“,”elementId”:”2816e174-8a99-47cf-acf2-4f7085615885″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
From a British perspective, the agenda is dominated by news that the dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin, who was aiming to become Britain’s most decorated female Olympian at these Games, has been banned after alleged mistreatment of a horse.
“,”elementId”:”646a6942-96c8-409d-867a-7b154f62945e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Dujardin yesterday withdrew from the Olympics, and apologised, before news of her ban came later. More on that story, and lots of other stuff, coming up.
“,”elementId”:”99d83afb-47f4-4e4f-b242-acf898b68fc5″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”text”:”Dujardin banned from Olympics over allegedly ‘whipping horse 24 times’”,”elementId”:”332af63f-55f1-4efe-a3f9-8e65d571cac8″,”role”:”thumbnail”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/23/deeply-ashamed-gb-dressage-star-charlotte-dujardin-pulls-out-of-olympics-over-coaching-video”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1721808332000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”04.05 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1721808330000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”: “04.05 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1721808332000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”04.05 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”04.05″,”title”:”Preface”,”Contributor”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Wednesday, July 24, 2024 05:18 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First Published Wednesday, July 24, 2024 04:05 EDT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”,”absoluteServerTimes”:false}”>
Important Events
Rugby Sevens Match Because later on, my cynicism fades away and true excitement takes its place.
I’ll get to watch the first 30 minutes of the men’s football match between Guinea and New Zealand… or Egypt vs Dominican Republic… or both?! There’s a sevens match starting before Ireland vs South Africa at 16:30 BST, which I’d love to see. And before that I’ll also be watching France’s opening sevens match. natural.
In soccer termsThere are eight men’s matches scheduled for today, with the most anticipated being France vs USA at 20:00 BST.
Group B: Argentina v Morocco (14.00)
Group C: Ukraine v Spain (14.00)
Group A: Guinea v New Zealand (16.00)
Group C: Egypt vs Dominican Republic (16.00)
Group B: Iraq v Ukraine (18.00)
Group D: Japan vs. Paraguay (18.00)
Group A: France vs. USA (20.00)
Group D: Mali v Israel (20.00)
Please note that the live schedule can be filtered by individual sports.
waitingAs the cliché salesman likes to say, it’s almost over. Check out today’s sports schedule at the link below.
France and Antoine Dupont kick off their much-anticipated men’s rugby sevens campaign against the USA at 15:30 BST. Ireland v South Africa at 16:30 BST is a crucial match given recent developments in the 15-a-side game and the upset they faced in the pool stages of last year’s Rugby World Cup in Paris. New Zealand v South Africa at 20:30 BST also features a bit of recent history in there.
In case you missed it Following the very significant news last night of Charlotte Dujardin’s withdrawal and subsequent ban, here is a profile of her written by Rachel Hall.
Kieran Pender
From an Australian perspectiveThe Olympics get fully underway today. First, the Australian Olympic Committee will name the country’s two flag bearers ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony. Jess Fox, a Tokyo Olympic gold medallist and the most successful canoeist of all time, is the favourite to be the female flag bearer. Fox was born in France and has family there. Her mother and coach has represented France in two Olympic Games, adding an emotional local element. Hockey veteran Eddie Ockenden has also been named as a possible male flag bearer.
The first Australian team to play in Paris gets underway this afternoon, with the men’s rugby sevens team taking on Samoa and Kenya later in the evening. While the Australian women’s team won gold in Rio, expectations are high for the men’s team, who have yet to win a medal.
Another key moment today for Australia is the Matildas getting their final training session and media opportunity before the Olympic football match against Germany starts tomorrow in Marseille. The team is plagued by a few injuries so an update on the fitness of key players is due to be given tonight. I’m in Marseille now and although there’s not as much Olympic excitement as in Paris, it’s a beautiful day out in the Mediterranean.
Andy Bull We consider what the COVID-19-affected 2020 Tokyo Olympics meant for Japan and the Olympic Movement, and what the Games in Paris mean for France and the world.
“After the tournament ended, organizers urged everyone to leave the country, giving the athletes 48 hours to leave. A year later, the Associated Press He quoted a Japanese scholar who studies Olympic legacy. As the saying goes, “People don’t want to talk about it or think about it.”
“If Tokyo has become the Covid Olympics, Paris, taking place against a backdrop of war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and the inescapable sense that President Emmanuel Macron’s own grand national project is tipping under his feet, has already been redefined as the Conflict Olympics.”
I don’t fully understand On how having a former BBC weather forecaster in-house will help the British team win a medal, but we wish them the best of luck.
Team GB The Olympic Committee, aiming for a huge medal win in Paris and hoping to make an extra 1 per cent profit, has hired former BBC weather forecaster Penny Tranter.
Tranter, who worked for the BBC from 1992 to 2008, has been recruited to not only provide daily weather forecasts, but also to predict longer-term patterns amid fears the Olympics will be the hottest on record.
Temperatures in the French capital are currently in the mid-20s and are expected to get even hotter next week. To offset their carbon footprint, Paris organizers are rolling out several initiatives, the most notable of which is to follow the example of Tokyo 2020 and make all the beds in the Olympic Village out of recycled cardboard.
Team GB brought 942 blankets and 578 mattress toppers to help athletes sleep better. UK Sport has set Team GB a target of 50-70 medals – 70 medals would be their best result overseas and would surpass the 67 they won at Rio 2016.
They also delivered more than 22 tonnes of food and drink supplies alone, including 6,500 bags of sweets, salted popcorn, 22,000 cereal bars, 700 jars of Whole Earth peanut butter and more than 1,000 boxes of muesli.
More than 1,000 Squash bottles and 945 boxes of English Breakfast tea containing an estimated 47,250 teabags were also sent across the Channel. A total of 85,000 kits were distributed thanks to the efforts of 400 staff and volunteers. (PA Media)
Angelique Christopher
Parisian giantWhen the Olympic opening ceremonies begin in the city center on Friday night, with boats carrying athletes gliding side-by-side down the Seine in a fashion not seen since the time of Louis XV, more than France’s global image is at stake.
President Emmanuel Macron, who has promised the Olympics will “light up the hearts of the people” in a “summer of French pride”, is counting on the games to restore morale in a deeply divided country that just weeks ago warned could be facing “civil war”.
Paris is boldly aiming to surpass previous Olympics in every way, including visual extravagance, sustainability, gender equality and, defying expectations in a notoriously meat-eating nation, serving the most vegetarian food ever.
preamble
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Paris 2024 from the sporting opening day. Football and Rugby Sevens are both due to get underway at a later date.
From a British perspective, the agenda has been dominated by the news that dressage athlete Charlotte Dujardin, who was bidding to become Britain’s most decorated female Olympian at the Games, has been suspended for allegedly abusing a horse.
Dujardin withdrew from the Olympics yesterday and issued an apology, but then news of his suspension broke. We’ll have more to say on this and much more in the coming days.
