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- Nina Kennedy rounds off Australia’s golden day at Paris Olympics with pole vault victory | Paris Olympic Games 2024
As pole vault world champion Nina Kennedy took Australia to its 18th gold medal at the Paris Olympics, the nation’s best medal haul at the Games, she soared to new heights. After Kennedy had charged towards the uprights, forcefully planting her pole in the box, the 27-year-old flew upwards, gracefully lifting over the bar, before dropping cleanly to clear 4.90m. Kennedy did not know it at the time, but it would be the jump that won her gold.
It felt like an apt metaphor for an extraordinary Wednesday from the Australian Olympic team, the best single day in the team’s history, with a total of four golds and two bronze medals. What more appropriate way for the Australians to fly past history and make Paris 2024 the nation’s best Olympics yet?
Kennedy became the first Australian to win pole vault gold since Steven Hooker at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and the first Australian woman to win gold, bettering Tatiana Grigorieva’s silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Games.
The bar started low, with Kennedy easily clearing 4.40m on her first attempt. She was again comfortable at 4.60m, before suffering a minor mishap at 4.70m. But any fears of an early exit — Kennedy bowed out at 4.40m three years ago in Tokyo, as she battled an injury — were quickly allayed as the Australian soared over on the second attempt.
From there, while the field slimmed, Kennedy looked flawless. She took a deep breath at 4.80m, waited in contemplation, before clearing on her first attempt. When the bar was raised five centimetres, Kennedy was again untroubled — waiting for the jump clock to hit 20 seconds before charging forward and sailing over the bar. She was the only vaulter to clear 4.85m on the first attempt, and the only remaining competitor to clear 4.90m (again, on the first attempt).
Kennedy clears again. Photograph: Andrej Isaković/AFP/Getty Images
With just three athletes left, defending champion Katie Moon from the United States and Canada’s Alysha Newman, Kennedy found herself in the gold medal position. Newman failed to clear 4.90m, while after an unsuccessful attempt, Moon elected to pass on to 4.95m. The American and Kennedy both missed their first attempts at the new height, but Moon had one less chance to give. When Moon failed to clear again, Kennedy did not need to try again.
“I knew first-attempt clearances at those high bars were going to take the gold,” Kennedy said afterwards. “I put all my focus into that exact second, and that’s how I won.”
Kennedy had shared the gold medal with Moon at last year’s world championships, after the pair were level at 4.90m and both failed to clear 4.95m. The Australian has been asked repeatedly in recent months whether she would consider splitting Paris gold.
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“Deep down I knew I wasn’t going to,” she said. “I wanted that outright gold medal. I became really confident in talking to the media, it was really scary, really vulnerable, to lay it all out there and say: ‘I want the fucking outright gold medal, this is what I want.’ That’s really scary — I’m just really happy I got the job done.”
Matthew Denny continued Australia’s medal rush in the discus, winning the bronze medal with a throw of 69.31m. Three years ago in Tokyo, the Queenslander was an agonising five centimetres short of third place. But there would be no such heartbreak in Paris, with Denny almost a metre clear of the fourth place throw. Jamaica’s Rojé Stona won gold with an Olympic record throw of 70.00m. Denny’s medal is the first Olympic medal for an Australian in an Olympic throwing event — discus, shot put, hammer throw and javelin.
The medals at the track capped off a remarkable day which began with bronze in the morning for Jemima Montag and Rhydian Cowley in the mixed relay race walk marathon. Then, across a handful of hours in the afternoon, it rained gold: gold for Matthew Wearn in the sailing; gold for Keegan Palmer in the skateboarding; and gold in the men’s team pursuit on the track. The four golds and two bronze medals eclipses Australia’s prior best day of Olympic action, four gold medals in quick succession in Tokyo.
https://lottolenghi.me/nina-kennedy-rounds-off-australias-golden-day-at-paris-olympics-with-pole-vault-victory-paris-olympic-games-2024/
#ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #Olympics #LesOttolenghi #NinaKennedy #AustralianOlympic #ParisOlympicGames2024Nina Kennedy rounds off Australia’s golden day at Paris Olympics with pole vault victory | Paris Olympic Games 2024 As pole vault world champion Nina Kennedy took Australia to its 18th gold medal at the Paris Olympics, the nation’s best medal haul at the Games, she soared to new heights. After Kennedy had charged towards the uprights, forcefully planting her pole in the box, the 27-year-old flew upwards, gracefully lifting over the bar, before dropping cleanly to clear 4.90m. Kennedy did not know it at the time, but it would be the jump that won her gold. It felt like an apt metaphor for an extraordinary Wednesday from the Australian Olympic team, the best single day in the team’s history, with a total of four golds and two bronze medals. What more appropriate way for the Australians to fly past history and make Paris 2024 the nation’s best Olympics yet? Kennedy became the first Australian to win pole vault gold since Steven Hooker at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and the first Australian woman to win gold, bettering Tatiana Grigorieva’s silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Games. The bar started low, with Kennedy easily clearing 4.40m on her first attempt. She was again comfortable at 4.60m, before suffering a minor mishap at 4.70m. But any fears of an early exit — Kennedy bowed out at 4.40m three years ago in Tokyo, as she battled an injury — were quickly allayed as the Australian soared over on the second attempt. From there, while the field slimmed, Kennedy looked flawless. She took a deep breath at 4.80m, waited in contemplation, before clearing on her first attempt. When the bar was raised five centimetres, Kennedy was again untroubled — waiting for the jump clock to hit 20 seconds before charging forward and sailing over the bar. She was the only vaulter to clear 4.85m on the first attempt, and the only remaining competitor to clear 4.90m (again, on the first attempt). Kennedy clears again. Photograph: Andrej Isaković/AFP/Getty Images With just three athletes left, defending champion Katie Moon from the United States and Canada’s Alysha Newman, Kennedy found herself in the gold medal position. Newman failed to clear 4.90m, while after an unsuccessful attempt, Moon elected to pass on to 4.95m. The American and Kennedy both missed their first attempts at the new height, but Moon had one less chance to give. When Moon failed to clear again, Kennedy did not need to try again. “I knew first-attempt clearances at those high bars were going to take the gold,” Kennedy said afterwards. “I put all my focus into that exact second, and that’s how I won.” Kennedy had shared the gold medal with Moon at last year’s world championships, after the pair were level at 4.90m and both failed to clear 4.95m. The Australian has been asked repeatedly in recent months whether she would consider splitting Paris gold. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Olympic and Paralympic briefing Our daily email briefing will help you keep up with all the goings on at the Olympics and Paralympics Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion “Deep down I knew I wasn’t going to,” she said. “I wanted that outright gold medal. I became really confident in talking to the media, it was really scary, really vulnerable, to lay it all out there and say: ‘I want the fucking outright gold medal, this is what I want.’ That’s really scary — I’m just really happy I got the job done.” Matthew Denny continued Australia’s medal rush in the discus, winning the bronze medal with a throw of 69.31m. Three years ago in Tokyo, the Queenslander was an agonising five centimetres short of third place. But there would be no such heartbreak in Paris, with Denny almost a metre clear of the fourth place throw. Jamaica’s Rojé Stona won gold with an Olympic record throw of 70.00m. Denny’s medal is the first Olympic medal for an Australian in an Olympic throwing event — discus, shot put, hammer throw and javelin. The medals at the track capped off a remarkable day which began with bronze in the morning for Jemima Montag and Rhydian Cowley in the mixed relay race walk marathon. Then, across a handful of hours in the afternoon, it rained gold: gold for Matthew Wearn in the sailing; gold for Keegan Palmer in the skateboarding; and gold in the men’s team pursuit on the track. The four golds and two bronze medals eclipses Australia’s prior best day of Olympic action, four gold medals in quick succession in Tokyo. https://lottolenghi.me/nina-kennedy-rounds-off-australias-golden-day-at-paris-olympics-with-pole-vault-victory-paris-olympic-games-2024/ #ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #Olympics #LesOttolenghi #NinaKennedy #AustralianOlympic #ParisOlympicGames2024LOTTOLENGHI.MENina Kennedy rounds off Australia’s golden day at Paris Olympics with pole vault victory | Paris Olympic Games 2024As pole vault world champion Nina Kennedy took Australia to its 18th gold medal at the Paris Olympics, the nation’s best medal haul at the Games, she soared to new heights. After Kennedy had charged towards the uprights, forcefully planting her pole in the box, the 27-year-old flew upwards, gracefully…0 Comments 0 SharesPlease log in to like, share and comment! - Why Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified
India’s star Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat is out of the competition ahead of a gold medal match, after being disqualified for being over her class’s weight limit. It’s a devastating end to the Paris games for the wrestler who has led the charge against sexual harassment at the highest levels of her sport.
