Good evening!

The Olympic torch was lit on 16 April. It has spent the 99 days since then passing through thousands of torchbearers’ hands making its way toward the River Seine in Paris where the Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday night (local time).

Yesterday the Mayor of Saint-Denis (a suburb in Paris) revealed that American rapper Snoop Dogg will carry the torch in one of the final stages of the procession.

Mr Dogg is in Paris as part of NBC’s coverage of the Games.

He is also one of Los Angeles’ most iconic figures, the city which will host ‘The Next Episode’ (LA 2028).

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Stat of the day

15
The number of athletes with a Russian passport who will compete in Paris, according to the International Olympic Committee’s sports director Kit McConnell. In Tokyo, around 330 Russian athletes won a total of 71 medals. At the Olympic Games, Russian athletes must compete as neutral athletes. They are not allowed to fly their flag or sing their national anthem.

Quote of the day

“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play and we are shocked and disappointed. We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee in a statement after a “non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team” was caught flying a drone over the New Zealand Women’s football team at training. The spying comes ahead of Canada, the defending Olympic champions, facing New Zealand in the opening match of the Olympic women’s football tournament on Thursday. New Zealand has complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit. 

Random fact of the day

Australian sprinter Peter Norman, who won silver at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, still holds the Australian record of 20.06 for the 200m over 55 years later. Norman is famous for standing in solidarity with Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium as the Americans raised a gloved fist in protest of the treatment of African Americans. 

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In case you missed it…

🏉 NRLW player Kate Fallon will appear in court next month after she allegedly assaulted a 17-year-old girl in her apartment complex following a dispute over a food order. The 20-year-old, who plays for the Parramatta Eels, was named as a reserve yesterday for the side that will face the Broncos in the opening round of the NRLW this weekend.

🎾 Andy Murray has confirmed that the Olympics will be his last professional tennis tournament. In a post on X, the three-time grand slam champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist in men’s singles (London 2012 and Rio 2016), said he had “arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament”. 

⚽ Two Spanish football players, Álvaro Morata and Rodrigo Cascante, will be subject to disciplinary proceedings by football’s international governing body, UEFA, after chanting “Gibraltar is Spanish” following Spain’s Euro 2024 victory. Gibraltar is a UK territory in southern Spain. The disciplinary action follows an official complaint made by the Gibraltar Football Association.

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One of the UK’s most decorated Olympians, equestrian athlete Charlotte Dujardin, has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics after footage emerged of the 39-year-old appearing to mistreat a horse.

What happened?

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body for equestrian sports, imposed a six-month ban on Dujardin after it received a video from several years ago that appears to show the Olympian whipping a horse excessively during a coaching session with a young rider. 

Who is Dujardin?

Dujardin is Great Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian alongside cyclist Laura Kenny. She has won six medals (three gold, one silver, two bronze) across three Olympics in individual and team dressage events. Paris would have been her fourth Olympics. If she had won a medal at the upcoming Games she would have become Britain’s most decorated female Olympian.

She was also tipped to be one of the top candidates for the role of flag bearer for ‘Team GB’. 

What they said

Dujardin said in a statement: “What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however, there is no excuse. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”

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Paris won the bid to host the 2024 Olympics in September 2017. After seven years of preparation, the first Olympic events begin tonight and the Opening Ceremony will begin on Saturday at 4:24am (AEST). So… is Paris ready?

The Seine

One of the biggest challenges the city has faced in the lead-up to the Olympics has been cleaning up the River Seine — which runs through the centre of Paris out to sea. The Seine has been illegal to swim in for over a century due to pollution but the French Government has committed €1.4 billion ($AU2.2b) to clean up the river so that it can host the swim component of the triathlons and the marathon swimming events. 

In June, traces of E. coli detected in the river’s water were attributed to recent heavy rain. Last week, Paris’ Mayor Anne Hidalgo followed through on her promise to swim in the Seine to demonstrate the river’s improved water quality. 

Security

Security has been a big priority for the organisers of the Games. There will be 55,000 soldiers, police and other law enforcement officials on the ground in Paris to ensure that the athletes and spectators at the Games are kept safe. 

For the first time at an Olympics, the Opening Ceremony will be held outside a stadium. On Friday evening (local time), over 320,000 spectators will line the Seine as Olympic teams float down the river on barges. An anti-terrorist security perimeter has been erected in anticipation of the event - anyone entering the perimeter (whether living, working or visiting) has required an access pass since last Thursday. 

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said that nearly 4,000 people flagged as potential threats have been refused accreditation to work at the Olympics.

There are also concerns about crime in the French capital. This past week has seen two violent attacks against Australians. Two tech workers from Channel Nine were allegedly assaulted during a robbery on Monday afternoon and French police are investigating the alleged gang-rape of an Australian woman last weekend. 

Political instability

The country has also been experiencing some internal unrest. France’s far-right party was expected to dominate in France’s election earlier this month, but a surprise swing to the left resulted in a hung parliament. The divided result means there is no majority winner and it is still not clear who will end up controlling the French Government. Negotiations are continuing between the parties.

Following the election, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal resigned from the position but was asked by French President Emmanuel Macron to remain until the end of the Games to maintain political stability. Macron has confirmed he will not announce a new Prime Minister until after the Olympics.

Weather 

A new report from FrontRunners and BASIS found the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics could be “the hottest in history,” after record-high temperatures in Tokyo at the last Games. Hotter temperatures during events mean athletes are at further risk of cramping, exhaustion, injury, heat stroke or even death.

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