Games and Rings
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Now What?

8/18/2024

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What's Next for Games & Rings Post-Paris 2024?

Stay tuned as Games and Rings takes a bit of a hiatus to reset after a busy Paris 2024 experience.

Working a 9-5 outside of sports while trying to manage an optimal G&R experience for readers has been challenging especially as the Games approached, so I'll take some time to think about what's next and any logical reset to this blog.

Thank you to those who have followed along so far, and I'll be back in some form sooner than later!

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A Paris 2024 Recap

8/10/2024

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What I Got Up To At Paris 2024...

And just like that…my live Paris 2024 experience is over, as I’m back home now after a combined  10-night stay in Paris and Lyon, France. Thrilled to have been in person for another Games, and to check off some new sports.

Now it's time to grab a box of tissues for watching a final set of competition on PST time tonight and tomorrow and then the Closing Ceremony.

What's next for Games & Rings now that Paris 2024 is ending? Stay tuned...but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite in-person shots from these Summer Games. Separate closing thoughts to follow.

Merci, Paris 2024!
​xx
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Landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport provided some anticipation for Paris 2024!
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The men's synchronized 10-meter platform diving podium included Team Great Britain's Ton Daley & Noah Williams (silver), Team China's Yang Hao & Lian Junjie (gold), and Team Canada's Rylan Wiens & Nathan Zsombor-Murray (bronze).
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Stade de France was alive with 'Allez Les Bleus' chants for Team France vs Team USA in rugby sevens round-robin play.
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Michaela Corcoran was one of the early competitors in the women's C-1 slalom event.
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The Olympic flame was displayed at the Jardin de Tuileries near the Louvre museum.
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Team Poland defeated Team Brazil in men's volleyball group play at South Paris Arena.
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Casimir Schmidt eventually finished 13th in the men's artistic gymnastics individual all-around at Bercy Arena.
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The Eiffel Tower loomed large at the beach volleyball stadium.
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Team Qatar's Cherif & Ahmed defeated Team Australia's Nicolaidis & Carracher in group play; they eventually finished fourth in the tournament.
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Signs of Paris 2024 were common on the streets of Paris!
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Team Australia's Hodges & Schubert lost to eventual siulver medalists Ehlers & Wickler of Team Germany in group play.
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Team Spain's Liliana & Paula took the beach for a match against Team Egypt's Marwa & Elgohbashy.
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Team Ecuador's Casa Ecuador in Le Marais hosted cultural performances during the Games.
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The Centre Culturel Irlandeis featured a look at Team Ireland's 100 years in Olympic history, including Melbourne 1956 running champion Ron Delaney.
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Paris and the Pont Alexandre III bridge were festooned with Olympic glory during the Games.
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In front of Les Invalides, archery took place...here's early elimination matches in the men's competition.
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Cian O'Connor competed for Team Ireland in the equestrian team jumping competition outside the Chateau de Versailles.
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Team France eventually found a way to score against Team Egypt in the men's soccer semifinal at Stade de Lyon.
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A last Olympic event visit for me and Games & Rings at Paris 2024 (outside Stade de Lyon)...
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Paris 2024, Here We Come!

7/27/2024

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Games & Rings Heads To The Paris 2024 Olympics

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Paris 2024, here comes Games & Rings! Opening Ceremony watched, now Games & Rings is off to Paris for a week's worth of in-person Olympics-watching.

Follow along with the adventures by keeping an eye on Games & Rings' Instagram channel; from diving on the 29th to soccer on the 5th, and multiple other sports and Paris action in between, the Games fun is about to become even more real for Games & Rings...

Can't wait to get on the grounds and start cheering.

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Olympics Opening Ceremony Fashion 2024!

7/26/2024

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What Will National Teams Be Wearing At The Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony?
​(A Let's Get Social Special Edition)

A look at a selection of the Olympic Opening Ceremony outfits to watch for as Paris 2024 is about to officially begin...

Ralph Lauren created uniforms for Team USA athletes.