Had she been able to compete and won Wednesday’s match, she would have been the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in any Olympic event.
Phogat, who often wrestles at a 53-kilogram weight — or about 116 pounds — made the 50-kilogram (about 110 pounds) berth after another wrestler won the 53-kilogram spot on India’s wrestling team. She knew that getting down to competition weight would be difficult, she said in an April interview: “I gain weight easily. It doesn’t matter how fit I am, I still gain weight because I have a lot of muscle mass.”
She had been able to maintain the lower weight until Wednesday, when she weighed in at just 100 grams over the weight limit — despite the drastic measures she had taken over the past week to maintain her 50-kilogram weight. Phogat barely ate, spent hours in a sauna and exercised, and even tried cutting her hair to make weight, according to Team India’s chief medical officer.
But that 100 grams — around 3.5 ounces — meant she couldn’t compete in Wednesday’s match, and wouldn’t receive a medal at all despite her dominance. She put up a phenomenal performance in Paris, beating out Japanese Olympic gold medalist Yui Susaki in the first round, and dominating thereafter, seemingly guaranteeing India either a gold or silver medal.
Her wins — and sudden disqualification — have put her recent crusade against sexual harassment in India’s national wrestling organization back in the spotlight. And though her Olympics are over, there’s now global attention on her activism as much as her athletic prowess.
Sexual harassment is a problem in India — and in sports
Phogat spent months last year as the face of a campaign to remove Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), the body governing the sport in India.
Phogat and other women wrestlers accused Singh of sexual exploitation, and Phogat in particular alleged that he emotionally and psychologically tormented her following the Tokyo Summer Games, where she just missed out on a medal. After filing a complaint with the Indian Olympic Association, and receiving little response, they mounted a May 2023 protest in New Delhi — where they were reportedly assaulted by police.
Sexual harassment is a problem everywhere, and India is no different. A 2024 Centre for Economic Data & Analysis study found workplace sexual harassment to be on the rise in India (though reporting mechanisms have increased, too), and a 2022 World Bank report found harassment on public transportation to be a nearly universal experience in big cities, with 88 percent of those surveyed in New Delhi saying they’d experienced it.
Scholars Anil Kumar and Ashutosh Pandey, both professors in the department of sociology at Bayalasi P.G. College, in Jalalpur, India, wrote in a recent study that the “prevalent perception of sexual harassment often portrays it as a joke, where women are deemed both responsible for and deserving of such behavior.”
Despite the efforts of Indian feminists, particularly from the 1970s onward, there are still high-profile cases of harassment and violence against women, as well as protests against the police and governments’ handling of the problem.
In the case of Phogat and her colleagues, New Delhi police did finally arrest Singh in June of this year on charges of “sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the modesty of women,” according to The Hindu. He has maintained his innocence.
That Singh was removed from his post as the head of the WFI and held to account for his alleged crimes is a testament to the women’s protests; in addition to his high profile in the athletic world, Singh was also a powerful member of Parliament with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Phogat’s Olympics are at an end, but more and more Indian women are taking up sports — and excelling. And her activism is part of a wider effort in India to help women athletes speak up about sexual harassment and assault. There’s a lot more to be done in that arena: As sports fans have seen in Spain, the US, and elsewhere, the serious consequences of sexual harassment aren’t unique to India.
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#ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics #OlympicTorchRelay #ParisPreparationsWhy Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified India’s star Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat is out of the competition ahead of a gold medal match, after being disqualified for being over her class’s weight limit. It’s a devastating end to the Paris games for the wrestler who has led the charge against sexual harassment at the highest levels of her sport. Had she been able to compete and won Wednesday’s match, she would have been the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in any Olympic event. Phogat, who often wrestles at a 53-kilogram weight — or about 116 pounds — made the 50-kilogram (about 110 pounds) berth after another wrestler won the 53-kilogram spot on India’s wrestling team. She knew that getting down to competition weight would be difficult, she said in an April interview: “I gain weight easily. It doesn’t matter how fit I am, I still gain weight because I have a lot of muscle mass.” She had been able to maintain the lower weight until Wednesday, when she weighed in at just 100 grams over the weight limit — despite the drastic measures she had taken over the past week to maintain her 50-kilogram weight. Phogat barely ate, spent hours in a sauna and exercised, and even tried cutting her hair to make weight, according to Team India’s chief medical officer. But that 100 grams — around 3.5 ounces — meant she couldn’t compete in Wednesday’s match, and wouldn’t receive a medal at all despite her dominance. She put up a phenomenal performance in Paris, beating out Japanese Olympic gold medalist Yui Susaki in the first round, and dominating thereafter, seemingly guaranteeing India either a gold or silver medal. Her wins — and sudden disqualification — have put her recent crusade against sexual harassment in India’s national wrestling organization back in the spotlight. And though her Olympics are over, there’s now global attention on her activism as much as her athletic prowess. Sexual harassment is a problem in India — and in sports Phogat spent months last year as the face of a campaign to remove Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), the body governing the sport in India. Phogat and other women wrestlers accused Singh of sexual exploitation, and Phogat in particular alleged that he emotionally and psychologically tormented her following the Tokyo Summer Games, where she just missed out on a medal. After filing a complaint with the Indian Olympic Association, and receiving little response, they mounted a May 2023 protest in New Delhi — where they were reportedly assaulted by police. Sexual harassment is a problem everywhere, and India is no different. A 2024 Centre for Economic Data & Analysis study found workplace sexual harassment to be on the rise in India (though reporting mechanisms have increased, too), and a 2022 World Bank report found harassment on public transportation to be a nearly universal experience in big cities, with 88 percent of those surveyed in New Delhi saying they’d experienced it. Scholars Anil Kumar and Ashutosh Pandey, both professors in the department of sociology at Bayalasi P.G. College, in Jalalpur, India, wrote in a recent study that the “prevalent perception of sexual harassment often portrays it as a joke, where women are deemed both responsible for and deserving of such behavior.” Despite the efforts of Indian feminists, particularly from the 1970s onward, there are still high-profile cases of harassment and violence against women, as well as protests against the police and governments’ handling of the problem. In the case of Phogat and her colleagues, New Delhi police did finally arrest Singh in June of this year on charges of “sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the modesty of women,” according to The Hindu. He has maintained his innocence. That Singh was removed from his post as the head of the WFI and held to account for his alleged crimes is a testament to the women’s protests; in addition to his high profile in the athletic world, Singh was also a powerful member of Parliament with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Phogat’s Olympics are at an end, but more and more Indian women are taking up sports — and excelling. And her activism is part of a wider effort in India to help women athletes speak up about sexual harassment and assault. There’s a lot more to be done in that arena: As sports fans have seen in Spain, the US, and elsewhere, the serious consequences of sexual harassment aren’t unique to India. You’ve read 1 article in the last month Here at Vox, we believe in helping everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help to shape it. Our mission is to create clear, accessible journalism to empower understanding and action. If you share our vision, please consider supporting our work by becoming a Vox Member. Your support ensures Vox a stable, independent source of funding to underpin our journalism. If you are not ready to become a Member, even small contributions are meaningful in supporting a sustainable model for journalism. Source link https://lottolenghi.me/why-olympic-wrestler-vinesh-phogat-was-disqualified/ #ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics #OlympicTorchRelay #ParisPreparationsLOTTOLENGHI.MEWhy Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualifiedIndia’s star Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat is out of the competition ahead of a gold medal match, after being disqualified for being over her class’s weight limit. It’s a devastating end to the Paris games for the wrestler who has led the charge against sexual harassment at the highest levels…0 Comments 0 Shares - Olympic basketball: D'Tigress overcome adversity to shine at Paris 2024
Nigeria’s historic run in the women’s basketball tournament at Paris 2024 has been underlined by defensive steel, as well as a sprinkling of inspiration from their young coach.
