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Opening Ceremony: Wet, wild and weird
The Olympics formally began on Friday with a wet, wild and weird Opening Ceremony that featured 85 boats, 3.7 miles of the Seine, thousands of athletes and a lot of rain.
From Yahoo Sports’ Jay Hart:
The 2024 Summer Games kicked off with a wave of pageantry that, well, moseyed its way down the Seine, incorporating France’s centuries-long history along a strange but oddly endearing four-hour show.
It recognized historical figures (Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon), historical art (the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo), historical places (the Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame, the Louvre) and, of course, French fashion. All the while, it rained, then poured, and yet the show went on.
Highlights:
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Torch relay: What began with Zinedine Zidane in an empty stadium turned into a city-wide adventure featuring a “Masked Marauder” and a quartet of legends (Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comăneci) eventually handing the torch to French gold medalists Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner, who lit the cauldron.
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Lady Gaga: The pop star performed a French cabaret-inspired act on the banks of the Seine, singing Zizi Jeanmaire’s “Mon truc en plumes” while surrounded by a troupe of dancers.
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Powerful finale: Celine Dion stole the show with a rendition of Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” from atop the Eiffel Tower in her first performance since being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome.
Scenes from the Seine: Opening Ceremony wows soaked crowds
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Athlete spotlight: Katie Ledecky is widely considered the greatest female swimmer ever, and she can cement her case in Paris. She arrives with 10 Olympic medals (seven golds) and needs three more to break the all-time female record of 12.
Four-time Olympian: Ledecky is just the ninth American swimmer to qualify for four Olympics, having made her debut at age 15 at the 2012 London Games.
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She swam one event in London: the 800m freestyle (which she won). This year, she’ll swim four: the 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle, and the 4x200m freestyle relay.
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If she wins the 800m freestyle, she’ll become just the second swimmer to four-peat in an Olympic event. The only other one to do it? Michael Phelps, in the men’s 200m IM. Decent company!
Opening night splash: The 400m freestyle final (2:30pm ET, NBC) is being billed as the Race of the Century, with Ledecky facing off against Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh. Together, they’ve combined to swim the 28 fastest times in history.
More athletes in action:
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🚲 Taylor Knibb: The Cornell grad (’20) is an Olympian in two different sports. She’ll compete in cycling time trials today before braving the River Seine during next week’s triathlon.
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🐎 Steffen Peters and Mopsie: Peters, 59, is a six-time Olympian and the oldest member of Team USA. You won’t want to miss him performing to club music atop Mopsie, nicknamed the “Rave Horse.”
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🏄♀️ Carissa Moore: This is the last hurrah for the Hawaiian surfer, who is the defending gold medalist and a five-time world champion. She’ll turn 32 just days after the Olympics and plans to retire.
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Watchlist: First full day of competition
Swimming takes center stage today, with heats currently underway and four medal events on tap for later. Overall, 13 sets of medals will be handed out across seven sports by day’s end.
Featured events:
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🏊 Swimming: Four medal events (2:30pm, NBC) … Men’s and Women’s 400m Freestyle, Men’s and Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay.
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🏀 Men’s Basketball: France vs. Brazil (11:15am, CNBC); Greece vs. Canada (3pm, CNBC) … Victor Wembanyama, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander take the court. Two of four games today.
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⚽️ Men’s Soccer: USA vs. New Zealand (1pm, USA) … Can the U.S. bounce back after a 3-0 loss to France? One of eight games today.
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🏉 Men’s Rugby: Gold Medal Match (1:45pm, NBC) … France vs. South Africa and Fiji vs. Australia in the semifinals (9:30am, CNBC)
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🏄 Surfing: Men’s Round 1 (1pm, Peacock); Women’s Round 1 (5:45pm, Peacock) … On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, 10,000 miles away from Paris.
Medal events:
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🚲 Cycling Road: Women’s Time Trial (8:30am, NBC) and Men’s Time Trial (10:30am, USA)
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🥋 Judo: Women’s 48kg and Men’s 60kg (11:15am, Peacock)
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🤺 Fencing: Women’s Épée and Men’s Sabre (2:40pm, Peacock)
Plus… Badminton, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Canoe Slalom, Equestrian, Handball, Hockey, Rowing, Table Tennis, Tennis (Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz play doubles), Volleyball, Water Polo.
Primetime on NBC: Men’s Gymnastics Qualifications (8pm), Men’s 400m Freestyle Final (8:35pm), Women’s Synchronized Springboard Final (10:10pm).
For the complete schedule, click here.
Surf’s up, dude!
The surfing competition begins today in the village of Teahupo’o on the island of Tahiti, which is located in the South Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between California and Australia.
Floating village: The 28 surfers from 19 nations are staying in a first-of-its-kind “floating Olympic Village” — a luxurious 413-foot cruise ship anchored in the lagoon about six miles from the venue.
The danger is real: Teahupo’o means “wall of skulls” or “pile of heads,” a reference to a grim Tahitian legend befitting such a daunting break. The combination of South Pacific swells and an underwater trench makes for spectacular — and dangerous — waves.
What they’re saying: “It’s probably one of the most rewarding, dangerous waves in the world,” American surfer Griffin Colapinto told Yahoo Sports. “You can either get the best ride of your life or you could die, but the place is absolutely gorgeous.”
Lightning round
🇫🇷 Do you see her? At first glance, the Paris 2024 logo is the silhouette of a flame against a gold background. But look closer and the flickers of flame turn to locks of hair. The lips become visible. This is Marianne, an enduring symbol since the French Revolution.
💧 Failed water test: Test results released Friday showed the River Seine water quality was below the standards needed to authorize swimming, likely due to heavy rain.
💉 Steroids suspension: Sajjad Sehen, a male judoka from Iraq, tested positive for two anabolic steroids. He’s provisionally suspended until the case is resolved, and is banned from competing in Paris.
🏑 Now that’s dedication: Australian field hockey player Matthew Dawson broke his finger in training last month, and rather than have it surgically repaired and miss the Olympics, he had it amputated.
Daily trivia
Question: Which country is 11th on the above list?
Hint: They’ve won more medals in judo and skateboarding than any other nation.
Answer at the bottom.
In non-Olympics news…
🏈 Major paydays: The Packers locked up Jordan Love on a four-year, $220 million contract, making him the highest-paid QB in NFL history. Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins agreed to a slightly less lucrative deal: four years, $212.4 million.
Plus:
Trivia answer: Japan (497 medals)
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