Members phkrause Posted July 26 Author Members Share Posted July 26 🚆 Arson attacks paralyze French rail Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra phones will capture live video footage from boats on the Seine during today's opening ceremony. Photo: Samsung Bulletin: Hours before the Olympics' grand debut, France's high-speed rail network was hit with widespread "criminal" sabtoage, including arson attacks. Travel to Paris was blocked from across France and Europe. The disruptions are expected to endure through the weekend and possibly longer, officials said. Eurostar rail service between London and Paris was disrupted by the vandalism. Passengers were asked to postpone journeys. Get the latest. 📱 For today's Opening Ceremony, 200+ Samsung smartphones will provide a unique lens to viewers as athletes from around the world travel by boat along the Seine River, Axios' Ina Fried writes from Paris. The ceremony will take place outside a stadium, on the waters of the Seine — creating a beautiful backdrop, but necessitating a different approach to capturing the event for a TV audience. Traditional cameras will be used to provide wide shots. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra devices mounted on each of the 85 boats will provide an up-close view of the athletes as they make their way down the Seine. Footage will be sent over a private 5G network, with antennas placed along bridges on the route. Keep reading. 👀 How to watch: Live coverage starts at noon ET today on NBC. The opening ceremony starts at 1:30 p.m. Schedule + streaming services. 🏊 Weekend watch list: Katie Ledecky's first medal shot (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET) ... Street skateboarding finals (Saturday, 11:30 a.m. ET) ... Simone Biles returns (Sunday, 5:40 a.m. ET). Full guide from Axios' Maxwell Millington. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 26 Author Members Share Posted July 26 📺 NBC bets on Olympics rebound Data: Nielsen, Sports Media Watch. (2020 Olympics were held in 2021.) Chart: Axios Visuals NBC is betting on an Olympics-sized TV ratings rebound now that the Games are free of COVID-era disruptions, coupled with the scenic backdrop of Paris, Tim Baysinger writes in Axios Pro: Media Deals. Why it matters: If the Olympics audience keeps dwindling, NBC's $7.8 billion rights deal to televise the Games through 2032 starts to look like an albatross. 🔢 By the numbers: The Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed by a full year and held without any spectators due to COVID restrictions, were the worst-performing Games since NBC took over in 1988. Perhaps more troubling is that it was the second consecutive Summer Olympics to see viewership decline. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 26 Author Members Share Posted July 26 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympic Games formally get underway today in Paris with an extraordinary Opening Ceremony aimed at putting one of the world's most famous cities on display. For the first time in Summer Games history, the ceremony will be held outside of a stadium. Instead, athletes will parade down the city's famous River Seine on boats. The festival on the water will begin at 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. ET) and will air on NBC and stream on Peacock. However, France's high-speed train lines were targeted by "malicious" acts earlier today, in what has been described as "coordinated sabotage" to disrupt travel. Olympic organizers told CNN that the ceremony will go ahead as planned with heightened security measures. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 28 Author Members Share Posted July 28 Paris Games open Photo: Ann Wang/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Fireworks and smoke in the colors of the French flag kicked off the opening ceremonies for the Olympics this afternoon in Paris. Athletes from Japan travel along the Seine during the opening ceremony. AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan The 200+ participating nations made their way down the River Seine in a boat parade. Smoke billows near windows as performers participate in the opening ceremony. Photo: Bernat Armangue/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Other artistic performances — including an appearance by Lady Gaga — punctuated the parade. Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images LeBron James and Coco Gauff carried the flag for the U.S. team. Top events to watch this weekend Paris dazzles with a rainy Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine River PARIS (AP) — A hot-air balloon brought an Olympic ring of fire into a rainy sky and singer Celine Dion belted from the Eiffel Tower as Paris kicked off its first Summer Olympics in a century Friday, with a four-hour-long, rule-breaking opening ceremony that unfurled along the Seine River. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-paris-olympics-france-sabotage-9ed330cb83d89d68092ac5858c0fe590? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 28 Author Members Share Posted July 28 USA VS. THE WORLD: THE DEEPEST FIELD EVER (J’Kel Anderson/Yahoo Sports) The U.S. men's basketball team in Paris might be its most talented since the Dream Team, but make no mistake: Gold at these Games will be earned, not given. The global game: When the Americans begin their quest today for a fifth consecutive gold medal, they'll do so against a historically talented field, indicative of the game's global takeover. There were nine non-American NBA players when the Dream Team arrived in Barcelona. In Paris, there are 39. Team USA leads the way with all 12 players hailing from the NBA, but Canada (10) and Australia (nine) aren't far behind. France (five), Germany (four), Serbia (four) and Spain (two) also have multiple NBA players, while Brazil, Greece, Japan, Puerto Rico and South Sudan have one each. Meet Team USA: Headlining the roster are four former MVPs in LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, who became an American citizen in 2022. Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton have made a combined 13 All-NBA teams and 22 All-Star teams. Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo and Derrick White will make life very difficult on opposing offenses with a combined 13 All-Defensive teams. Examining the field: It's not just the quantity of foreign NBA players the Americans will have to contend with, it's the quality. That includes perhaps the best player in the entire tournament, Nikola Jokić, who will lead Serbia against the U.S. today (11:15am ET, NBC). Top 10 non-USA players: 🇷🇸 Jokić (Serbia/Nuggets) 🇬🇷 Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece/Bucks) 🇨🇦 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada/Thunder) 🇫🇷 Victor Wembanyama (France/Spurs) 🇨🇦 Jamal Murray (Canada/Nuggets) 🇫🇷 Rudy Gobert (France/Timberwolves) 🇩🇪 Franz Wagner (Germany/Magic) 🇷🇸 Bogdan Bogdanović (Serbia/Hawks) 🇩🇪 Dennis Schröder (Germany/Nets) 🇨🇦 R.J. Barrett (Canada/Raptors) Dive deeper: The biggest threats to Team USA Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 28 Author Members Share Posted July 28 Team USA is proudly funded by family, friends and fans like you. When you give to the Team USA Fund, 100% of your donation goes to athletes and the programming that supports them. Donate