The team known as D’Tigress became the first African side - male or female - to reach the quarter-finals of an Olympic Games after beating Canada in their final group game on Sunday.
The West Africans registered a win on their Olympic debut in Athens in 2004 but had to wait 20 years for their second victory.
The challenge now is to build on their progress.
“I'm really proud of them putting Nigeria on the map again after 20 years,” Mfon Udoka, a member of the 2004 squad, told BBC Sport Africa.
“I'm just hoping in the near future that it doesn't take another 20 years to see the same success.”
However, the squad has had to show plenty of resilience off the court to get to this stage.
https://lottolenghi.me/olympic-basketball-dtigress-overcome-adversity-to-shine-at-paris-2024/
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#ParisPreparationsOlympic basketball: D'Tigress overcome adversity to shine at Paris 2024 Nigeria’s historic run in the women’s basketball tournament at Paris 2024 has been underlined by defensive steel, as well as a sprinkling of inspiration from their young coach. The team known as D’Tigress became the first African side - male or female - to reach the quarter-finals of an Olympic Games after beating Canada in their final group game on Sunday. The West Africans registered a win on their Olympic debut in Athens in 2004 but had to wait 20 years for their second victory. The challenge now is to build on their progress. “I'm really proud of them putting Nigeria on the map again after 20 years,” Mfon Udoka, a member of the 2004 squad, told BBC Sport Africa. “I'm just hoping in the near future that it doesn't take another 20 years to see the same success.” However, the squad has had to show plenty of resilience off the court to get to this stage. https://lottolenghi.me/olympic-basketball-dtigress-overcome-adversity-to-shine-at-paris-2024/ #Olympicbasketball #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics #OlympicTorchRelay #ParisPreparationsLOTTOLENGHI.MEOlympic basketball: D'Tigress overcome adversity to shine at Paris 2024Nigeria's women have shown resilience off the basketball court and defensive steel on it to break new ground for Africa at the Olympic Games. Source link0 Comments 0 Shares - Swimmer Luana Alonso breaks silence on her expulsion from Olympic Village: ‘Stop spreading false info’ | Trending
Paraguay’s Luana Alonso has denied reports that she was removed from the Paris Olympics Village for inappropriate behaviour.
Paraguay’s Luana Alonso has denied reports that she was removed from the Paris Olympics Village for inappropriate behaviour. This denial comes after several news outlets ran stories on her expulsion from the athletes’ village. The story was first published by British tabloid The Sun, quoting Larissa Schaerer, head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee.
Paraguay’s Luana Alonso denies reports of her expulsion from the Olympics Village.(Instagram/@luanalonsom)
“Her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay,” Larissa Schaerer said in a statement published by the outlet. “We thank her for proceeding as instructed, as it was of her own free will that she did not spend the night in the Athletes’ Village.”
The Sun report suggested that Luana Alonso, 20, sneaked out of the Olympic Village to visit Disneyland Paris instead of cheering for her teammates. A separate report in Daily Mail also said that she was a distraction to her teammates “with her skimpy clothing and socialising with other athletes.” It added that she was seen walking around the Village in her own clothes rather than the official Paraguayan kit provided to all athletes.
In an Instagram Story shared yesterday, the 20-year-old swimmer dismissed reports of her expulsion from the Olympic Village.
“I just want to clarify that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere,” Luana Alonso wrote in Spanish on Instagram Stories. “Stop spreading false information. I don’t want to give any statement but I am not going to let lies affect me either,” she added.
Take a look at her Instagram Story:
Luana Alonso addresses reports of her expulsion from Olympic Village
Alonso failed to advance into the women’s 100m butterfly semifinals on July 27, missing out of qualifying by a mere 0.24 seconds. She announced her retirement from the sport shortly after the event, but continued to stay on in the Olympics Village.
“I have been swimming for so long, 18 years, and I have so many feelings,” she wrote on Instagram while announcing her retirement. “Unfortunately, I made the decision to stop and I am happy that my last race will be at the Olympic Games.” Alonso was just 17 when she participated in the Tokyo Olympics.
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News / Trending / Swimmer Luana Alonso breaks silence on her expulsion from Olympic Village: ‘Stop spreading false info’
https://lottolenghi.me/swimmer-luana-alonso-breaks-silence-on-her-expulsion-from-olympic-village-stop-spreading-false-info-trending/
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Swimmer Luana Alonso breaks silence on her expulsion from Olympic Village: ‘Stop spreading false info’ | Trending Paraguay’s Luana Alonso has denied reports that she was removed from the Paris Olympics Village for inappropriate behaviour. Paraguay’s Luana Alonso has denied reports that she was removed from the Paris Olympics Village for inappropriate behaviour. This denial comes after several news outlets ran stories on her expulsion from the athletes’ village. The story was first published by British tabloid The Sun, quoting Larissa Schaerer, head of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee. Paraguay’s Luana Alonso denies reports of her expulsion from the Olympics Village.(Instagram/@luanalonsom) “Her presence is creating an inappropriate atmosphere within Team Paraguay,” Larissa Schaerer said in a statement published by the outlet. “We thank her for proceeding as instructed, as it was of her own free will that she did not spend the night in the Athletes’ Village.” The Sun report suggested that Luana Alonso, 20, sneaked out of the Olympic Village to visit Disneyland Paris instead of cheering for her teammates. A separate report in Daily Mail also said that she was a distraction to her teammates “with her skimpy clothing and socialising with other athletes.” It added that she was seen walking around the Village in her own clothes rather than the official Paraguayan kit provided to all athletes. In an Instagram Story shared yesterday, the 20-year-old swimmer dismissed reports of her expulsion from the Olympic Village. “I just want to clarify that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere,” Luana Alonso wrote in Spanish on Instagram Stories. “Stop spreading false information. I don’t want to give any statement but I am not going to let lies affect me either,” she added. Take a look at her Instagram Story: Luana Alonso addresses reports of her expulsion from Olympic Village Alonso failed to advance into the women’s 100m butterfly semifinals on July 27, missing out of qualifying by a mere 0.24 seconds. She announced her retirement from the sport shortly after the event, but continued to stay on in the Olympics Village. “I have been swimming for so long, 18 years, and I have so many feelings,” she wrote on Instagram while announcing her retirement. “Unfortunately, I made the decision to stop and I am happy that my last race will be at the Olympic Games.” Alonso was just 17 when she participated in the Tokyo Olympics. The Hindustan Times YouTube channel now has 7 million subscribers. We thank our viewers for their support. Follow the channel for exclusive video news on politics, sports, entertainment & more. Click here. See more Get Latest Updates on Trending News Viral News, Video, Photos and Weather Updates of India and around the world News / Trending / Swimmer Luana Alonso breaks silence on her expulsion from Olympic Village: ‘Stop spreading false info’ https://lottolenghi.me/swimmer-luana-alonso-breaks-silence-on-her-expulsion-from-olympic-village-stop-spreading-false-info-trending/ #Paris Olympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics #OlympicTorchRelay #ParisPreparationsLOTTOLENGHI.MESwimmer Luana Alonso breaks silence on her expulsion from Olympic Village: ‘Stop spreading false info’ | TrendingAug 06, 2024 08:02 AM IST Paraguay's Luana Alonso has denied reports that she was removed from the Paris Olympics Village for inappropriate behaviour. Paraguay's Luana Alonso has denied reports that she was removed from the Paris Olympics Village for inappropriate behaviour. This denial comes after several news outlets ran…0 Comments 0 Shares - Simone Biles toasts Olympic glory with racy snaps alongside Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles
Simone Biles celebrated her three gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris by posing for a set of eye-popping snaps with fellow Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles.
