Paris’ river Seine gets ready for Olympic opening ceremony
Paris is getting ready to host 10,500 athletes on the river Seine for the Olympic opening ceremony.
SAINT DENIS, France — So Thursday was a pretty cool day to be at the Paris Olympics.
Competition started to ramp up in a few sports, the excitement for Friday’s opening ceremony lingered in the air and I got to spend a few hours at Olympic Village on assignment for USA TODAY as one of the journalists who was selected for the media tour.
The village is what the Olympics are about.
High-performance athletes from all over the world, in every sport, were mingling in the streets in a mini-city built especially for them.
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They traded pins. They marched in packs to their buses. They jogged through the streets, relaxed in the mental wellness center, got haircuts and manicures in the beauty and grooming salon and were at ease to talk to as I made my way around.
I wrote about the village experience for USA TODAY, and I’ve got a few more stories coming. I talked to members of the Ukranian delegation about what it’s been like preparing for the Olympics in the middle of war. I stopped a few athletes from countries far and wide to learn more about the pin-trading game. I learned about the added focus on mental health at the Paris games. And I think I solved a mystery that might be of interest to some of you Maize and Blue fans out there.
Every team has its own living space in Olympic Village. The structures, built in a Paris suburb that was previously home to old industrial buildings, will house some 14,000 athletes during these games and are decorated colorfully by their countries.
Team Canada has a red moose with a while maple leaf on its side mounted in front of its building. Team Australia has colorful flags draped across its balconies with lounge chairs and umbrellas on the patio below. And red, white and blue is displayed prominently at Team USA’s building — along with one maize and blue Michigan flag flying from a corner balcony.
There are a few dozen current or former Michigan athletes at these games, including gymnast Frederick Richard, ex-U-M basketball players Franz and Mo Wagner, field hockey star Abby Tamer and wrestlers Mason Parris and Adam Coon.
I asked a few Team USA athletes in front of the building who was flying Michigan’s colors and no one knew, until a Buckeye helped me out.
Kyle Snyder, a medal contender at 97 kg, said it wasn’t a wrestler — he has a friendly rivalry going with Coon — but a male gymnast, whose name he couldn’t remember at the time.
Was it Richard, I asked? No, he said. Which means it likely was Paul Juda.
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Juda won the NCAA floor exercise and is a first-time Olympian. There are other athletes at the games who competed in gymnastics for the Wolverines, but none that represents the U.S. (Kevin Penev represents Bulgaria and Lais Najjar is competing for Syria.)
I’ll see Juda later in the games and ask him about the flag. When I stopped Snyder on Thursday, I didn’t know he went to Ohio State. As he walked away after he gave me the gymnast tip, I asked him where he went to school. He said Columbus, and he smiled a knowing smile when I told him next time he had to represent.
Contact Dave Birkett at [email protected]. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
Source link : https://www.freep.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/07/26/postcards-from-paris-a-michigan-flag-hangs-at-olympic-village/74548546007/
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Publish date : 2024-07-26 06:10:34
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