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?

Whodunit Wednesday: The ladies of sport

This will be quite the summer of sport. The European Cup (men’s soccer) is being held in Germany in from the middle of June to the middle of July. About two weeks later the Olympics start in Paris. And of course the normal summer sports are also taking place: the Tour de France, Wimbledon and more. 

Women’s basketball is big news in the US recently with Caitlin Clark, but it has also been big news in Belgium for the last few years. The Belgian Cats (the woman’s national basketball team) grabbed the bronze medal at the European Championships in 2021 and then won the European championships last year, beating favorite Spain. 

In the last Olympics in Tokyo, the Cats lost out to Japan. This year they are also in the group with the US, Japan and Germany. But they will depend on two players who have also been making a name for themselves in the WNBA: Emma Meesseman and Julie Vanloo. 

Emma was crowned WNBA champion with the Washington Mystics in 2019. Since 2022 she has played for Chicago Sky. Julia Vanloo, a 3-point specialist, has joined the Washington Mystics this year and has already made her mark. 

In athletics, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been making recent news in the 400 meter and 400 meter hurdles. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the hurdles. But she will have to deal with Femke Bol who has taken the spotlight more recently. Bol won the bronze medal in Tokyo to Machlaughlin’s gold. But in 2023 Bol has taken all of the indoor medals and records, leading up to an exciting showdown at the Olympics this summer. 

In gymnastics, all eyes will of course continue to be on Simone Biles. But in Belgium,

everyone still knows Nina Derwael. She has taken gold medals (even from Simone Biles) on the beam and especially on the bars. She was world champion in 2018 and 2019 and took the first gold medal for Belgium in gymnastics in Tokyo. She even has a new element named after her.