Barely 24 hours after the 27-year-old openly complained about reporters constantly asking her about ‘what’s next’ following her new achievements at the Olympics this summer, Biles took to social media to put her close bond with Chiles, 23, on display.
‘red, white, biles&chiles,’ she captioned her post on Instagram.
The pair can be seen hanging out on a balcony in what presumably is the Olympic Village, which is located in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
Both gymnasts wore booty shorts with ‘TEAM USA’ printed on them as they also showed off their back muscles with crop tops
Chiles also posted a series of pics with Biles on Instagram.
She wrote ‘team usa girlies…’ with a red heart emoji as a caption to her post.
After claiming gold in the teams finals, all-around events and women’s vault earlier this week, Biles expressed her frustration with the line of questioning taking place after her performances in Paris.
Addressing reporters on X, she posted: ‘you guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics.’
Biles then added in another post: ‘let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for’.
When asked by a fan what does come next for her after winning another gold, she replied: ‘babysitting the medal’.
https://lottolenghi.me/simone-biles-toasts-olympic-glory-with-racy-snaps-alongside-team-usa-gymnast-jordan-chiles/
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#ParisPreparations
Simone Biles toasts Olympic glory with racy snaps alongside Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles Simone Biles celebrated her three gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris by posing for a set of eye-popping snaps with fellow Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles. Barely 24 hours after the 27-year-old openly complained about reporters constantly asking her about ‘what’s next’ following her new achievements at the Olympics this summer, Biles took to social media to put her close bond with Chiles, 23, on display. ‘red, white, biles&chiles,’ she captioned her post on Instagram. The pair can be seen hanging out on a balcony in what presumably is the Olympic Village, which is located in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. Both gymnasts wore booty shorts with ‘TEAM USA’ printed on them as they also showed off their back muscles with crop tops Chiles also posted a series of pics with Biles on Instagram. She wrote ‘team usa girlies…’ with a red heart emoji as a caption to her post. After claiming gold in the teams finals, all-around events and women’s vault earlier this week, Biles expressed her frustration with the line of questioning taking place after her performances in Paris. Addressing reporters on X, she posted: ‘you guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics.’ Biles then added in another post: ‘let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for’. When asked by a fan what does come next for her after winning another gold, she replied: ‘babysitting the medal’. https://lottolenghi.me/simone-biles-toasts-olympic-glory-with-racy-snaps-alongside-team-usa-gymnast-jordan-chiles/ #ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics #OlympicTorchRelay #ParisPreparationsLOTTOLENGHI.MESimone Biles toasts Olympic glory with racy snaps alongside Team USA gymnast Jordan ChilesBy Alastair Talbot Published: 21:32 EDT, 4 August 2024 | Updated: 22:01 EDT, 4 August 2024 Simone Biles celebrated her three gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris by posing for a set of eye-popping snaps with fellow Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles. Barely 24 hours after the 27-year-old openly complained about…0 Comments 0 Shares - Today at the Olympics: Monday’s schedule and highlights including Keely Hodgkinson and Noah Lyles
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Monday’s highlights
Simone Biles has already won three gold medals in Paris but she has further finals to come on the balance beam and floor exercise on the final day of artistic gymnastics. Biles has the chance to make history in the events – if she wins both she will join American swimmer Katie Ledecky and former Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina on nine Olympic golds, which is the most of all time.
The headline star athlete of Monday and perhaps the entire Olympics is Noah Lyles. The Team USA sprinter is back from the thrilling 100m final in a bid to double up and take gold in the men’s 200m first round. Zharnel Hughes, Letsile Tebogo, Andre De Grasse and Erriyon Knighton are among the biggest threats to Lyles.
Keely Hodgkinson goes again in the women’s 800m final, with the Team GB star likely to face a challenge from Kenya’s Mary Moraa.
https://lottolenghi.me/today-at-the-olympics-mondays-schedule-and-highlights-including-keely-hodgkinson-and-noah-lyles/
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#OlympicGamesToday at the Olympics: Monday’s schedule and highlights including Keely Hodgkinson and Noah Lyles Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth. Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts. Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda. Monday’s highlights Simone Biles has already won three gold medals in Paris but she has further finals to come on the balance beam and floor exercise on the final day of artistic gymnastics. Biles has the chance to make history in the events – if she wins both she will join American swimmer Katie Ledecky and former Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina on nine Olympic golds, which is the most of all time. The headline star athlete of Monday and perhaps the entire Olympics is Noah Lyles. The Team USA sprinter is back from the thrilling 100m final in a bid to double up and take gold in the men’s 200m first round. Zharnel Hughes, Letsile Tebogo, Andre De Grasse and Erriyon Knighton are among the biggest threats to Lyles. Keely Hodgkinson goes again in the women’s 800m final, with the Team GB star likely to face a challenge from Kenya’s Mary Moraa. https://lottolenghi.me/today-at-the-olympics-mondays-schedule-and-highlights-including-keely-hodgkinson-and-noah-lyles/ #ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGamesLOTTOLENGHI.METoday at the Olympics: Monday’s schedule and highlights including Keely Hodgkinson and Noah LylesSupport trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Team GB continue their hunt for more medals at the Olympics on Monday as Paris 2024 rolls…0 Comments 0 Shares - Simone Biles leads U.S. women’s gymnastics team to Olympic gold, kicking off Paris ‘redemption tour’
“We had the most fun I’ve ever had at a meet,” Suni Lee said after the U.S. won gold. “It’s super special because we all knew how much we wanted it. We put in the work and did everything that we needed to do.”
Biles shared the team’s pre-competition ritual, which involved “bumping music, loud.”
“We were just having a good time while we were getting ready,” Biles said. “And we all knew what the job was once we got in here.”
The U.S. kicked off its night on the vault, where it built strong momentum heading into the uneven bars. Lee anchored the bars lineup with a gutsy routine that expertly juggled risk and reward, earning a 14.566.
A fall off the beam by Jordan Chiles sent a jolt of nerves through the U.S. team in the third rotation, but Lee got the team back on track with a confident exercise. Biles narrowly averted disaster on a side aerial, the easiest skill in her beam routine, but managed to stay on.
Team USA has several points of difficulty advantages, so Chiles’ missed routine had little impact on its gold medal chances. She more than redeemed herself on floor, where she served up high-flying acrobatics and magnetic stage presence in equal measure, tumbling to Beyoncé.
Reigning Olympic floor champion Jade Carey performed just one routine, a Cheng on vault that earned a 14.800. She sat out floor in the final after a disastrous qualifying routine, when she appeared to get lost in the air on her double tuck, doing only a full tuck and rolling backward, out of bounds.
Carey said in a post on X that she “hasn’t been feeling the best” in Paris and hadn’t eaten in several days before Sunday’s qualifying.
Hezly Rivera, 16, was the team’s only newcomer and didn’t compete in Tuesday’s final. She will still get a medal for her contributions to the team in the qualifying round.
Heading into the Paris Olympics, the U.S. women weren’t afraid to say it — they wanted that gold medal.
Biles called Paris a “redemption tour” for the Tokyo returners.
“I feel like we all have more to give and our Tokyo performances weren’t the best,” Biles said at the Olympic trials in Minneapolis. “We weren’t under the best circumstances, either, but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes.”
Image: US' Simone Biles and teammates celebrate
Simone Biles and teammates celebrate after Team USA won the artistic gymnastics women’s team final at the Olympics in Paris on Tuesday.Lionel Bonaventure / AFP – Getty Images
Even Suni Lee, who came away from Tokyo with the all-around gold medal, was hungry to achieve Olympic glory with her teammates by her side.
“I think this time around, we’re so much more mature and know what we can do and what we can’t do,” Lee said.
Two Olympic all-around champions will go head to head in the all-around final for the first time. Biles and Lee contend for gold Thursday.
