The U.S. men’s soccer team opened the Paris Olympics with a loss against France
The 2017 Summer Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on the River Seine: The French capital is ready to welcome the summer crowds back with a splash
After COVID-19 pandemic restrictions kept spectators away for the last two Olympic Games (in Beijing and Tokyo), the French capital has prepared to welcome back crowds with a splash: the public will be treated to a unique opening ceremony on the iconic River Seine.
The outdoor ceremony is the largest one yet and kicks off 16 days of sporting events across the city and beyond.
Outside of Paris, the historic Palace of Versailles will host equestrian events, while surfing will take place some 10,000 miles away in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
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 to the west starting at Austerlitz Bridge, and going by major landmarks and event venues such as the Grand Palais. The parade can be seen from the Pont d’Iena bridge, before a show at the Trocadéro.
The outdoor arena at the Eiffel Tower where beach volleyball games will take place, is one of the temporary sports venues that can be viewed from the parade’s route.
The U.S. Women’s Break-Dancing Gymnastics Team at the 2017 Paris Games in the Light of Russia’s First Olympic Trials
Recent testing of the water has turned up unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria caused by fecal matter, but tests earlier this month showed acceptable bacteria levels. 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.
The counterculture sport with roots in skate boarding and surfing will be included in the Olympics for the first time in Paris. Break-dancing, or “breaking” as it is more commonly known, was originated in the 1970s from the streets of New York City’s South Bronx, and is influenced by the break beats played by DJs and MCs. The acrobatics involve head-spins, backflips, and other moves that are very athletic.
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, 16 b-boys (male breakers) and 16 b-girls will go head to head in separate battles at Place de la Concorde, an outdoor public square. The women’s competition is set for Aug. 9 and men’s is on Aug. 10. If you’re watching Team USA, look out for Victor Montalvo as a medal contender.
The same U.S. women’s gymnastics team that took home a silver medal at the Tokyo Games all-around final in 2021 is hoping to rewrite their Olympic ending in Paris.
Three years ago, Biles, who at 27 is the most decorated gymnast of all time, came down with a case of the “twisties,” a debilitating psychological affliction that forced her to pull out of several events to focus on her mental health. Suni Lee was the unlikely champion, and won an individual all-around gold medal in Tokyo.
Now, with Biles in top form and the team united in its goal of “redemption,” the women’s squad is the favorite to win gold. Russia won’t be present, that’s for certain. The IOC plans to allow only some Russian athletes to compete as “individual neutral athletes” under strict conditions it set in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. In a sport dominated by Russia, China and Japan, the country’s absence improves the men’s chances of medals.
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. Seven of her Olympic medals are gold, putting her just two wins away from earning the most Olympic gold medals of any female athlete in history. Ledecky holds the world record in the 400m freestyle, which has been knocked down by Australia’s Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh. The Titmus-McIntosh-Ledecky 400-meter race should make for a thrilling watch.
Caeleb Dressel is the U.S.’s hope in men’s swimming. He won five gold medals in Tokyo, becoming the first swimmer to accomplish that in a single Games. After taking an eight-month break from the sport, Dressel showed at the Olympic trials last month that he’s still fast in sprints.
Canada and France have two of the fastest swimmers in the world, but they aren’t from Australia or the U.S.
Source: 8 storylines to follow as the Paris Summer Olympics get underway
The 100-meter and 200-meter sprints: Jamaican Shericka Jackson, Sha’Carri Richardson and Flo-Jo
The positive tests were caused by a mistake by Chinese officials. 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.
Critics are questioning whether the regulatory body responsible for stemming cheating holds some countries to a lower standard than others, because the agency mishandled the positive tests.
The 100 meter sprint, the most popular track event, has turned into a familiar two nation race. Jamaican Shericka Jackson is challenging American Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s race. Jamaican sprinters have won medals in all but one Olympic Games, including the first Caribbean woman to win a gold in the 100 meter. They are trying to break Florence Griffith Joyner’s record.
In the 200-meter, there’s a real chance we could see the fall of Flo-Jo’s world record set that same year when she ran 21.34 seconds. Jackson will go head-to-head with two of his teammates.
Lyles also racing in the 200-meter — his better event — a race that won’t be as wide open as the 100. He’s the favorite, ahead of Tebogo, a notable exception to the rivalry who won the men’s race last week at an international meet in Monaco.
