with the opening ceremony. The U.S. women’s national team wants to upgrade their bronze medal from Tokyo. The four-time gold medalists haven’t taken first on the podium since the 2012 Games in London. Since the retirement of Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd, the team has been replaced by a younger squad which will be chaired by Emma Hays, a former manager of the women’s football club. World Cup champion Spain is the favorite to take gold.
The US hasn’t medaled in the men’s soccer since 1904, and that was in the 2008 Olympics. Since the rule to restrict the competition to players under 23 went into effect in 1992, the men’s team has advanced to the knockout stage only once.
The men kick off their tournament in France on Wednesday, a team that is favored to win it all. The women’s squad is on the road.
Laczacette had an assist in the 69th minute. He scooted around the American defense and passed to Michael Olise who doubled the French lead to 2-0.
The United States could have gotten on the board first. In the 59th minute, Djordje Mihailovic fired a blistering right-footer that smashed off the crossbar.
Both the U.S. and France started the second half much how they ended the first: trading spirited passes and attacking deep into their own halves of play. The overwhelmingly French crowd supported the squad that finished 13th at the Tokyo Olympics.
U.S. players under 23 years old: Marko Mitrovic and the Qatar World Cup 2022 squad in the 2022 tournament for the first time
In Olympic men’s soccer, roster restrictions require nearly all players to be under 23 years old. Most of the U.S. squad, coached by Marko Mitrovic, has previously played in Major League Soccer or an MLS academy club. One of the three players is 31, Walker’s age. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he started three times and appeared in all four U.S. matches.