by Cam Moore (6th)
The 2024 Summer Olympics are being held in Paris, France this summer. This is Paris’s third time hosting, joining London (and in 2028, Los Angeles) as the only cities to host it three times. This edition of the Olympic games has lots of storylines, so let's look at some of those!
First and foremost, let’s talk about the events. Unfortunately, karate, softball, and baseball will not be coming back in Paris. However, the rest of the sports from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 (including surfing, skateboarding, 3x3 basketball, and climbing, all of which will be in their sophomore Olympic games) will be in the Olympics this year. There will also be one new sport: breaking, also known as break dancing.
This is a very unique event that we have never seen before, and I’m excited to see how that turns out.
We will also have full crowds for the first time since the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018! The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, as you may have heard, got pushed back to summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were zero fans allowed in Tokyo, which I believe is the first time that has ever happened (and hopefully, the last time). Even for the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, there were still limited crowds as the pandemic, while much more controlled, was still looming in China and across the world. It truly wasn’t until fall 2022 that everyone treated COVID like the flu and everything was basically back to normal.
The city is getting quite the makeover ahead of the Olympics. I was actually in Paris for three days over spring break, and I noticed that they are doing a lot to the city to prepare for the massive crowds coming to France. This includes building temporary venues to host sports that Paris doesn't already have permanent venues for, such as this temporary volleyball stadium in front of the Eiffel Tower.
This is my picture. Yes, I’m putting my name in the photo credits at the bottom of the article.
However, let’s talk about the big opening to the Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris. The ceremony will be unique from almost every other Olympiad, as the City of Light plans to center the ceremony on a city symbol, the River Seine.
But, of course, we have the Team USA storylines to talk about. The firepower the stars and stripes have in gymnastics this year is insane. Simone Biles is back, of course, now as the most decorated gymnast ever. After a kidney ailment issue, Suni Lee seems more likely to go to Paris, and Gabby Douglas is coming out of retirement to participate in the Olympiad. That’s three former Olympic champions.
Swimming is, of course, looking likely to be US dominated. As a big fan of the sport, I am obviously looking forward to seeing Katie Ledecky and Caleb Dressel beat everyone else up. However, there is also a wave of young talents rising in US swimming, particularly Katie Grimes. She is 17, and amazingly, this is not her first Olympics. She was in Tokyo!
US soccer is also looking more promising than ever! The USWNT disappointed many in the last WC, failing to make it to the semifinals. However, the hiring of HC Emma Hayes is looking more and more promising as they approach the Olympics. However, the big stage is unfamiliar to the men’s team, who are going to the Olympics for the first time since the ‘08 Olympics in Beijing. This team also looks very promising to perform well in Paris.
USA basketball? Looks as stacked as ever. LeBron, Curry, KD, Embiid, just to name a few. To be honest, it would be (as always) disappointing if the US doesn’t win gold in the sport they dominate.
So, that is a full runthrough of this year’s Olympic Games. We covered lots, from the events, to the stage in Paris, to lots of team USA storylines. I’m truly looking forward to my next article…three months from now.
Photo credits: me