PARIS 2024- 2 Day Countdown
The Summer Olympics are back and literally bigger than ever before!
This is Olympic GAMES. Everyone’s favorite daily digest for all-things Olympics.
Grab bag of facts and trivia
Athlete spotlights
Medal count updates
Events to watch
Schedule for the day
Two days. Too excited. Also, just announced that Salt Lake City gets to be a two-time host of the Winter Olympics. They won the right to the 2034 Olympics!
Every Olympics, I love seeing the new medal designs. For Paris, every Olympic and Paralympic medal will match on one side. That side contains at its center a small piece of the original Eiffel Tower shaped in a hexagon (meant to resemble the shape of France itself). Lines radiant out from the Eiffel iron of the medals.
The flip side of the medals differs for the Olympics and Paralympics. The Olympic medal backsides traditionally pay homage to the Greek origins of the Games. The Paralympic backside features a unique upward view of the Eiffel Tower and includes writing in Braille (also a nod to the French creator, Louis Braille).
You can check out medal designs from past Olympics here. Some of my favorites include Lillehammer ‘94, Nagano ‘98, Turin ‘06, Sochi ‘14. The Summer designs usually aren’t as creative, so Paris certainly stands out.
They just announced the female flag bearer for Team USA on Friday - Coco Gauff. Guaff is the first tennis player to have this honor. This is her first Olympics, but she’s no stranger to the world stage for tennis. She’s ranked 2nd in the world, won her first Grand Slam title last year, and is a top 20 ranked doubles player. Coco is also no stranger to playing in France. She trained at an academy in France and says Paris is her favorite city in the world.
Medal count: 0.
Opening Ceremonies are on July 26th, but some qualifying events will begin prior to the opening. USA men’s soccer and men’s rugby group play begins on July 24th vs France (both teams).
For a full list of who is already officially a delegate for USA, check here:
https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/2024-usa-olympic-team-roster-athletes
The Olympic Games officially open on July 26!
July 24th:
Football (men’s group play)
Rugby Sevens (men’s group play)
July 25th:
Archery (individual ranking round)
Football (women’s group play)
Handball (women’s group play)
Rugby Sevens (men’s group play, quarter-finals)