today. (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Athlete spotlight: Simone Biles, the undisputed gymnastics GOAT, is seeking redemption in Paris after a bout of the "twisties" forced her to drop out of multiple events three years ago in Tokyo. Chasing history: The seven-time Olympic medalist (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) is one away from surpassing Shannon Miller to become America's most decorated Olympic gymnast. With one gold, the 27-year-old will smash Aly Raisman's record (22) as the oldest U.S. gymnast to stand atop the podium. With two golds, she'll pass Anton Heida for the most of any American gymnast (he won five, all at the 1904 Games). Live update: Team USA's qualifiers just concluded, and Biles shook off an early injury scare to deliver incredible performances on all four apparatuses (Beam, Floor, Vault, Uneven Bars) What to watch: Biles qualified for the Individual All-Around Final alongside Suni Lee, who won gold in that event in Tokyo. And Biles' scores across the board should be good enough to qualify her for every apparatus final, too. Biles and Lee are joined on Team USA by two returning Olympians (Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey) and 16-year-old Hezly Rivera — the youngest member of the entire American delegation. And keep an eye on Biles in the uneven bars later in these Games: She submitted an original skill that will become the sixth to bear her name if she successfully completes it. More athletes in action: 🏐 Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes: The beach volleyball duo won consecutive NCAA titles at USC (2016-17), but parted ways before Tokyo, where neither medaled. Now they've reunited. 🤺 Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt: The married couple are both contenders in foil, one of fencing's three disciplines. Kiefer will look to defend her gold medal today, while Meinhardt goes for a third straight medal beginning tomorrow. Team USA: News | Athletes | Shop Follow along at TeamUSA.com and @TeamUSA on social media. MEDAL RACE (Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports) Full medal count. WATCHLIST: USWNT VS. GERMANY The Americans ahead of their 3-0 opening win over Zambia. (Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images) The USWNT is almost always ranked higher than its opponent. That's not the case today as the Americans (world No. 5) take on Germany (No. 4) in Marseille. Featured events: ⚽️ Women's Soccer: USA vs. Germany (3pm ET, USA) … One of six group stage matches. 🏀 Men's Basketball: USA vs. Serbia (11:15am, NBC) … Joel Embiid vs. Nikola Jokić should be electric. 🏊 Swimming: Three medal events (2:30pm, NBC) … Men's 400m IM, Women's 100m Butterfly, Men's 100m Breaststroke. 🏄 Surfing: Women's Round 2 (1pm, Peacock); Men's Round 2 (5:45pm, Peacock) Medal events: 🚴♀️ Women's Mountain Bike: Cross-Country (8am, Peacock) 🥋 Judo: Women's 52k and Men's 66kg (10am, Peacock) 🛹 Women's Skateboarding: Street Final (11am, CNBC) 🏹 Women's Team Archery: Gold Medal Match (11:11am, USA) 🛶 Women's Canoeing: Kayak Slalom Final (11:35am, USA) 🤺 Fencing: Women's Foil and Men's Épée (3:45pm, CNBC) Non-medal events: Badminton, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Handball, Hockey, Rugby, Sailing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo, Women’s Basketball. Primetime on NBC: Women's Gymnastics Qualifications (7pm), Men's 400m IM Final and Men's 100m Breaststroke Final (8pm). For a complete schedule, click here. SWIMMING'S DOPING SAGA, EXPLAINED WADA president Witold Banka during Thursday's press conference. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) At the heart of the doping saga looming over the Paris Olympics is a mystery that might never be solved, writes Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell. The saga, explained: In 2021, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance called trimetazidine (TMZ) — a heart medication that can boost endurance. Over two months later, the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) privately reported the positives to World Aquatics and later to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). CHINADA did not, however, publicly disclose the positives and provisionally suspend the 23 swimmers, as WADA rules require. Instead, it commissioned an investigation, which concluded that they must have inadvertently ingested TMZ. WADA, despite doubts raised internally by its own top scientists, chose not to challenge CHINADA's conclusion. Its leaders never even mentioned the case to the WADA executive committee. The positives, therefore, stayed hidden for three years. When the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD uncovered them in April, the revelations led to a spat between USADA and WADA, legal threats, and now a U.S. Department of Justice probe. What they're saying: The scandal lingers, and the opacity has fed distrust. Asked Thursday if authorities have given him confidence that the sport is clean, U.S. star Caeleb Dressel gave a blunt answer: "No. No, not really." What to watch: Zhang Yufei, one of the Chinese swimmers who tested positive, will compete in the 100 butterfly final today. lightning round (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo) 😍 Gorgeous backdrop: Sorry, Rose Bowl. We've found a better sunset. The Eiffel Tower beach volleyball stadium is the greatest view in sports, and there's no close second. 🇨🇦 Spying scandal update: FIFA has docked six points from Canada's women's soccer team, which is the equivalent of two wins, and banned their head coach for a year. U.S. Soccer has apparently been aware of Canada's drone spying incidents for years. 💔 RIP, Lionel: Samoan boxing coach Lionel Elika Fatupaito died of natural causes on Friday in the Olympic Village. He was 60. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 28 Author Members Share Posted July 28 🥇 Paris Postcard: Inside the Olympic Village Athletes pose inside giant Olympic Rings located within the Olympic Village. Photo: Ina Fried/Axios A nursery, a mindfulness area and on-site training facilities are among the firsts that separate this Olympic Village from the ones that housed athletes at prior games, Axios' Ina Fried writes in a postcard from Paris. 👀 Between the lines: Sustainability is a major focus with the return of the much-talked about cardboard bed frames that debuted in Tokyo. Organizers skipped air conditioning in favor of a more environmentally friendly water-cooling system, but many countries opted to bring in their own AC units. Inside the mindfulness area. Photo: Ina Fried/Axios The mindfulness zone has VR headsets for meditation and the option to contribute to a paint-by-numbers canvas. More on the Olympic Village. ⚡ Latest headlines: Simone Biles battled through a calf injury during her qualifying round this morning, but she still leads all gymnasts who have competed thus far. Friday night's Opening Ceremony drew nearly 29 million viewers, the highest since 2012. Soccer's governing body is docking points from the Canadian women's soccer team and suspending its head coach over a drone spying scandal. 🤸♂️ Parting shot! Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP Team USA's Asher Hong, a Stanford athlete from Texas, competes yesterday on the parallel bars during a men's artistic gymnastics qualification round. Events to watch today. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 28 Author Members Share Posted July 28 Paris Olympics organizers say they meant no disrespect with ‘Last Supper’ tableau PARIS (AP) — Paris Olympics organizers apologized to anyone who was offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” during the glamorous opening ceremony, but defended the concept behind it Sunday. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-opening-ceremony-last-supper-criticism-9dd5fc5f1849ce9b0720fa997f38ed27? Simone Biles shakes off a calf injury to dominate during Olympic gymnastics qualifying PARIS (AP) — The similarities were striking. Maybe fitting in the birthplace of déjà vu. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-simone-biles-590bfce552aef32cb12fb0e3bb64ecd3? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 29 Author Members Share Posted July 29 Full-time engineer Nic Fink relishes the first Olympic medal of his late-blooming career NANTERRE, France (AP) — For Nic Fink, this was a long time coming. https://apnews.com/article/2024-olympics-nic-fink-swimming-9a63d50bc68c12db3a7fc3ef26dcdb6c? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 29 Author Members Share Posted July 29 Paris postcard: Teens rule in women's skateboarding Photo: Ina Fried/Axios Sunday's women's skateboarding competition represented the future of the Olympic Games, in more ways than one, Axios' Ina Fried writes from Paris. The big picture: Skateboarding, now in its second Olympics, is part of a concerted effort to make the Olympics younger, more diverse and more urban. Zoom in: The Japanese dominated Sunday's final in the street event, with 14-year-old Yoshizawa Coco taking gold and 15-year-old Akama Liz taking silver. Ina's thought bubble: I admire the way these athletes — some girls as young as 12 or 13 — compete so fiercely while also being incredibly supportive of their rivals. Keep reading 🍿 What to watch today: Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic (approximately 7:30 a.m. ET) ... Men's gymnastics team final (11:30 a.m. ET) ... Swimming finals (2:30 p.m. ET) ... U.S. women's basketball vs. Japan (3:30 p.m. ET). Full schedule. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 29 Author Members Share Posted July 29 🇫🇷 Bonjour! It's a beautiful day in Paris, and two tennis legends are about to take the court. In today's edition: Nadal vs. Djokovic (tune in now!), LeBron and KD lead Team USA, Marchand lives up to the hype, Chase Budinger spotlight, the colleges with the most Olympians, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is produced by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. To view in your browser, click here. To subscribe, click here. Let's sports… NADAL VS. DJOKOVIC (TUNE IN NOW!) (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will write a 60th — and potentially final — chapter of their historic rivalry today at Roland Garros. The action starts soon on Peacock (~7:30am ET). Head-to-head: Djokovic leads 30-29. A victory today by Nadal — at a venue where he has become a legend — would be poetic and tie the all-time series. Fun fact: Roland Garros was not only the site of their most recent meeting two years ago, but also their first — all the way back in the 2006 French Open quarterfinals. PHOTOS OF THE DAY (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) 🏀 USA 110, Serbia 84: LeBron James (21-8-9) and Kevin Durant (23 points, 8-9 FG) led Team USA to victory in their opening game in Lille, 127 miles north of Paris. Our very own Jay Busbee made the trek to watch the game in person. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images) 🇫🇷 Hometown hero: Léon Marchand, the face of the Paris Games, lived up to the hype by winning the 400m IM in an Olympic-record time of 4:02:95, nearly six seconds ahead of the field. The 22-year-old delighted the thousands of French fans in attendance. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 USA goes 1-2: Torri Huske (gold) and Gretchen Walsh (silver) took the top two spots in the women's 100m butterfly. It's quite the redemption story for Huske, who missed the podium in Tokyo by 0.01 seconds. (Brad Smith/ISI/Getty Images) ⚽️ USWNT keeps rolling: Sophia Smith's brace powered the USWNT to a 4-1 win over Germany as the Americans improved to 2-0. They've already scored nearly twice as many goals in these Olympics (7) as they did during the entire 2023 World Cup (4). Team USA is proudly funded by family, friends and fans like you. When you give to the Team USA Fund, 100% of your donation goes to athletes and the programming that supports them. Donate today. (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) Athlete spotlight: Chase Budinger made over $18 million during a seven-year career in the NBA. But the former basketball star has long since traded in his sneakers for the feel of sand on his bare feet, and today makes his Olympics debut in beach volleyball. Two-sport athlete: Budinger was a high school basketball and volleyball superstar in Southern California, winning co-MVP of the 2006 McDonald's All-American game alongside Kevin Durant while also being named Volleyball Magazine's National Player of the Year. He considered dual-sport scholarships but chose to focus on basketball at Arizona, where he averaged 17 points in three seasons before heading to the NBA as a 2009 second-rounder. In 2017, the 6-foot-7 forward with incredible leaping ability (he was in the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest) retired from basketball to give volleyball another shot, and in 2018 he was named rookie of the year in the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals). What he's saying: "I miss basketball," Budinger told three-time beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh-Jennings in an interview with Yahoo Sports. "I mean, it was such a big part of my life for so long. But I've kinda put that part of my life away and started this new chapter." Ending the drought? Budinger and partner Miles Evans, whose first match is today (10am ET, NBC), defied the odds to even qualify for the Olympics. But they're ready to "shock the world" in Paris, where they hope to win the USA's first men's beach volleyball medal since 2008. More athletes in action: 🤽♀️ Maggie Steffens: The U.S. women's water polo captain (and the sport's all-time Olympic scoring leader) leads the Americans in their second match today. One spectator who'll definitely be in attendance? 65-year-old Flavor Flav, the team's unlikely super fan. 🛹 Jagger Eaton: The seven-time X Games medalist and two-time world champ won bronze in street (one of skateboarding's two disciplines) three years ago in Tokyo… on a broken ankle! Today, the 23-year-old hopes to find himself on the podium once again. Team USA: News | Athletes | Shop Follow along at TeamUSA.com and @TeamUSA on social media. MEDAL RACE (Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports) Full medal count. WATCHLIST: U.S. WOMEN'S HOOPS Members of Team USA during the WNBA All-Star Game. (Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images) The U.S women's basketball team begins its quest for an eighth straight Olympic gold today when it tips off against Japan. Featured events: 🏀 Women's Basketball: Team USA vs. Japan (2:45pm, USA) … One of four games today. 