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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Another reminder of the Olympic opening on the Seine River, as the City of Paris announced that the metallic “horse” which “rode” along the 6 km route during the 26 July ceremony will be on exhibit at the Hotel de Ville – Paris City Hall – from 29 August to 8 September, in the inner courtyard.
● Paralympic Games 2024: Paris ● Olympics or Paralympics, the issues with Russia don’t go away.
On Tuesday, Pavel Rozkhov, the head of the Russian Paralympic Committee, said that the 88 Russian athletes competing as “neutrals” in Paris will not take part in the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday:
“We will not be at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, although we have been granted the right to attend as spectators.
“Some of the athletes have scheduled events the next day, and the [opening] ceremony usually ends late. Not all of our athletes attended this ceremony at the last Paralympics.”
“As for the Closing Ceremony, we will discuss this issue closer to the end of the Games depending on the situation. As for today, our priorities are somewhere else.”
● DPR Korea ● “[A] high-ranking source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Wednesday that the athletes and members of the North Korean Olympic committee have been undergoing an ideological review in Pyongyang after returning home on Aug. 15.
“In North Korea, it is typical for athletes who participate in international competitions to undergo three rounds of assessment. These assessments are conducted by the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, and the athletes themselves. This year’s Olympic athletes are no exception.”
That’s from a South Korean news site, DailyNK.com, reporting on government “cleansing” of North Korea’s Olympic athletes after their return from Paris:
“‘The assessment begins the moment the athletes return home. They have to ‘scrub’ their ideology as soon as possible,’ the source explained. The reference to ‘ideological scrubbing’ reflects how, in North Korea, simply spending time overseas is thought to ‘contaminate’ people in the form of exposure to non-socialist cultures.”
Public criticism and punishment may be imposed for poor performances at the Games, for contact with other athletes and for “inappropriate” public conduct. The story notes that table tennis Mixed Doubles silver medalists Jong-sik Ri and Kum-yong Kim received a “negative ideological assessment” for participating on a victory stand selfie with China’s gold medalists Chuqin Wang and Yingsha Sun and South Korean bronze winners, Jong-hoon Lim and Yu-bin Shin, and for “grinning” during the ceremony.
● Television ● NBC’s Peacock streaming service has had a good summer, picking up 2.8 million subscribers during the first week of the Paris Olympic Games, adding to its 33 million subscriber base as of the end of June.
Some forecasters see Peacock growing to more than 75 million subscribers by the end of the year, thanks to some exclusive NFL programming. The NBC streaming service is trying to catch up to streaming leaders Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, all with more than 200 million worldwide subscribers.
● Athletics ● The XX World Athletics U-20 Championships have started in Lima (PER) with an all-time high of 1,720 athletes competing, from 134 countries: 909 men and 811 women. Competition continues through Saturday (31st).
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Jamaican star George Rhoden, winner of the 1952 Olympic men’s 400 m in Helsinki (FIN), passed away last Saturday (24th) at the age of 97.
Rhoden was eliminated in the heats of the 400 m at London 1948, but won two golds in Helsinki: the 400 in 45.9 (later 46.09 on automatic timing) and with teammates Herb McKenley, Arthur Wint and Les Liang in the 4×400 m in a world record of 3:03.9.
Rhoden was the world-record holder in the 400 m from 1950 (45.8) to 1955, and was NCAA champ at Morgan State in the 220 yards in 1951 and the 440 yards in 1950-51-52.
He taught physical education and coached track and field at Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia, and also served as the president of the Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association.
● Cycling ● Riding resumed at the 79th Vuelta a Espana, with Belgian star Wout van Aert winning his third stage, out-dueling Quentin Pacher (FRA) in the final sprint to the line in Tuesday’s 10th stage.
The two were clear of the field by the final climb, the Alto de Mougas, with 31 km left on the 160 km route to Baiona. Van Aert won in 3:50:47 with Pacher three seconds back.
There was no change in the overall leaderboard, with Australia’s Ben O’Connor continuing to lead three-time winner Primoz Roglic (SLO) by 3:53 and Richard Carapaz (ECU) by 4:32.
● Flag Football ● The 11th IFAF World Championships are underway in Lahti (FIN), with the U.S. the defending champions in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
The 2024 tournament has 32 men’s teams and 23 women’s teams, with pool play ongoing; the men’s tournament has eight groups of four and the women in three groups of five and two of four.
The U.S. men opened with wins of 52-6 over Brazil and 57-25 against Spain. The American women defeated Sweden by 40-6 and Australia by 48-6 in their first two games.
This is 5-on-5 football on fields of 50 by 25 yards, with end zones of 10 yards on each side. Games are 40 minutes in two 20-minute halves. Touchdowns are six points each and trys-after-touchdowns are scrimmage plays (no kicking) from 5 yards (worth one point) or from 10 yards (two points).
Flag football will be a medal sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
● Wrestling ● Tokyo 2020 Olympic Freestyle 125 km gold medalist Gable Steveson was waived by the NFL’s Buffalo Bills on Tuesday, as teams pared down to the 53-man seasonal roster.
He had been signed in May as a defensive lineman, but did not make the squad, but could end up on a practice squad after the roster cuts were finalized. Steveson played in all three preseason games for Buffalo, with three tackles.
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