For opening ceremony, the athletes will wear a classic navy wool blazer with red and white accents, a striped oxford shirt, a navy knit tie, tapered light denim jeans & suede shoes.#Paris2024 #ParisOlympics2024 #TeamUSA #usa pic.twitter.com/rpypiwBQSr

— Team USA at Paris Olympics 2024 (@TeamUSAatParis) July 22, 2024

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A Little Roundup 07.25.24

7/25/2024

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One Last Olympian News Roundup Before Paris 2024's Opening

Team veteran Walker Zimmerman thinks Team USA should, and can, reach for gold in men's soccer at Paris 2024 this summer. (p.s. it hasn't started well...)

"It's a resurrected dream."

□️□□ Walker Zimmerman talks the @USYNT's return to the Olympic stage and their chances in Paris.

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 22, 2024
Meanwhile, fellow soccer player Tierna Davidson has some thoughts on playing alongside controversial teammate Korbin Albert on the USWNT for Paris 2024.

Insult to injury: Was Team Argentina men's soccer team a victim of a robbery?

Team Canada's Adriana Leon was once a promising ice hockey player; now she's an Olympic soccer champion and ready for another Games.

Can Honoka Hayashi use her international experience to help Team Japan make amends for its disappointment at Tokyo 2020's women's soccer tournament?

Who are the UCLA Bruins-connected Olympians competing at Paris 2024?

Golfer Shane Lowry now wants to "win a medal for Ireland" at Paris 2024 after a disappointing end to last weekend's British Open.

​So...what's Team USA golfer Nelly Korda been up to since winning Tokyo 2020 gold?

Team Australia has a unique pair of entries into Paris 2024's golf event: siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee.

FIBA has some thoughts on the 'absolute must-watch players' at Paris 2024's men's and women's basketball tournaments.

AP: Sisters Satou and Nyara Sabally plan to 'soak in every experience' at Paris 2024 as they help lead Team Germany's first-ever Olympic women's basketball appearance.

Kevin Durant's Paris 2024 start with Team USA basketball will depend on a "big collaboration".

Team USA's Brittney Griner's Paris 2024 trip marks a symbolic return to Europe for the basketball star.

More Team USA women's basketball from Yahoo! as Diana Taurasi gets credit for being the 'all-time greatest competitor' in sports.

"What is important is to be at the Games and show that we are strong and that we are doing better." Refugee Team taekwondo athlete Dina Pouryanes is proud to reach a second Olympics.

Meet Michelle Tau, taekwondo Olympian for Team Lesotho...and once a beauty pageant champion.

More taekwondo as CJ Nickolas tells Teen Vogue how his own journey to the Paris 2024 Games started alongside his mom on the mat.

FIG showcases which artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline gymnasts are 'poised to make Olympic history' at Paris 2024.

Daiki Hashimoto wants to have "no regrets" as he leads Team Japan in men's gymnastics once again at an Olympics.

The Players' Tribine: Gymnast Jordan Chiles is 'paving the way for the next generation of athletes'.

BMX star Logan Martin has an unfortunate turn of events en route to Paris: a van break-in in Belgium.

How do BMX'ers Ross Cullen's and Beth Shriever's leg power compare to track cyclists'?

Laura Brown won an Olympic medal in track cycling's team pursuit at Rio 2016; now she's breaking stereotypes as coach to Team Canada's men.

"Overwhelmed with emotions" is how Giorgia Cesarini felt upon being named as Team San Marino's first-ever female Olympic archer.

If world-ranked number five archer Eric Peters can medal at Paris 2024, it'll be history for Team Canada.

Cameroon-born boxer Cindy Ngamba shares her journey to reach Paris 2024 for the Refugee team.

It took a coach's patience, picking up a packet or two, and finding 'fun-filled activities' to bring diver Grace Reid back to elite form and energy, and onto an Olympic team.

Diver Max Bouchard reflects with Outsports on how coming out as LGBT helped him make it to Rio 2016: "I hope that sharing my story helps anyone who needs to read it".

"It's a feeling that never gets old. It will never lose its shine." Diver Scarlett Mew Jensen reflects on her Olympic nomination alongside synchro partner Yasmin Harper.

To what lengths did Indonesians Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu go to prepare for a gold medal badminton bout at Tokyo 2020?

Surfer Caroline Marks already has a world championship...is an Olympic title in store for the 'prodigy'?