🏊 Swimming: Five medal events (2:30pm, NBC) … Women's 400m IM, Men's 200m Freestyle, Men's 100m Backstroke, Women's 100m Breaststroke, Women's 200m Freestyle. 🤸 Men's Gymnastics: Team Final (11:30am, NBC) … Team USA advanced to the final with the fifth-best score in qualifiers, behind China, Japan, Great Britain and Ukraine. 🛹 Men's Skateboarding: Street Final (11am, Peacock) … The U.S. and Japan both have powerhouse teams vying for the podium. 🏄 Surfing: Men's Round 3 (1pm, Peacock); Women's Round 3 (5:45pm, Peacock) Medal events: 🚴🏼 Men's Cycling: Mountain Bike (8am, Peacock; 8:45am, USA) 🐎 Equestrian: Eventing Individual Jumping Final (9am, Peacock) 🥋 Judo: Women's 57kg and Men's 73kg (10am, Peacock) 🏹 Men's Archery: Team Finals (10:48am, Peacock) 🛶 Men's Canoeing: Slalom Final (11:20am, Peacock) 🤺 Fencing: Women's Sabre and Men's Foil (3:45pm, Peacock) Non-medal events: Badminton, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Handball, Hockey, Rugby Sevens, Sailing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo. Primetime on NBC: Men's Gymnastics Team Final (8pm), Women's 400m IM Final, Men's 200m Freestyle Final and Women's 100m Backstroke Final (8:30pm), Men's Diving 10m Synchronized Platform Final (10:15pm). For a complete schedule, click here. NCAA IN PARIS (Yahoo Sports) The NCAA is well represented in Paris, where 1,217 current, former or incoming athletes from 251 schools are competing in the Summer Games. Long live the "Conference of Champions": Three of the four most well-represented schools, and six of the 15 that have at least 25 Olympians, were in the Pac-12(*) until this year's mass exodus. USC*: 58 Olympians in Paris Stanford*: 54 Michigan: 42 California*: 41 Florida: 39 6-15: UCLA* (34), LSU (33), Tennessee (33), Texas (32), Arkansas (27), Florida State (27), Penn State (27), Arizona State* (26), Georgia (26), Oregon* (26) More NCAA stats: By country: 125 countries have at least one NCAA athlete, led by Team USA with 385, comprising 65% of their delegation. Canada (132), Australia (44), Nigeria (38), Germany (34), Jamaica (34), Puerto Rico (32) and Spain (30) are the others with at least 30. By sport: Track and field dominates with 406 NCAA athletes representing 75 countries. Swimming (223), basketball (152), golf (65) and soccer (65) round out the top five. The 100% club: 14 U.S. Olympic teams are made up entirely of NCAA athletes: Women's basketball, men's and women's 3x3 basketball, men's and women's water polo, men's and women's volleyball, men's golf, men's gymnastics, women's field hockey, modern pentathlon, beach volleyball, diving and fencing. lightning round (David Goldman/AP Photo) 🔥 The Olympic flame is… not a flame: The "flame" that will remain lit throughout the duration of the Games is actually a mixture of lights and water vapor. Paris 2024 wants to be the most environmentally responsible Games ever, and this fits into that mission. 🏀 Staley on Clark: Dawn Staley said Sunday that Caitlin Clark's recent play (12.5 assists per game in July) had made a strong case for her inclusion on Team USA. "If we had to do it all over again … she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people." ⚽️ What a goal: Momoko Tanikawa lifted Japan to a comeback victory over Brazil with a sensational strike in stoppage time at Parc des Princes, home of PSG. 🎾 Coco matches Venus: Coco Gauff, 20, became the youngest American woman to win a singles match at the Olympics since Venus Williams in 2000. Of note: Venus went on to win gold. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 30 Author Members Share Posted July 30 Simone Biles to compete on all four events at Olympic team finals despite calf injury PARIS (AP) — A calf injury isn’t going to slow down Simone Biles. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-gymnastics-simone-biles-43ade567f4b63b18ba86164750cfd636? Ratings gold Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty Images NBCUniversal's coverage of the Paris Olympics is off to an exceptionally good start, Axios' Tim Baysinger reports. Few events are as important to NBC as the Olympics, but recent Games were beset by record-low ratings and frustrated viewers. Paris is turning all that around. 📺 By the numbers: Friday's rain-soaked opening ceremony drew nearly 29 million viewers, making it the most-watched opening ceremony since 2012. On Saturday, the first full day of Olympic events, NBC drew more than 32 million viewers across all of its platforms. That was its best single-day Olympics audience since the latter portion of the 2016 Rio Games. 🦚 The intrigue Peacock is finally getting the sizable Olympics push that NBC envisioned when it launched the streaming service in 2020. Peacock was beset by technical difficulties and a confusing programming strategy when it debuted for the COVID-hampered Tokyo Olympics. This time around, Peacock is not only streaming all 329 medal events live, part of 5,000 hours of coverage, but it also has a dedicated Olympics hub. Peacock also rolled out an option allowing viewers to watch multiple events at once, as well as a show called "Gold Zone" that whips around to whatever is the most compelling thing happening at any moment, similar to NFL RedZone. Go deeper. 🏊♀️ Olympic pool may be too shallow Lukas Märtens of Germany swims at the Olympics on Saturday. Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images The pool used for Olympic swimming events is about 3 feet shallower than usual, which might be slowing swimmers down, The Wall Street Journal reports. 💧 How it works: Every move swimmers make in the water — especially their initial dives and their flip turns — sends waves down to the bottom of the pool, which then bounce back toward the surface. The deeper the pool, the more those waves dissipate on the way back up. Paris' pool measures 2.2 meters deep, compared to the usual 3 meters — and the shallower water might be causing slightly more turbulence, preventing swimmers from going quite as fast as they could in a deeper pool. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 30 Author Members Share Posted July 30 🏐 Parting shot! Photo: Tom Weller/VOIGT/Getty Images The sun sets over beach volleyball (and the Eiffel Tower) on Sunday at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 30 Author Members Share Posted July 30 Men’s Olympic triathlon postponed in Paris over Seine water quality concerns PARIS (AP) — Olympics organizers are banking on the sun and scorching temperatures to improve the water quality of the Seine River enough for triathletes to swim in it. https://apnews.com/article/2024-olympics-seine-river-water-quality-triathlon-24c7def74701d50e8c6cd5fad096721c? The U.S. men’s gymnastics team ended a lengthy Olympic medal drought. They hope the NCAA notices PARIS (AP) — Before they stood with their arms wrapped around each other in a brotherhood forever etched into U.S. Olympic lore, Brody Malone, Frederick Richard, Asher Hong, Paul Juda and Stephen Nedoroscik were collegians. https://apnews.com/article/paris-olympics-gymnastics-c0fc34f7d27c223e4f517a7bcade6499? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 30 Author Members Share Posted July 30 🎨 Paris postcard: The iconic Games Germany's Michael Jung, riding Chipmunk, celebrates gold in the Eventing Individual Final yesterday at the Palace of Versailles in France. Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images These Summer Games have managed an incredible feat: turning the Olympic venues into a destination in and of themselves, Axios' Ina Fried writes in a postcard from Paris. In 40 years of attending sports, I've never chosen which event to attend based on the venue. The Paris Olympics changed that. Yesterday, I went to events at two epic venues: During the day I headed to Versailles to watch the equestrian competition. I spent the late evening watching beach volleyball as the sun set behind the Eiffel Tower. I saw fencing on Saturday — the first day of competition — purely to see the sport against the backdrop of the Grand Palais, an elaborate steel-and-glass structure originally built in 1900. Keep reading. 🍿 What to watch today: Coco Gauff (6 a.m. ET) ... Women's gymnastics team final, including Simone Biles and Team USA (12:15 p.m. ET) ... Swimming finals continue (2:56 p.m. ET). Full schedule. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 30 Author Members Share Posted July 30 Olympics The men's triathlon event has been postponed until Wednesday due to poor water quality levels in the River Seine. Pollution in the Seine typically jumps after heavy rains like those that recently drenched the French capital. About $1.5 billion was spent trying to clean the river ahead of the Games and Paris officials have made a big show of displaying its suitability. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river earlier this month to display her confidence in the water quality. The French sports minister has also gone for a dip in the Seine. If the water levels don't improve by Wednesday, the original contingency date for the triathlon remains in place for Friday, August 2. Follow live Olympic updates here or check out CNN's medal tracker for the latest standings. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 30 Author Members Share Posted July 30 WHERE IS TEAM USA FROM? (J’Kel Anderson/Yahoo Sports) 594 Americans arrived in Paris this summer, the most of any country, and 340 of them (57%) are first-time Olympians. The Golden State: More than 1 in 5 Team USA athletes hail from California (122), which has nearly three times as many athletes as runner-up Florida (43). Six other states have at least 20 representatives: Texas (41), Colorado (27), Illinois (27), Pennsylvania (27), New York (23) and New Jersey (21). Only four states, plus Washington D.C., do not have a single representative: Maine, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. Team USA, by the numbers: Youngest Olympians: There are 32 teenagers, but none younger than gymnast Hezly Rivera, who turned 16 last month. Skateboarder Paige Heyn and sprinter Quincy Wilson are also 16. Oldest Olympians: Equestrian Steffen Peters, 59, is the oldest American Summer Olympian since 1936. Fellow equestrian Laura Kraut, 58, isn't far behind. Most appearances: Peters, equestrian McLain Ward and hoops star Diana Taurasi are competing in their sixth Olympics. Sports represented: Of the 32 sports in Paris, handball is the only one without an American. Track and field has the most (120), followed by swimming (48). By gender: For the fourth consecutive Summer Games, Team USA has more women (315) than men (279). Family affair: Team USA features six sets of siblings, which is remarkable. That includes identical twins Annie and Kerry Xu, who are badminton doubles partners. The other five: Water polo: Chase and Ryder Dodd Swimming: Alex and Gretchen Walsh Swimming: Aaron and Alex Shackell Field hockey: Brooke and Emma DeBerdine Track and field: Juliette and Isabella Whittaker Meet Team USA: Here's the full roster of athletes, which includes Paralympians. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 31 Author Members Share Posted July 31 Simone Biles and Team USA earn ‘redemption’ by powering to Olympic gold in women’s gymnastics PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee spent the night before perhaps the biggest gymnastics meet of their lives restless. https://apnews.com/article/simone-biles-olympics-2024-f6863232f86ee3a7f8e0bf2ec1e47519? Stephen Nedoroscik waited his whole life for one routine. The US pommel horse specialist nailed it PARIS (AP) — Sam Mikulak pulled Stephen Nedoroscik close and tasked the American pommel horse specialist with the impossible. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-gymnastics-bb4f2c126de0fe432d50e98b2d9b35c2? Simone Biles celebrates after the U.S. won the gold medal in gymnastics today. Biles wrapped the evening to roaring applause, receiving a standing ovation as raucous cheers of "U-S-A" broke out throughout the arena. Go deeper. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 31 Author Members Share Posted July 31 🤸♀️ 1,000 words Photo: Abbie Parr/AP Simone Biles — pictured mid-flight during her beam routine yesterday — helped the U.S. win the women's team event and cemented her legacy as the greatest American gymnast. Keep reading. 🍿 What to watch today: Men's all-around gymnastics final (11:30 a.m. ET) ... Swimming finals continue, including Katie Ledecky's signature event (2:15 p.m. ET) ... U.S. men's basketball vs. South Sudan (2:45 p.m. ET). Full NBC schedule. 🏊♀️ Katie goes for gold Katie Ledecky in the 1500m freestyle heats. Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images Katie Ledecky will go for her eighth Olympics gold medal in the 1500m freestyle today. Our Bethesda native qualified for the final after winning her heat yesterday almost 18 seconds in front of the second-place finisher. 🥇 Swimmer Torri Huske from Arlington won gold in the women's 100m butterfly and took silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted July 31 Author Members Share Posted July 31 🇫🇷 Bonjour! Team USA won its 3,000th Olympic medal on Tuesday (Summer and Winter combined). No other country has won more than 1,500. In today's edition: "F Around and Find Out," swimmers return to the Seine for the first time in a century, Lily Zhang spotlight, South Sudan on the rise, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is produced by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. To view in your browser, click here. To subscribe, click here. Let's sports… THE GOLDEN GIRLS (Tom Weller/VOIGT/Getty Images) Team USA cruised to victory in the women's team gymnastics final on Tuesday, beating the next-closest team by nearly six points. It was redemption for Simone Biles and a life-altering moment for her and her teammates — Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera. From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel: Tuesday's competition was as much a party as elite international gymnastics can get. The gymnasts cheered. They danced. They flexed and celebrated and pumped their fists along the way. All four of the team members who competed [everyone but Rivera] were veterans of the Tokyo Games, where isolation, masks and empty stadiums sucked the life out of the experience. There were no fans. There was no family. This time they were going to bask in every roaring cheer and "U-S-A" chant. The Americans didn't win by the absurd 9.59 margin as the 2016 superteam did in Rio de Janeiro but this was never in doubt. The U.S. scored the highest of any country on all four disciplines. It was so lopsided that when Biles stepped onto the floor for the final performance of the final rotation, she needed a score of just 8.865 to secure gold. The lowest score of any gymnast on floor the entire