#lesottolenghi #Olympics #OlympicGames #Olympics2024 #parisolympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024
https://lottolenghi.me/simone-biles-leads-u-s-womens-gymnastics-team-to-olympic-gold-kicking-off-paris-redemption-tour/Simone Biles leads U.S. women’s gymnastics team to Olympic gold, kicking off Paris ‘redemption tour’ “We had the most fun I’ve ever had at a meet,” Suni Lee said after the U.S. won gold. “It’s super special because we all knew how much we wanted it. We put in the work and did everything that we needed to do.” Biles shared the team’s pre-competition ritual, which involved “bumping music, loud.” “We were just having a good time while we were getting ready,” Biles said. “And we all knew what the job was once we got in here.” The U.S. kicked off its night on the vault, where it built strong momentum heading into the uneven bars. Lee anchored the bars lineup with a gutsy routine that expertly juggled risk and reward, earning a 14.566. A fall off the beam by Jordan Chiles sent a jolt of nerves through the U.S. team in the third rotation, but Lee got the team back on track with a confident exercise. Biles narrowly averted disaster on a side aerial, the easiest skill in her beam routine, but managed to stay on. Team USA has several points of difficulty advantages, so Chiles’ missed routine had little impact on its gold medal chances. She more than redeemed herself on floor, where she served up high-flying acrobatics and magnetic stage presence in equal measure, tumbling to Beyoncé. Reigning Olympic floor champion Jade Carey performed just one routine, a Cheng on vault that earned a 14.800. She sat out floor in the final after a disastrous qualifying routine, when she appeared to get lost in the air on her double tuck, doing only a full tuck and rolling backward, out of bounds. Carey said in a post on X that she “hasn’t been feeling the best” in Paris and hadn’t eaten in several days before Sunday’s qualifying. Hezly Rivera, 16, was the team’s only newcomer and didn’t compete in Tuesday’s final. She will still get a medal for her contributions to the team in the qualifying round. Heading into the Paris Olympics, the U.S. women weren’t afraid to say it — they wanted that gold medal. Biles called Paris a “redemption tour” for the Tokyo returners. “I feel like we all have more to give and our Tokyo performances weren’t the best,” Biles said at the Olympic trials in Minneapolis. “We weren’t under the best circumstances, either, but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes.” Image: US' Simone Biles and teammates celebrate Simone Biles and teammates celebrate after Team USA won the artistic gymnastics women’s team final at the Olympics in Paris on Tuesday.Lionel Bonaventure / AFP – Getty Images Even Suni Lee, who came away from Tokyo with the all-around gold medal, was hungry to achieve Olympic glory with her teammates by her side. “I think this time around, we’re so much more mature and know what we can do and what we can’t do,” Lee said. Two Olympic all-around champions will go head to head in the all-around final for the first time. Biles and Lee contend for gold Thursday. #lesottolenghi #Olympics #OlympicGames #Olympics2024 #parisolympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 https://lottolenghi.me/simone-biles-leads-u-s-womens-gymnastics-team-to-olympic-gold-kicking-off-paris-redemption-tour/LOTTOLENGHI.MESimone Biles leads U.S. women’s gymnastics team to Olympic gold, kicking off Paris ‘redemption tour’"We had the most fun I've ever had at a meet," Suni Lee said after the U.S. won gold. "It's super special because we all knew how much we wanted it. We put in the work and did everything that we needed to do."Biles shared the team's pre-competition ritual, which…0 Comments 0 Shares - Takeaways and photos from Paris Olympics Day 3
Highlight Events:
Track and Field: Look out for exciting races and possibly new world records in events like the 100m, 200m, or 400m sprints.
Swimming: Finals in swimming events often occur on the third day, featuring top athletes in freestyle, backstroke, and medley events.
Gymnastics: Women’s and men’s gymnastics competitions could feature impressive routines on apparatuses like the vault, parallel bars, or balance beam.
Notable Performances:
Watch for standout performances from both established stars and emerging talents. Look for personal bests and podium finishes that might shape the overall medal standings.
Medal Winners:
Check out the latest medal standings to see which countries are leading. Individual athletes or teams who secured gold, silver, or bronze medals on Day 3 will be celebrated.
Dramatic Moments:
The Olympics are known for their emotional highs and lows. Whether it’s a dramatic last-minute win or a heart-wrenching defeat, these moments often capture the essence of the Games.
Fan and Athlete Reactions:
Social media and news outlets will be abuzz with reactions from athletes and fans. Look for interviews and behind-the-scenes glimpses that highlight the personal stories of the competitors.
https://lottolenghi.me/takeaways-and-photos-from-paris-olympics-day-3/
#ParisOlympic2024
#Paris2024
#SummerOlympics
#OlympicGames
#ParisOlympics
#OlympicTorchRelay
#ParisPreparationsTakeaways and photos from Paris Olympics Day 3 Highlight Events: Track and Field: Look out for exciting races and possibly new world records in events like the 100m, 200m, or 400m sprints. Swimming: Finals in swimming events often occur on the third day, featuring top athletes in freestyle, backstroke, and medley events. Gymnastics: Women’s and men’s gymnastics competitions could feature impressive routines on apparatuses like the vault, parallel bars, or balance beam. Notable Performances: Watch for standout performances from both established stars and emerging talents. Look for personal bests and podium finishes that might shape the overall medal standings. Medal Winners: Check out the latest medal standings to see which countries are leading. Individual athletes or teams who secured gold, silver, or bronze medals on Day 3 will be celebrated. Dramatic Moments: The Olympics are known for their emotional highs and lows. Whether it’s a dramatic last-minute win or a heart-wrenching defeat, these moments often capture the essence of the Games. Fan and Athlete Reactions: Social media and news outlets will be abuzz with reactions from athletes and fans. Look for interviews and behind-the-scenes glimpses that highlight the personal stories of the competitors. https://lottolenghi.me/takeaways-and-photos-from-paris-olympics-day-3/ #ParisOlympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics #OlympicTorchRelay #ParisPreparationsLOTTOLENGHI.METakeaways and photos from Paris Olympics Day 3CoCo cruises, another teen rules and China dominates diving. Source link0 Comments 0 Shares - Countdown to Paris 2024: Torch Relay Kicks Off as Olympic Fever Grips France
As of late July 2024, the Paris Summer Olympics, set to commence on July 26, 2024, are generating significant buzz with several key updates and developments capturing global attention.
First and foremost, the Olympic torch relay, which began its journey in Greece, is now making its way through various French cities, creating a festive atmosphere nationwide. The relay, which will conclude at the opening ceremony in Paris, has already been marked by vibrant celebrations and enthusiastic crowds, setting an exciting tone for the games.
In terms of infrastructure, Paris has made substantial progress in preparing for the Olympics. The city has invested heavily in upgrading existing venues and constructing new facilities, including the stunning Aquatics Centre and the new Olympic Village, designed to be both environmentally sustainable and technologically advanced. The Paris 2024 organizing committee has emphasized eco-friendliness, with many venues utilizing green energy sources and sustainable materials.
Athlete preparations are also in full swing, with numerous national teams conducting their final training camps and trials. A particular highlight is the anticipated debut of several new sports, including breakdancing, which will feature prominently for the first time in Olympic history. The inclusion of these sports has sparked considerable interest, especially among younger audiences.
https://paris2024.ai/
#Paris Olympic2024
#Paris2024
#SummerOlympics
#OlympicGames
#ParisOlympicsCountdown to Paris 2024: Torch Relay Kicks Off as Olympic Fever Grips France As of late July 2024, the Paris Summer Olympics, set to commence on July 26, 2024, are generating significant buzz with several key updates and developments capturing global attention. First and foremost, the Olympic torch relay, which began its journey in Greece, is now making its way through various French cities, creating a festive atmosphere nationwide. The relay, which will conclude at the opening ceremony in Paris, has already been marked by vibrant celebrations and enthusiastic crowds, setting an exciting tone for the games. In terms of infrastructure, Paris has made substantial progress in preparing for the Olympics. The city has invested heavily in upgrading existing venues and constructing new facilities, including the stunning Aquatics Centre and the new Olympic Village, designed to be both environmentally sustainable and technologically advanced. The Paris 2024 organizing committee has emphasized eco-friendliness, with many venues utilizing green energy sources and sustainable materials. Athlete preparations are also in full swing, with numerous national teams conducting their final training camps and trials. A particular highlight is the anticipated debut of several new sports, including breakdancing, which will feature prominently for the first time in Olympic history. The inclusion of these sports has sparked considerable interest, especially among younger audiences. https://paris2024.ai/ #Paris Olympic2024 #Paris2024 #SummerOlympics #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics0 Comments 0 Shares - French Alps, Salt Lake City
The Winter Olympic Games are making their way back to the United States!