For Lara Dallman-Weiss, sailing is a family affair that she extended to her friends...now she's a two-time Olympian set to compete in mixed 470.

Also inspired by family in the sport, kitesurfer Toni Vodisek looks to bring his father's own Olympic dreams into his Paris 2024 experience.

It's "a dream come true" for Maximilian Marterer as the German earns a late addition to the tennis draw for Paris 2024.

"I get emotional thinking about it." Tennis' Coco Gauff reacts to being named one of Team USA's flag bearers for tomorrow's Opening Ceremony.

Zheng Qinwen is a calmer and more relaxed player as she headlines Team China's tennis delegation at Paris 2024.

Double Olympic champion Andy Murray makes a fateful and emotional tennis career decision with Paris 2024 looming.

Dennis Bowsher competed at London 2012 in modern pentathlon; now he's on his third Games as a coach, and as an active-duty U.S. soldier.

"It feels crazy. It feels insane." Skateboarder tries to wrap her head around heading to an Olympics.

Seoul 1988 fencer Otto Drakenberg is recognized for his long-time advocacy for LGBTQ+ athlete inclusion in sport.

Watch out: Leading triathlete Alex Yee has had a 'perfect preparation' ahead of Paris 2024.

SCMP: Melbourne 1956 swimmer Wan Shiu-ming may not have won a medal, but his performance 'put Hong Kong on people's lips'.

Is Team Romania swimming star David Popovici regaining form just in time to fulfill expected potential at Paris 2024?

With Katie Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus, and Summer McIntosh, will Paris 2024's women's 400-meter freestyle final be the 'race of the century'.

South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min gets surprise support from, well, an unusual source.

Eight swimmers are named as flag bearers for Paris 2024's Opening Ceremony.

​Katie Grimes may be Team USA's 'most versatile swimmer' at Paris 2024.

Is Team Cuba's four-time Olympic wrestling champion Mijain "El Terrible" Lopez on his way to a landmark fifth straight gold?

ITTF ponders if table tennis legend Ma Long will make Paris 2024 his farewell event...and if it will be with a gold medal again.

37-year-old sport shooter Christian Reitz is a two-time Olympic medalist and headed to his fifth Games for Team Germany looking for more.

​What are the chances that Team Poland can 'defy odds' and make a significant mark at Paris 2024's 3x3 basketball tournament?

Rower Lola Anderson's road to Paris 2024 was helped in part by her late father's push of inspiration.

Team Ireland's Philip Doyle is World Rowing's 'rower of the month' for July 2024.

Go Handball  has some respect for three 'living legends' of the sport closing out their international careers at Paris 2024: Mikkel Hansen, Nikola Karabatic, and Stine Oftedal.

Xenia Smith hopes to lead Team Germany to an inspirational finish in Paris 2024 women's handball, 16 years after its last Olympic appearance.

Congrats to Team Argentina's Pablo Simonet (handball) and Pilar Campoy (field hockey) on their Olympics-inspired engagement! (in Spanish)

Team USA's Ally Hammel is poised to be the first Boston University Olympic field hockey player.

​Giselle Ansley is enjoying a new experience balancing learning and mentoring as she embarks on a third Olympics in field hockey.

Tokyo 2020 champion judoka Lukas Krpalek is 'trying to stay grounded' as he seeks to defend his title.

Want a story of perseverance? Meet judoka Marie Laborde, whose defection from Cuba delayed her Olympic debut from Rio 2016 to Paris 2024.

Luukas Saha's last-minute qualification to Paris 2024 shows that Team Finland's judo program is on the upswing.

Rugby sevens player Fancy Bermudez has an 'inspiring journey' to share with the CBC.

Emily Campbell's 'positive outlook' includes a direct challenge to top Team China rival Li Wenwen...and targeting body positivity...in Paris 2024's weightlifting.

Equestrian great Charlotte Dujardin has a chance to reach a historic medal mark at Paris 2024...until a late suspension and abuse investigation has seen her withdraw from Team Great Britain.

FEI​ recaps the athletes of the 'class of Paris 2024' in the upcoming equestrian disciplines.

Tokyo 2020 champion canoeist Isaquias Guimaraes Queiroz isn't just focused on Paris 2024...he's got on Los Angeles 2028 as well.