night was a 12.600. Biles might be able to do that blindfolded. "I kind of knew as long as I landed on my feet on all passes we were going to be good," Simone said. "So as soon I stepped out of bounds [on her first pass], I was like, 'Ah, well, there's a line, but I guess it isn't that big a deal.'" It was that kind of night, one that was so missing in Tokyo where the pressure, the "twisties," the reaction and the pandemic made everything tense. Everyone expected a Biles coronation and a haul of medals. Instead it was a nightmare. Now, well, now everything is possible again. She'll enter Thursday's all-around as the heavy favorite over Brazil's Rebeca Andrade and American teammate Suni Lee, who won all-around gold in Biles' absence in 2021. After that, potentially three more individual medals. (Amber Matsumoto/Yahoo Sports) Rarefied air: Tuesday's gold extended a 32-year medal streak at the Olympics for the U.S. women and was their fourth team gold medal (1996, 2012, 2016, 2024). "F Around and Find Out": During their celebratory press conference, former Team USA gymnast Aly Raisman asked the team what their nickname was — a program tradition whenever they win gold. Their answer: "F.A.A.F.O" (Here's the viral video, which was captured by yours truly!) Biles later posted on social media, saying the official name is "Golden Girls" because they're such an old team (by gymnastics standards, at least). And it's true: Raisman began the day as the oldest U.S. female gymnast to ever win Olympic gold (22 in 2016). She is now fourth behind Biles (27), Carey (24) and Chiles (23). Dive deeper: Sports world reacts to Team USA's gold PHOTOS OF THE DAY (Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) 🌊 The Seine is open, finally: At long last, after many delays and billions in cleanup, swimmers dove into the Seine for the triathlon this morning, where France's Cassandre Beugrand took gold for the women and Great Britain's Alex Yee captured it for the men. (Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo) 🏉 What a finish! Team USA upset Australia to win its first-ever Olympic medal in women's rugby sevens, and did so in spectacular fashion, with Alex Sedrick taking it the length of the field for a game-winning try as time expired. Kevin Paredes celebrates his first of two goals against Guinea. (Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images) ⚽️ Into the quarters: The USMNT blanked Guinea, 3-0, to advance to the Olympic quarterfinals for the first time since 2000. The final eight: USA vs. Morocco, France vs. Argentina, Egypt vs. Paraguay and Japan vs. Spain. The 4x200m silver medalists from L-R: Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Drew Kibler and Kieran Smith (Sarah Stier/Getty Images) 🥈 Silver ain't bad: The U.S. won silver in all three swimming medal events on Tuesday. Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff finished second and third in the 100m backstroke, Bobby Finke took silver in the 800m free, and the American men finished second in the 4x200m free relay. Day 4 recap: More from Tuesday Team USA is proudly funded by family, friends and fans like you. When you give to the Team USA Fund, 100% of your donation goes to athletes and the programming that supports them. Donate today. (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports) Athlete Spotlight: Lily Zhang is the queen of American table tennis, with six national championships and four Olympic appearances under her belt at just 28 years old. But at first, her parents wanted her to get a real job… From WSJ: At age 16, she competed at the 2012 London Games. Though she lost her first match, her parents declared it a resounding victory. "They’re like, OK, you got to the Olympics, you got that on your college apps and now you can focus on studies," Zhang says. She mostly quit table tennis after that. Then, as a freshman at Cal, she felt something was missing. She wanted to take a gap year and train for the next Summer Games. Her mother disapproved. "You already went to the London Olympics," Liu said at the time. "That is enough." Then they came around… They housed her for the gap year, paid for flights to competitions and cheered her on in Rio and Tokyo. "It is always her decision," her dad Bob told WSJ. She's since joined the pro circuit, where she's earned as much as $11,000 for winning tournaments — and as little as $650. Perhaps one day she'll have a "normal" career, but for now she goes for gold. Shining in Paris: Zhang has roared into the Round of 16 and earned a new fan in Anthony Edwards, who attended her match earlier this week. She plays today (8pm ET, Peacock) against Korea's Shin Yu-bin. More athletes in action: 🤸 Frederick Richard and Paul Juda: The Michigan Wolverines duo already helped the U.S. men win their first team gymnastics medal since 2008. Today, they'll compete in the individual all-around. 🚴 Hannah Roberts: The Indiana native has dominated BMX Freestyle for nearly a decade, winning five of the last six world titles. She aims for gold today after winning silver in Tokyo. Best of Team USA social: 3,000 medals for Team USA … Gymnasts celebrate with their family … Sailing scenes in Marseille … Women's rugby celebration Team USA: News | Athletes | Shop Follow along at TeamUSA.com and @TeamUSA on social media. 🥇🥈🥉 (Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports) Full medal count. WATCHLIST: ledecky in her element Ledecky destroyed the competition in her 1500m free heat. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Katie Ledecky seeks her first gold of these Games in today's 1500m freestyle final (3:13pm ET, NBC), an event she has dominated for over a decade. No close second: Ledecky, who won her heat by 17 seconds (!!!), hasn't lost a race at this distance since she was in junior high school 14 years ago. She's held the world record since 2013 and owns the 19 fastest times ever. Featured events: 🏊♀️ Swimming: Five medal events (2:30pm, NBC) … Women's 100m Freestyle, Men's 200m Butterfly, Women's 1500m Freestyle, Men's 200m Breaststroke. 🤸 Men's Gymnastics: Individual All-Around Final (11:30am, NBC) 🏀 Men's Basketball: USA vs. South Sudan (3pm, USA) ⚽️ Women's Soccer: USA vs. Australia (1pm, E!) … The USWNT has already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals entering their group stage finale. Medal events 🚴♀️ Women's BMX: Freestyle Final (7:10am, USA) 🚴🏼 Men's BMX: Freestyle Final (9am, USA) 🎯 Women's Shooting: Trap Final (9:30am, Peacock) 🥋 Judo: Women's 70kg and Men's 90kg (10am, Peacock) 🛶 Women's Canoe Slalom: Singles Final (11:25am, Peacock) 🤺 Men's Fencing: Sabre Team Final (1:30pm, Peacock) Non-medal events: Archery, Badminton, 3x3 Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Handball, Hockey, Sailing, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo. Primetime: Men's Gymnastics Individual All-Around Final, Women's 100m Freestyle Final, Women's 1500m Freestyle Final (9pm). For a complete schedule, click here. Every event streams live on Peacock. Sign up here. SOUTH SUDAN: PROGRAM ON THE RISE South Sudanese players celebrate last week's victory over Puerto Rico. (Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images) South Sudan is the world's youngest country (13 years old) and doesn't have a single indoor basketball court. Today, they play LeBron James and Team USA at the Olympics. The rise of the Bright