Whodunit Wednesday: Olympians

At the time of this writing, the Dutch medal count is up to 19 putting them in the 9th place of all countries. When you see how small this country is, it is amazing that they are able to garner as many medals as they do, even if many are in a single discipline. It is perhaps not strange that they won 8 medals in rowing. As in the Winter Olympics when they win many of the skating medals, one would expect a country built on and near water to be good at water sports. 

But then there is also the 3x3 basketball gold, the amazing 4x400 mixed relay with the comeback of Femke Bol to grab the gold and the women’s road cycling silver of Marianne Vos. And the count has not finished yet, with medals expected in athletics, handball or other disciplines.

For the Belgians, the medals came in first from the cycling sports. Again, this is not a surprise, although it certainly was not a given. This became clear when the American Kristen Faulkner surprised everyone and won the the ladies road race through Paris. Even she was so surprised she forgot to celebrate at the finish line. The Belgian Lotte Kopecky took the bronze.

Celebrating at the finish line was something Remco Evenepoel did very well, creating an already iconic picture of him standing with his bike with the Eiffel Tower in the background. He has won the two gold medals for Belgium and has become one of the best cyclists ever for the Olympics. Belgium’s other 3 medals (putting them in 20th place so far) have also been in cycling, except for the one bronze medal in judo. 

The Belgians just missed out on a women’s gymnastics medal when Nina Derwael, coming back from injury, took 4th place on the uneven parallel bars. The women’s basketball team and hockey team both hope to grab a medal in the coming days. And then there are some other opportunities in a few less-visible sports.

Who are you watching and rooting for in these Olympic Games?

Where oh Where Wednesday: Paris Olympics

In just 2 days the Olympic Games will begin in Paris, France. The plan is to have the opening ceremony along the Seine river, which runs through the city center. Preparations have ben extensive, from trying to make sure that the water is clean (several events will take place in the river) to trying to make sure that no one will be able to cause any Upraor during the opening ceremonies. This has meant basically closing down large parts of the city center - often even to those who live there. 

The Olympics have been in Paris before. This will be the third time that Paris has hosted the games although the last time was in 1924 - 100 years ago. Paris also hosted the games in 1900. So it has been awhile. Paris has plenty to offer as host city, but there has been quite a bit of competition those the event until more recently when cities have come to see how expensive everything can become. 

In 2024 there will be a total of 32 sports planned for the competition. Some newer sports include 3x3 basketball (which first appeared in the 2020 games), breakdancing (first time this year), karate, sport climbing and surfing. In earlier versions of the games in Paris, people could have competed in croquet, polo, or even tug of war. 

This year several events will be hosted in some unique venues. The equestrian events and modern pentathlon will be held at the chateau de Versailles. Beach volleyball will be contested in a venue built at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Archery, athletics and road cycling will take place next to Invalides (where Napoleon is buried). At the Place de La Concorde you could watch 3x3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle cycling and skateboarding. 

Interestingly, some of the events will not be in or even near Paris. Surfing will be contested in Tahiti. Several of the soccer (football) games will be played in Nice, Lyon and Marseille. The sailing will also be hosted in Marseille. But the tennis will of course be held at Roland Garros, in Paris. 

For many tourists, this organization of the games in Paris was a sign that this year was not the best to visit the city. Many people figure that the city will simply be too busy because of the games. Interestingly, the prices of hotels and bed and breakfast accommodations has hit almost rock bottom because of this reality. It seems that Paris will have fewer visitors than normal this summer. 

We will be down at camp for much of the games, but the rest we will watch online from a distance. We will be watching Belgian, Dutch and American athletes in various disciplines. Which sports do you enjoy following the most?