Multi-Olympic canoeist Pavlo Altukhov looks forward to enjoying "only pleasant expectations" at his third Games. (in Ukrainian)

Road cyclist Derek Gee had a surprise Tour de France top 10 finish...now the avid birder takes momentum into Paris.
​
Ukrainian Mexico City 1968 volleyball champions Volodymyr Ivanov and Viktor Mikhalchuk look back at that tournament and their time with the Soviet national team. (in Ukrainian)

Seven national teams across volleyball and beach volleyball can credit FIVB's Olympic Solidarity program for rising sports federations for powering their road to Paris 2024.

British running legend Paula Radcliffe wades into a firestorm around a controversial Dutch beach volleyball player.

"Gold is all I have in my head now." Middle-distance runner Keely Hodginkson looks to turn her current good racing form into a top Paris 2024 podium finish.

Vox: Paris 2024 'could be everything' for U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles.

Long sprinter Laviai Nielsen will arrive in Paris for Team Great Britain with key momentum..and her sister.

"It should be exciting." Tokyo 2020 champion Karsten Warholm gives a strong understatement previewing the Paris 2024 men's 400 meter hurdles race, if everything goes to plan.

Will track sprinter Daryll 'Miss Momentum' Neita carry that nickname onto a Paris 2024 podium?

After a tough qualification attempt, hurdler Andrenette Knight takes solace in at least making it to Paris 2024 in Team Jamaica's relay pool.

Grazia: Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith is pushing herself "physically, mentally, emotionally".

World Athletics: What has pole vaulter Molly Caudery's 'path to Paris' been like?

USATF chats with distance running phenom Hobbs Kessler: from high school star to Paris 2024 Olympian in a few short years.

Is a Neil Gourley in the 'best shape possible' a runner that can medal at Paris 2024?

Long sprinter Alica Schmidt tops The Sun's list of 'sexiest Olympic athletes at Paris 2024'...though the editors need to double-check the national team entries actually competing.

The Conversation reflects on 'the first Africans at the Olympics', St. Louis 1904 marathoners Len Tau and Jan Mashiani of South Africa.

If you've forgotten what impact the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had on promising athletes, The New York Times has a story of former youth decathlete Volodymyr Androshschuk for you...

About 500 top-level Ukrainian athletes and coaches have died since Russia invaded in 2022. For Volodymyr Androshchuk, one of the 3,000 sports figures who have taken up arms, his story will be a reminder of what the Ukrainian Olympic movement has sacrificed.https://t.co/XF4KS0y2qe

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 22, 2024
Bonus! Tokyo 2020 medal-winning fencer and musician Alex Choupenitch...with help from some fellow Team Czechia friends...takes us on a 'Long Haul' just ahead of Paris 2024. (in Czech)
p.s., we haven't forgotten to check in our Winter Olympic sports friends...

Alpine skier Alice Robinson has gotten used to a nomad life for half the year, training in Europe and away from home New Zealand.

How does Romanian-Canadian speed skater Alexandra Ianculescu stay in shape?

What's biathlete Franziska Preuss' typical start of the week routine?

Track & field athlete-turned Olympic bobsledder Bill Schuffenhauer first considered the sport switch after coming across the seminal "Cool Runnings".

How has snowboard legend Shaun White built 'a $65 million empire'?

Let's put on a show! Team USA Nordic combined and ski jumping stars join forces to help draw attention to their sports.

Red Bull​: Athlete, model, student...freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu enjoys a "multifaceted" life.

​Athlete to watch: Will we see now-15-year-old figure skater Kate Pressgrove at Salt Lake 2034 after helping with the bid's sales pitch?
​
​FIL: What has Olympic luge medalist Barbara Niedernhuber been up to recently?

□ What is Barbara Niedernhuber Doing Today? □ From Luge Champion to Police Chief!□️
Barbara, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in luge (1998 and 2002), transitioned from her athletic career to climb the ranks of the German Federal Police. https://t.co/SQTRulq9iw #LugeLove pic.twitter.com/Qt6t3HfYGF

— FIL Luge (@FIL_Luge) July 22, 2024
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    Above: Athens' Kallimarmaro, the site of the 1896 Summer Olympics


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