Salt Lake City, Utah, will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2034, International Olympic Committee members voted July 24. The committee also officially elected France to host the Winter Games in 2030 in the French Alps.
Olympic champion and skier Lindsey Vonn, the chief of athlete experience for the 2034 Salt Lake City bid, joined TODAY on July 24 to share her excitement.
“A lot of the bid committee members have been working for over 10 years,” she said. “I’ve been a part of this process for over three years. All of our hard work finally came together. We got the bid, and we are so thrilled to have the Olympics back in the U.S.”
Vonn made her Olympic debut in 2002 in Salt Lake City at age 17 and went on to compete in the Winter Games in 2006, 2010 and 2018. She won three gold medals and is the only American woman to win an Olympic downhill gold.
“I remember this exact moment when Salt Lake City got the Olympics in 2002, and that’s what I dreamed of,” Vonn said on TODAY. “I dreamed of being in Salt Lake, and I achieved that dream. I know today there are so many children and kids watching TV right now, getting excited and dreaming of racing in 2034.”
The last time the Winter Olympic Games were held in the U.S. was in 2002, also in Salt Lake City. The 2026 Winter Games will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. But before that, the 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles.
Before the location of the 2034 Olympics was made official, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox expressed his excitement to host the Winter Games during a welcoming event hosted by U.S. Embassy staff.
“It’s a lot different this time around, I think. I think the Olympic movement needs Utah,” he said, per Reuters. “We’ve done this before, and we have a chance to give back in a very positive way.”
This news comes just days before the 2024 Paris Olympics kick off with the highly anticipated opening ceremony, which will include 592 athletes competing as part of Team USA. It’s an exciting time as competitions are already underway and continue through Aug. 11.
Viewers can tune in to watch the athletes competing at this year’s Olympics, including the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, live across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo.
America’s cheerleaders and TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will be co-hosting TODAY from Paris, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“It’s really the first time the world is getting together without any restrictions. This is a true, post-pandemic Olympics. It’s behind us, and it’s so thrilling,” Savannah told TODAY.com in their joint cover story, with Hoda adding, “This is the Olympics we’ve been waiting for.”
https://lottolenghi.me/french-alps-salt-lake-city/
#OlympicGames #WinterOlympicGames #SaltLakeCity #lesottolenghi #Olympics #Olympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #InternationalOlympic #SummerOlympics #2024ParisOlympicsFrench Alps, Salt Lake City The Winter Olympic Games are making their way back to the United States! Salt Lake City, Utah, will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2034, International Olympic Committee members voted July 24. The committee also officially elected France to host the Winter Games in 2030 in the French Alps. Olympic champion and skier Lindsey Vonn, the chief of athlete experience for the 2034 Salt Lake City bid, joined TODAY on July 24 to share her excitement. “A lot of the bid committee members have been working for over 10 years,” she said. “I’ve been a part of this process for over three years. All of our hard work finally came together. We got the bid, and we are so thrilled to have the Olympics back in the U.S.” Vonn made her Olympic debut in 2002 in Salt Lake City at age 17 and went on to compete in the Winter Games in 2006, 2010 and 2018. She won three gold medals and is the only American woman to win an Olympic downhill gold. “I remember this exact moment when Salt Lake City got the Olympics in 2002, and that’s what I dreamed of,” Vonn said on TODAY. “I dreamed of being in Salt Lake, and I achieved that dream. I know today there are so many children and kids watching TV right now, getting excited and dreaming of racing in 2034.” The last time the Winter Olympic Games were held in the U.S. was in 2002, also in Salt Lake City. The 2026 Winter Games will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. But before that, the 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles. Before the location of the 2034 Olympics was made official, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox expressed his excitement to host the Winter Games during a welcoming event hosted by U.S. Embassy staff. “It’s a lot different this time around, I think. I think the Olympic movement needs Utah,” he said, per Reuters. “We’ve done this before, and we have a chance to give back in a very positive way.” This news comes just days before the 2024 Paris Olympics kick off with the highly anticipated opening ceremony, which will include 592 athletes competing as part of Team USA. It’s an exciting time as competitions are already underway and continue through Aug. 11. Viewers can tune in to watch the athletes competing at this year’s Olympics, including the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, live across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo. America’s cheerleaders and TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will be co-hosting TODAY from Paris, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 Summer Olympics. “It’s really the first time the world is getting together without any restrictions. This is a true, post-pandemic Olympics. It’s behind us, and it’s so thrilling,” Savannah told TODAY.com in their joint cover story, with Hoda adding, “This is the Olympics we’ve been waiting for.” https://lottolenghi.me/french-alps-salt-lake-city/ #OlympicGames #WinterOlympicGames #SaltLakeCity #lesottolenghi #Olympics #Olympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #InternationalOlympic #SummerOlympics #2024ParisOlympicsLOTTOLENGHI.MEFrench Alps, Salt Lake CityThe Winter Olympic Games are making their way back to the United States!Salt Lake City, Utah, will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2034, International Olympic Committee members voted July 24. The committee also officially elected France to host the Winter Games in 2030 in the French Alps.Olympic champion…0 Comments 0 Shares - French Alps, Salt Lake City
The Winter Olympic Games are making their way back to the United States!
Salt Lake City, Utah, will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2034, International Olympic Committee members voted July 24. The committee also officially elected France to host the Winter Games in 2030 in the French Alps.
Olympic champion and skier Lindsey Vonn, the chief of athlete experience for the 2034 Salt Lake City bid, joined TODAY on July 24 to share her excitement.
“A lot of the bid committee members have been working for over 10 years,” she said. “I’ve been a part of this process for over three years. All of our hard work finally came together. We got the bid, and we are so thrilled to have the Olympics back in the U.S.”
Vonn made her Olympic debut in 2002 in Salt Lake City at age 17 and went on to compete in the Winter Games in 2006, 2010 and 2018. She won three gold medals and is the only American woman to win an Olympic downhill gold.
“I remember this exact moment when Salt Lake City got the Olympics in 2002, and that’s what I dreamed of,” Vonn said on TODAY. “I dreamed of being in Salt Lake, and I achieved that dream. I know today there are so many children and kids watching TV right now, getting excited and dreaming of racing in 2034.”
The last time the Winter Olympic Games were held in the U.S. was in 2002, also in Salt Lake City. The 2026 Winter Games will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. But before that, the 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles.
Before the location of the 2034 Olympics was made official, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox expressed his excitement to host the Winter Games during a welcoming event hosted by U.S. Embassy staff.
“It’s a lot different this time around, I think. I think the Olympic movement needs Utah,” he said, per Reuters. “We’ve done this before, and we have a chance to give back in a very positive way.”
This news comes just days before the 2024 Paris Olympics kick off with the highly anticipated opening ceremony, which will include 592 athletes competing as part of Team USA. It’s an exciting time as competitions are already underway and continue through Aug. 11.
Viewers can tune in to watch the athletes competing at this year’s Olympics, including the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, live across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo.