Stars: South Sudan gained independence in 2011 after decades of civil war, and their men's basketball team didn't play a competitive game until 2017. But four years later, they're for real: They came within seconds of beating Team USA in their pre-Olympics exhibition and stunned Puerto Rico in their opener. The man behind their rise: Former NBA star Luol Deng, born in what is now South Sudan, became president of their basketball federation in 2019 and has reportedly been funding the program out of his own pocket. He began recruiting South Sudanese players who'd been scattered across the globe in the wake of civil war, and by 2021 they'd qualified for AfroBasket. Their big breakthrough came last year at the FIBA World Cup, where they finished 17th (out of 32 countries) and first among African nations, qualifying them for Paris. Who's on the team? JT Thor, who played for the Hornets last year, is the Bright Stars' only active NBA player, though Wenyen Gabriel and Carlik Jones also have NBA experience. Keep an eye on 7-foot-2 center Khaman Maluach — a five-star recruit and incoming freshman at Duke. lightning round (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images) 👓 The swimmer who can't see: Australia's Kaylee McKeown won gold in the 100-meter backstroke, but she was one of the last people inside the arena to know. "Without my glasses, I can't see much," she said. "Is that first? Second? Third? Fourth? Fifth? Sixth? You never really know." 🏉 Kang makes rugby investment: Hours after they won a bronze medal, USA Rugby announced that businesswoman Michele Kang, who owns the NWSL's Washington Spirit, will make a $4 million donation to the women's rugby sevens team to help grow the sport. 😷 More COVID positives: Multiple swimmers, including two Americans, have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. They're not required to withdraw from competition as the virus is being treated more in line with other respiratory viruses. 🎾 Gauff wants VAR: Coco Gauff lost her Round 3 match against Croatia's Donna Vekić on Tuesday. While she took full responsibility for her early exit, she called for more video replay in tennis following an intense and tearful on-court argument near the end of the match. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted August 1 Author Members Share Posted August 1 Olympic triathletes swim in Seine River after days of concerns about water quality PARIS (AP) — Olympic triathletes dove into the Seine River on Wednesday after organizers declared the water in Paris safe for swimming following days of concerns about elevated bacteria levels caused by heavy rains last week. https://apnews.com/article/2024-olympics-triathlon-paris-seine-water-quality-358b29063ac00253c072290281043eaa? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted August 1 Author Members Share Posted August 1 Chasing dreams at the Olympics Lily Zhang competes in the round of 32 on Monday. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images Here's a story from The Games that caught our attention: Lily Zhang, 28, is America's best table tennis player, and she's a four-time Olympian. But her parents want her to quit. "It's an Olympic twist on the age-old conflict between children pursuing unconventional dream jobs versus parents pushing the 9-to-5," The Wall Street Journal's Stu Woo writes. 👀 Zoom in: The annoying thing, as Zhang told The Journal, is that her parents have a point. "For every Simone Biles or Michael Phelps who turn Olympic success into a fortune, dozens more eke by in less glamorous sports," Woo writes. "They fly alone, in coach, to far-flung matches on the international circuit, competing for meager prize money and sponsorships." 🍽️ Zoom out: Zhang's parents are also her biggest supporters. When she was growing up, Zhang's family's apartment only had space for one big table. Her parents bought a ping-pong table instead of a dining table and just threw a tablecloth over it for meals. But also "we are traditional Chinese parents," Linda Liu, Zhang’s mother, told The Journal. "I always wanted her to get a job and be a regular girl." The latest: Zhang made it as far as the round of 16, but lost to Shin Yu-bin of South Korea this afternoon. ⭐ But she got her moment in the limelight during these Games. Zhang had a talked-about encounter with the men's basketball team during the athletes' parade down the Seine. Superstar Steph Curry introduced her to his teammate Anthony Edwards, telling him he wouldn't be able to score even a point against her in a ping-pong match. Edwards quipped that he'd get at least one point, and Zhang challenged him to try. When Zhang played this week, Edwards and his teammate, Tyrese Haliburton, were among the fans cheering her on as she notched a big win in the round of 32. Edwards' excitement went viral. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted August 1 Author Members Share Posted August 1 Dutch beach volleyball player convicted of rape is booed again, louder, in second match of Olympics PARIS (AP) — Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who served time in prison after he was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl, won his second match at the Paris Olympics and received an even harsher reaction from the crowd on Wednesday than for his first match. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-beach-volleyball-rapist-471cab52441719cc64ace97682d388bb? Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted August 2 Author Members Share Posted August 2 🥇 1 fun thing: GOATs win gold Data: Axios research. Chart: Axios visuals By water and land (and often air), Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles have cemented their status as the GOATs of their sports in Paris, Axios' Avery Lotz writes. After her win in the 1,500-meter freestyle race yesterday, Ledecky tied the record for most medals by an American female swimmer in Olympic history. Just a day before, Simone Biles became the most decorated U.S. gymnast. Keep reading. Yesterday's N.Y. Post cover 🤸♀️ What to watch tomorrow: Men's golf begins (starts 3 a.m. ET) ... Women's gymnastics all-around finals, including Simone Biles (12:15 p.m. ET) ... Four swimming finals (2:30 p.m. ET) ... U.S. women's basketball vs. Belgium (2:45 p.m. ET). NBC's Day 6 preview. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phkrause Posted August 2 Author Members Share Posted August 2 🇫🇷 Bonjour! Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated on Wednesday by Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. Did we just watch Rafa's last match at Roland Garros? In today's edition: The "slow" pool in Paris, Marchand's unprecedented double, Ledecky wins eighth gold, the X Games-ification of the Olympics, and more. Let's sports… IS A "SLOW" POOL IMPEDING WORLD RECORDS? Pan Zhanle during his record-setting swim on Wednesday. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images) Swimming world records have been historically hard to achieve at these Olympics, with China's Pan Zhanle setting the first one in Wednesday's men's 100m freestyle final. The culprit appears to be a "slow" pool. What's happening: The temporary pool at La Défense Arena is shallower than usual, causing choppier water — and thus slower times — than in deeper pools where there's more space beneath swimmers for the water to bounce off and settle. The winners of the men's 200m freestyle and 100m breaststroke in Paris, for example, had the slowest gold medal times since the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, respectively. The "Race of the Century" between Katie Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus and Summer McIntosh — who've combined for the 28 fastest times ever in the women's 400m free — didn't even come close to producing a world record, with all three falling more than two seconds short. By the numbers: It's not just world records — it's Olympic records, too. Just look at the drop-off compared to the previous three Summer Games. London 2012: 9 world records, 25 Olympic records Rio 2016: 8 world records, 23 Olympic records Tokyo 2020: 6 world records, 33 Olympic records Paris 2024: 1 world record*, 11 Olympic records (four days left) What they're saying: "It's absurdly slow," one swimming official in Paris told SI, adding that the large number of underwater cameras mean even less space for the choppy water to settle. How did this happen? World Aquatics recommends pools have a depth of 3 meters, which is what they've been at every Summer Games since 2008. But the one in Paris — manufactured by the same company that's built the pools for the last five Olympics — is just 2.15 meters deep due to structural constraints at the converted rugby stadium. Of note: Such a depth won't be possible in the future under World Aquatics' new minimum standard of 2.5 meters. When the Paris 2024 plans were approved several years ago, that standard was just 2 meters. The last word: While the "slow" pool has become a frequent talking point in Paris, many of the swimmers couldn't care less. "Times don't matter," U.S. swimmer Paige Madden told Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell. "It's all about place at the Olympics." *If no other world records are broken, Paris 2024 will join Berlin 1936, London 1948 and Helsinki 1952 as the only ones to see just a single world record fall in the pool. (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) Athlete spotlight: Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele teed off this morning in the men's golf competition. While they'll be competing for gold, the title of PGA Tour Player of the Year may also be on the line. It's closer than you think: Scheffler (world No. 1) has rightfully garnered the most attention this year by putting together the winningest season since prime Tiger Woods. But defending gold medalist Schauffele (No. 2) isn't that far behind, and could tip the scales in his favor with a win in Paris. Scheffler has won six times, including the Masters and Players Championship, to go along with two runner-ups, 10 top-five finishes and 14 top-10s. He hasn't missed a single cut and he's finished worse than 20th just once. Schauffele has won just twice, but both were majors (PGA, Open Championship). He's also carded two runner-ups, seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10s. Like Scheffler, he hasn't missed a cut, and he's finished worse than 20th just three times. Of note: While Olympic golf doesn't officially count towards PGA Tour statistics, a gold medal in Paris could absolutely influence who wins Player of the Year. Others to watch: Six other players in the top 10 are teeing it up this week at Le Golf National, which hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup. They include Team USA's Wyndham Clark (No. 5) and Collin Morikawa (No. 6), Ireland's Rory McIlroy (No. 3), Sweden's Ludvig Åberg (No. 4), Norway's Viktor Hovland (No. 7) and Spain's Jon Rahm (No. 10). More athletes in action: 🏊♀️ Lilly King: The five-time Olympic medalist fell an agonizing 0.01 seconds short of the podium in the 100m breaststroke. Today, she can conclude her third and final Games with one last gold in the 200m breaststroke. 🎾 Tommy Paul: The last American standing in men's singles faces a tall task in today's quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz. He's vying to become the first American man to win gold since Andre Agassi in 1996. Best of Team USA social: Michael Phelps' golf selfie … Olympian grip strength challenge … Snoop Dogg and his granddaughter play tennis Team USA: News | Athletes | Shop Follow along at TeamUSA.com and @TeamUSA on social media. 🥇🥈🥉 (Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports) Full medal count. WATCHLIST: WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL ALL-AROUND Simone and Suni celebrating their team gold. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) One of the marquee events of the Paris Olympics is just a few hours away, with 24 women's gymnasts set to compete in the Individual All-Around Final. Making history: With Simone Biles (2016 champion) and Suni Lee (2020) qualifying for Team USA, this marks the first time that two former all-around gold medalists will compete in the final. Featured events: 🤸 Women's Gymnastics: Individual All-Around (12:15pm, NBC) 🏊 Swimming: Four medal events (2:30pm, NBC) … Women's 200m Butterfly, Men's 200m Backstroke, Women's 200m Breaststroke, Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay. 🏀 Women's Basketball: USA vs. Belgium (3pm, USA) … One of four games today. 🏄 Surfing: Men's and Women's Finals (8pm, Peacock) … Rescheduled from Tuesday due to surf conditions. 🎾 Men's Tennis: Tommy Paul vs. Carlos Alcaraz (8am, Peacock); Novak Djokovic vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (1pm, Peacock) … Quarterfinals. Medal events: ⛵️ Sailing: Men's (8:43am, Peacock) and Women's Skiff Medal Races (9:43am, Peacock) 🥋 Judo: Women's 78kg and Men's 100kg (10am, Peacock) 🛶 Men's Canoe Slalom: Kayak Singles Final (11:30am, E!) 🤺 Women's Fencing: Foil Team Final (1:30, E!) Non-medal events: Archery, BMX Racing, Badminton, Basketball, 3x3 Basketball, BMX Racing, Boxing, Golf, Handball, Hockey, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo. Primetime: Women's Gymnastics All-Around (8pm), Women's 200m Butterfly, Men's 200m Backstroke and Women's 200m Breaststroke (8:45pm). For a complete schedule, click here. Every event streams live on Peacock. Sign up here. THE X GAMES-IFICATION OF THE OLYMPICS BMX made its Olympic debut in 2008. 16 years later, it's drawing a packed house at the Paris Games. (Stefan Matzke/Sampics via Getty Images) Olympic organizers hope sports like BMX, skateboarding and breaking will help transform the Olympics' graying fanbase by attracting a younger audience. lightning round (Peacock) 🎯 Surprise star: Most Olympic shooters wear ear protection and specialized glasses. Then there's Yusuf Dikeç, who helped Turkey win silver while casually standing with his hand in his pocket and looking like he'd just been picked from the stands. 🏀 NBA jersey takeover: The NBA's global explosion is on full display in Paris, not only on the court, but in the stands and the streets, where thousands of international fans are sporting jerseys of their favorite players. 🏓 Table tennis stunner: Sweden's Truls Möregårdh, ranked 26th in the world, beat top-ranked Wang Chuqin of China to advance to the quarterfinals in perhaps the biggest upset of these Games. 🇯🇲 Jackson drops out: Jamaica's Shericka Jackson won't compete in the women's 100m sprint, making American Sha'Carri Richardson an even bigger favorite to win gold. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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