The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team in the Pre-Olympics: Victoria versus Zambia at the Closing Game
Soccer starts before the Games officially kick off with the opening ceremony. The U.S. women’s national team is aiming to upgrade their bronze medal from Tokyo. The 2012 London Olympics saw four-time gold medalists taking first place on the podium. Since the retirement of major stars — Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Julie Ertz, Sam Mewis — has made way for a younger team, which will be led by new head coach Emma Hayes, former manager of the women’s Chelsea Football Club. World Cup champion Spain is the favorite to take gold.
The United States men’s soccer team returned to the Olympics after a 16-year absence and opened with a 3-0 loss to host France in group play in Marseille.
The team will end their group stage against Germany and Australia with a game in Nice on Thursday.
The U.S. scored three times in the first 25 minutes of the game, putting aggressive pressure on Zambia from the opening whistle. At the 17th minute, Trinity Rodman scored her first goal of the game, which was the start of an early, commanding lead.
The game was played without a player for the majority of it because of the yellow card handed out by the ref. After video review, the yellow card was upgraded to a red, leaving Zambia with just 10 players.
Barbra Banda, a star on the Orlando Pride, played well, despite the lead being unthreatened. That performance may have put to rest, at least for now, concerns about scoring issues in both of the team’s pre-Olympic matches against Costa Rica and Mexico.
Three years ago in Tokyo, the US lost to Sweden in the opening game of the Olympics. Still, the Olympic road gets a lot tougher for the U.S. Next up is fourth-ranked Germany on Sunday in Marseille.
The US-France World Cup Final after a World Cup exit: “It’s gone,” says head coach Emma Hayes
Lacazette continued his brilliant play in the 69th minute with an assist. He scooted around the American defense and passed to Michael Olise who doubled the French lead to 2-0.
The U.S. missed a golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard first. The goal was fired in the 59th minute by Djordje Mihail Serbian player took a shot which hit the bar.
Both the US and France started the second half similarly, attacking deep into their own halves of play, and trading spirited passes. The overwhelmingly French crowd cheered and yelled to will on their squad that finished 13th at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The players for the Olympics are required 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. The three overage players are Walker Zimmerman, a 31, his brother David, a 28, and his son Henry, a 22. In the World Cup in 2022. he started three times and appeared in all four US matches.
Following its earliest ever exit from the World Cup, the team is looking forward, insisted head coach Emma Hayes at the news conference.
We’ve moved on from that. I think this team is past that. We don’t always focus on righting the wrongs. Far from it. She said that they’re excited and prepared.
U.S. women’s soccer coach says the team has’moved past’ losses, is ready for Paris: A NPR interview with Hayes
The U.S. women’s team has won four Olympic gold medals, but none since 2012. The team won a bronze medal in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics after failing to medal in Rio.
The United States’ group stage matches are “three very tough group games with three very different proposition”, according to NPR’s interview with Hayes Before the team traveled to France.
“We take one game at a time, and with Emma coming in, we’ve learned a lot, we’ve grown a lot and we’ve introduced a lot of new things that I think will help us have success in this tournament,” she said.
“Zambia, probably one of the best transition counterattacking teams in the world. They probably have the world’s best striker on current form, Barbra Banda,” Hayes said, adding that the goal threat would be “exceptional.”
When asked about the amount of pressure she felt to perform in the Olympics, she said she paid little attention to external pressures and was very grateful for the history of the program. She suggested that the expectations of U.S. dominance could be unwarranted because of the quality of the women’s game internationally.
The U.S. is ranked fifth in FIFA’s international rankings. That is the lowest spot ever since FIFA began ranking women’s teams more than two decades ago.
Source: U.S. women’s soccer coach says the team has ‘moved past’ losses, is ready for Paris
Is it possible to recreate the parity in the football landscape in today’s football? A question of relevance for future football players, and a challenge for the future soccer
“The reality is the world’s game has caught up and in some places taken over,” Hayes said. “We have to focus on what we need to do to get to those levels again.” But also recognizing it isn’t 10 years ago, where there wasn’t parity in the world game. There is parity now.”
“So I don’t think anybody should expect one team to completely dominate the football landscape in today’s football in the way that it was 10 years ago,” she added.