America’s cheerleaders and TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will be co-hosting TODAY from Paris, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“It’s really the first time the world is getting together without any restrictions. This is a true, post-pandemic Olympics. It’s behind us, and it’s so thrilling,” Savannah told TODAY.com in their joint cover story, with Hoda adding, “This is the Olympics we’ve been waiting for.”
https://lottolenghi.me/french-alps-salt-lake-city/
#OlympicGames #WinterOlympicGames #SaltLakeCity #lesottolenghi #Olympics #Olympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #Olympics2024 #InternationalOlympic #SummerOlympics #2024ParisOlympicsFrench Alps, Salt Lake City The Winter Olympic Games are making their way back to the United States! Salt Lake City, Utah, will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2034, International Olympic Committee members voted July 24. The committee also officially elected France to host the Winter Games in 2030 in the French Alps. Olympic champion and skier Lindsey Vonn, the chief of athlete experience for the 2034 Salt Lake City bid, joined TODAY on July 24 to share her excitement. “A lot of the bid committee members have been working for over 10 years,” she said. “I’ve been a part of this process for over three years. All of our hard work finally came together. We got the bid, and we are so thrilled to have the Olympics back in the U.S.” Vonn made her Olympic debut in 2002 in Salt Lake City at age 17 and went on to compete in the Winter Games in 2006, 2010 and 2018. She won three gold medals and is the only American woman to win an Olympic downhill gold. “I remember this exact moment when Salt Lake City got the Olympics in 2002, and that’s what I dreamed of,” Vonn said on TODAY. “I dreamed of being in Salt Lake, and I achieved that dream. I know today there are so many children and kids watching TV right now, getting excited and dreaming of racing in 2034.” The last time the Winter Olympic Games were held in the U.S. was in 2002, also in Salt Lake City. The 2026 Winter Games will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. But before that, the 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles. Before the location of the 2034 Olympics was made official, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox expressed his excitement to host the Winter Games during a welcoming event hosted by U.S. Embassy staff. “It’s a lot different this time around, I think. I think the Olympic movement needs Utah,” he said, per Reuters. “We’ve done this before, and we have a chance to give back in a very positive way.” This news comes just days before the 2024 Paris Olympics kick off with the highly anticipated opening ceremony, which will include 592 athletes competing as part of Team USA. It’s an exciting time as competitions are already underway and continue through Aug. 11. Viewers can tune in to watch the athletes competing at this year’s Olympics, including the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26, live across NBC, Peacock and Telemundo. America’s cheerleaders and TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will be co-hosting TODAY from Paris, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 Summer Olympics. “It’s really the first time the world is getting together without any restrictions. This is a true, post-pandemic Olympics. It’s behind us, and it’s so thrilling,” Savannah told TODAY.com in their joint cover story, with Hoda adding, “This is the Olympics we’ve been waiting for.” https://lottolenghi.me/french-alps-salt-lake-city/ #OlympicGames #WinterOlympicGames #SaltLakeCity #lesottolenghi #Olympics #Olympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #Olympics2024 #InternationalOlympic #SummerOlympics #2024ParisOlympicsLOTTOLENGHI.MEFrench Alps, Salt Lake CityThe Winter Olympic Games are making their way back to the United States!Salt Lake City, Utah, will host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2034, International Olympic Committee members voted July 24. The committee also officially elected France to host the Winter Games in 2030 in the French Alps.Olympic champion…0 Comments 0 Shares - Olympics to Hold Its First Esports Games Starting in 2025, Amid Concerns
The games industry may be surging, having recently generated more money than movies and North American sports combined, but enthusiasm for esports has ebbed and flowed. Now, though, competitive gaming will get a jolt of recognition: The International Olympic Committee has just formalized the Olympic Esports Games, with the first scheduled for 2025 in Saudi Arabia.
Complicating the picture for the IOC: the themes of violence that run through many video games, and a political environment in Saudi Arabia that’s hostile to LGBTQ+ individuals.
The IOC hasn’t decided on the exact location and dates or, most importantly, which video game titles the esports athletes will be competing in. In the past, professional esports competitions have mostly been title-specific tournaments, including huge international efforts like the League of Legends World Championship and the Dota International.
The last couple of decades have seen esports leagues rise and fall, from the US-specific Major League Gaming (acquired by Activision Blizzard and now owned by Microsoft) to publisher-sponsored organizations like Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League.
Large-scale professional gaming competitions have been pushed mostly by game publishers and esports leagues, but the IOC has been exploring esports since 2017, culminating in the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore in 2023 and a subsequent request to study the creation of a formal Olympic Esports Games.
The IOC Esports Commission said in a release Tuesday that it has “devised a project which addresses the interest of the esports community while respecting the Olympic values. This is particularly true with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.”
Esports reviving the Olympics
Appealing to younger fans has been a priority for the IOC, leading it to adopt new event categories in recent Olympics. In 2020, the traditional Games added surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing, while breaking (what had been known as breakdancing) is debuting at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The IOC has been looking into esports as traditional sports audiences age — a MarketWatch report in 2017 noted that the average NBA viewers were in their early 40s, while average NFL and MLB viewers were in their 50s.
But even as the IOC Esports Commission formed to explore how it might integrate competitive gaming into the Olympics, questions arose about whether that marriage would work. Many of the top esports titles are violent first-person shooters, which goes against Olympic values of peaceful competition — the IOC flatly stated a year ago that games from the Counter-Strike and Call of Duty series would never be included in Olympic Esports, according to The Jakarta Post. While the IOC formalizing the Olympic Esports Games seems to put the debate to bed about whether virtual competition is a sport, siloing esports into their own event, away from the traditional Olympics, does send a complicated message.
The most pertinent question is whether gamers will flock to esports if they’re hosted by the Olympics, or if they’ll just continue watching tournaments and leagues that have been built up by the games industry and esports enthusiasts.
“Years ago I said, ‘The Olympics needs esports more than esports needs the Olympics,’ and I still stand by that statement,” said Rod Breslau, an esports and gaming consultant.
“However, there is no denying that esports officially being at the Olympics, and even the creation of its own games, is another major stepping stone in establishing competitive gaming as a ‘real thing’ to the mainstream,” Breslau added. “Video games at the Olympics is validation for an entire generation of kids that grew up playing Street Fighter, Quake or StarCraft.”
Esports Olympics in Saudi Arabia
Tuesday’s announcement focused on Saudi Arabia’s role in hosting the first esports Olympics, which spokespeople for the country said is a natural extension of Saudi Arabia’s support for traditional sports and efforts to reach young athletes.
“Our commitment to esports is simply a reflection of the world our young people live in,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in the press release. “We now all have the chance to write new Olympic history together, the chance to inspire new dreams and new ambitions for literally millions of athletes around the world.”
Saudi Arabia has 23.5 million gamers and almost half are female, said Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, who’s on the board of directors of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and is president of the Women’s Committee.
Saudi Arabia has been ramping up its investments in esports over the past several years, culminating in the 2024 Esports World Cup that kicked off July 3 and runs through Aug. 25. But that event has proved divisive as players, streamers and fans have protested and boycotted the championship, according to the BBC, because of hostility toward LGBTQ+ people on the part of the country, where same-sex acts are punishable by death.
Similarly, earlier this year advocacy groups protested the United Nations for appointing Saudi Arabia to lead the UN commission on women’s rights, citing the kingdom’s “abysmal” record in that realm, The Guardian reported. Though Saudi Arabian authorities have attempted reforms in recent years, like the 2022 Personal Status Law, Amnesty International criticized the legislation for entrenching “gender-based discrimination in every aspect of family life.”
The IOC defended its decision to partner with and hold the first Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia, saying that the country’s National Olympic Committee is in line with the Olympic Charter and that the IOC will work with the committee to “ensure that the event will be held in a sustainable way and international standards are respected in the context of the event,” according to a statement attributed to an IOC spokesperson.
The IOC Esports Committee pointed to Saudi Arabia’s recent efforts to encourage sports participation among its population, including substantial growth among women, from girls playing in school football leagues to nearly 30 women’s national teams.
“With regards to LGBTQ+ players — within the context of the Olympic Esports Games and in line with the Olympic Charter, there will be no discrimination against any player on the basis of their gender or sexuality,” the IOC spokesperson said. “We will work with our Olympic Esports Games partners to ensure that all athletes/players feel welcome and compete safely in our events.”
There are other concerns about Saudi Arabia’s massive investments in esports — through acquisitions, the kingdom owns around 40% of the total esports market, according to a recent report by The New York Times, making it difficult for anyone in the industry not to work with or for the country. This has led to questions about whether the Olympic Esports Games would exist without Saudi Arabia’s investments.
“If the IOC truly believed in its principals they would have created the esports games without the Saudi partnership, and this news would be much more widely accepted,” said esports analyst Breslau. “As it stands, the Olympics is now complicit in esportswashing.”
Global politics and the Olympics
Some parts of the esports and gaming communities may again protest and even skip the inaugural Olympics Esports Games held in Saudi Arabia, but boycotting Olympics on moral and political grounds is a tradition that goes back to their modern resumption in the early 20th century, as this timeline from the Associated Press illustrates. Countries defeated in the world wars were excluded from the 1920 and 1948 Olympics, and Cold War tensions led to varying abstentions until the US led 60 countries in boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, followed by a Soviet boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
#lesottolenghi #Olympics #OlympicGames #Olympics2024 #parisolympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #2024summerolympics #parisolympicsschedule
https://lottolenghi.me/olympics-to-hold-its-first-esports-games-starting-in-2025-amid-concerns/Olympics to Hold Its First Esports Games Starting in 2025, Amid Concerns The games industry may be surging, having recently generated more money than movies and North American sports combined, but enthusiasm for esports has ebbed and flowed. Now, though, competitive gaming will get a jolt of recognition: The International Olympic Committee has just formalized the Olympic Esports Games, with the first scheduled for 2025 in Saudi Arabia. Complicating the picture for the IOC: the themes of violence that run through many video games, and a political environment in Saudi Arabia that’s hostile to LGBTQ+ individuals. The IOC hasn’t decided on the exact location and dates or, most importantly, which video game titles the esports athletes will be competing in. In the past, professional esports competitions have mostly been title-specific tournaments, including huge international efforts like the League of Legends World Championship and the Dota International. The last couple of decades have seen esports leagues rise and fall, from the US-specific Major League Gaming (acquired by Activision Blizzard and now owned by Microsoft) to publisher-sponsored organizations like Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League. Large-scale professional gaming competitions have been pushed mostly by game publishers and esports leagues, but the IOC has been exploring esports since 2017, culminating in the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore in 2023 and a subsequent request to study the creation of a formal Olympic Esports Games. The IOC Esports Commission said in a release Tuesday that it has “devised a project which addresses the interest of the esports community while respecting the Olympic values. This is particularly true with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.” Esports reviving the Olympics Appealing to younger fans has been a priority for the IOC, leading it to adopt new event categories in recent Olympics. In 2020, the traditional Games added surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing, while breaking (what had been known as breakdancing) is debuting at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The IOC has been looking into esports as traditional sports audiences age — a MarketWatch report in 2017 noted that the average NBA viewers were in their early 40s, while average NFL and MLB viewers were in their 50s. But even as the IOC Esports Commission formed to explore how it might integrate competitive gaming into the Olympics, questions arose about whether that marriage would work. Many of the top esports titles are violent first-person shooters, which goes against Olympic values of peaceful competition — the IOC flatly stated a year ago that games from the Counter-Strike and Call of Duty series would never be included in Olympic Esports, according to The Jakarta Post. While the IOC formalizing the Olympic Esports Games seems to put the debate to bed about whether virtual competition is a sport, siloing esports into their own event, away from the traditional Olympics, does send a complicated message. The most pertinent question is whether gamers will flock to esports if they’re hosted by the Olympics, or if they’ll just continue watching tournaments and leagues that have been built up by the games industry and esports enthusiasts. “Years ago I said, ‘The Olympics needs esports more than esports needs the Olympics,’ and I still stand by that statement,” said Rod Breslau, an esports and gaming consultant. “However, there is no denying that esports officially being at the Olympics, and even the creation of its own games, is another major stepping stone in establishing competitive gaming as a ‘real thing’ to the mainstream,” Breslau added. “Video games at the Olympics is validation for an entire generation of kids that grew up playing Street Fighter, Quake or StarCraft.” Esports Olympics in Saudi Arabia Tuesday’s announcement focused on Saudi Arabia’s role in hosting the first esports Olympics, which spokespeople for the country said is a natural extension of Saudi Arabia’s support for traditional sports and efforts to reach young athletes. “Our commitment to esports is simply a reflection of the world our young people live in,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in the press release. “We now all have the chance to write new Olympic history together, the chance to inspire new dreams and new ambitions for literally millions of athletes around the world.” Saudi Arabia has 23.5 million gamers and almost half are female, said Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, who’s on the board of directors of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and is president of the Women’s Committee. Saudi Arabia has been ramping up its investments in esports over the past several years, culminating in the 2024 Esports World Cup that kicked off July 3 and runs through Aug. 25. But that event has proved divisive as players, streamers and fans have protested and boycotted the championship, according to the BBC, because of hostility toward LGBTQ+ people on the part of the country, where same-sex acts are punishable by death. Similarly, earlier this year advocacy groups protested the United Nations for appointing Saudi Arabia to lead the UN commission on women’s rights, citing the kingdom’s “abysmal” record in that realm, The Guardian reported. Though Saudi Arabian authorities have attempted reforms in recent years, like the 2022 Personal Status Law, Amnesty International criticized the legislation for entrenching “gender-based discrimination in every aspect of family life.” The IOC defended its decision to partner with and hold the first Olympic Esports Games in Saudi Arabia, saying that the country’s National Olympic Committee is in line with the Olympic Charter and that the IOC will work with the committee to “ensure that the event will be held in a sustainable way and international standards are respected in the context of the event,” according to a statement attributed to an IOC spokesperson. The IOC Esports Committee pointed to Saudi Arabia’s recent efforts to encourage sports participation among its population, including substantial growth among women, from girls playing in school football leagues to nearly 30 women’s national teams. “With regards to LGBTQ+ players — within the context of the Olympic Esports Games and in line with the Olympic Charter, there will be no discrimination against any player on the basis of their gender or sexuality,” the IOC spokesperson said. “We will work with our Olympic Esports Games partners to ensure that all athletes/players feel welcome and compete safely in our events.” There are other concerns about Saudi Arabia’s massive investments in esports — through acquisitions, the kingdom owns around 40% of the total esports market, according to a recent report by The New York Times, making it difficult for anyone in the industry not to work with or for the country. This has led to questions about whether the Olympic Esports Games would exist without Saudi Arabia’s investments. “If the IOC truly believed in its principals they would have created the esports games without the Saudi partnership, and this news would be much more widely accepted,” said esports analyst Breslau. “As it stands, the Olympics is now complicit in esportswashing.” Global politics and the Olympics Some parts of the esports and gaming communities may again protest and even skip the inaugural Olympics Esports Games held in Saudi Arabia, but boycotting Olympics on moral and political grounds is a tradition that goes back to their modern resumption in the early 20th century, as this timeline from the Associated Press illustrates. Countries defeated in the world wars were excluded from the 1920 and 1948 Olympics, and Cold War tensions led to varying abstentions until the US led 60 countries in boycotting the 1980 Moscow Games over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, followed by a Soviet boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. #lesottolenghi #Olympics #OlympicGames #Olympics2024 #parisolympics2024 #olympicsparis2024 #2024summerolympics #parisolympicsschedule https://lottolenghi.me/olympics-to-hold-its-first-esports-games-starting-in-2025-amid-concerns/LOTTOLENGHI.MEOlympics to Hold Its First Esports Games Starting in 2025, Amid ConcernsThe games industry may be surging, having recently generated more money than movies and North American sports combined, but enthusiasm for esports has ebbed and flowed. Now, though, competitive gaming will get a jolt of recognition: The International Olympic Committee has just formalized the Olympic Esports Games, with the first scheduled…0 Comments 0 Shares
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