Paris Olympics News

athletes at this month's Paris Olympics after the sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 have been approved at «cost to the government» to meet the «requirements» of the travelling sportspersons. The only qualified athlete missing from the list is shot-putter Abha Khatua. The Games will run from July 26 to August 11. Khatua, who made the cut through world rankings quota, has been dropped without any explanation after her name was found missing from the World Athletics' list of Olympic participants a few days ago. There is no word yet on whether her name has been knocked off owing to injury, a doping violation or any other technical issue.

Paris Olympics less than two weeks away, a question hangs over the Games: Will the Seine River be clean enough for athletes to swim in? Triathlon and marathon swimming are scheduled to take place in the Seine, where it has been illegal to swim for more than a century. Despite the city's efforts to clean up the long-polluted river, the water has tested unsafe for humans in recent weeks, and cleaner on other days. The Games run from July 26-Aug. 11. To clean up the river, Paris invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in building infrastructure to catch more stormwater when it rains — the same water that contains bacteria-laden wastewater that enters the river during periods of heavy rain and makes it unsafe to swim in. In May, Paris officials inaugurated a giant underground water storage basin next to the Austerlitz train station aimed at collecting excess rainwater and stopping wastewater from entering the Seine. The basin can hold the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of dirty water that will now be treated and is the centerpiece of major infrastructure improvements that the city has rushed to finish in time for the Games, but to also ensure that Parisians have a cleaner Seine in years to come.

Wednesday 17 July 2024 – On your marks, get set, go… sprinting into The Meme Games! Crypto’s scorching hot Olympics-themed presale has already amassed $100k within minutes as investors crowd the stands to taste the triumph of early investment in the meme coin ICO of the summer.

Indian CAPF and special commando force dogs are in France to provide a counter-terrorist and anti-sabotage security cover to various venues of the Paris Olympics slated to open next week, official sources said on Wednesday. The ten Indian K9 (canine) teams will undertake sniffing and patrolling duties at various venues that will hold events for the Paris Olympics. They have been given a special 10-week training for this first-ever kind of collaboration of canine squads between the Indian and the French government, a security officer told PTI. The teams along with their handlers are drawn from the central armed police forces (CAPFs) like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force apart from the elite federal contingency commando force National Security Guard (NSG) and the Assam Rifles.

Chinese swimmers will have undergone at least eight drug tests by the start of the Paris Olympics, twice as many as athletes from other countries. The sport’s governing body, World Aquatics, was under pressure to act after 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance, heart medication trimetazidine, seven months before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but were cleared of wrongdoing and went on to claim three gold medals. Eleven of them are competing in Paris this month. After a review of its decision allowing the swimmers to compete in Tokyo, World Aquatics said the incident “weakened” trust in the anti-doping system. To rebuild trust, it said, Chinese swimmers competing in Paris will have been tested “no less than eight times” this year by the International Testing Agency, twice the standard level. It said “a certain number of athletes from specific nations will be tested four times” by the agency which runs anti-doping programmes for many Olympic sports. Samples of Chinese athletes will ideally not be collected by the Chinese anti-doping agency and not be tested by laboratories in China. World Aquatics is likely to publish the results of the tests before the Olympics opening ceremony next week.

But the Seine is not the only scenic backdrop to the Games, with several other Paris landmarks playing host to sporting events. Below is a list of some of them: EIFFEL TOWER

France has always been at the center of enthusiasm around sports, most importantly in soccer, as its national team is one of the top ranked in the entire world. As the Paris Olympics kicks in, which promised to initially be a worthwhile investment, boosting the country's economy as well as tourism, it is now facing growing concerns of things not actually matching the checklist.

Neeraj Chopra's top finish in the Tokyo edition three years ago. According to official data from the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), which is available with PTI, the government has spent a whopping Rs 96.08 crore for athletics. It's the biggest chunk in the close to Rs 470 crore which has been spent on India's preparation for the Games this time across 16 disciplines. In the previous Olympic cycle, athletics received Rs 5.38 crore from TOPS funds.

gymnast to join the USA women's gymnastics team flying to Paris for the upcoming Summer Olympics this July. Hezly Rivera, aged just 16, hails from Oradell, New Jersey, and struck fortune during her Olympic Trials in Minnesota where she finished fifth overall to qualify for the Olympic Games as the youngest gymnast.

Bad Boys 4" won't relieve Will Smith of his ten-year Oscar ban. This was mandated by the Academy Awards committee following Smith's widely publicized smack of Chris Rock at a live event. Three-time Oscar winner Paul N. J. Ottosson, who collaborated closely with Smith, favors the ban. While emphasizing forgiveness, Ottosson is adamant about carrying out the sentence, as per the reports of 'The US Mirror'. Ottosson thinks Smith could return in 2032 if he shows genuine remorse and continues to act honorably. Although he acknowledges Smith's professional accomplishments, he emphasizes the Academy's authority to impose sanctions for inappropriate conduct.

Kishore Jena will hope to fine tune their Olympics preparations in the Paris leg of the prestigious Diamond League one-day meeting series on Sunday. Reigning Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has opted out of the Paris DL apparently due to adductor niggle that has been troubling him for the past couple of months. Both Sable and Jena have not been in the best of forms and have not competed in too many events ahead of the Paris Games but they would be looking to get acclimatised to the conditions of the city which will host the Olympics. Athletics competitions in the Olympics begin on August 1.

Paris Olympics 2024 is just round the corner but it is a severe red flag for the tennis event as some major tennis players ranked in the top brackets, are deciding to skip the Olympics. These players are looking at participating in US-based tournaments rather than representing their nations in the coveted Paris Olympics 2024. This high-profile absence in the tennis event at Olympics has raised alarm at the International Olympic Committee, but there is little they can do at the moment.

Olympics starts July 26 this year and will continue until August, offering some brilliant sporting action throughout the weeks. As soon as the Olympic Torch is in place and the action kicks off, Team USA will go in with all guns blazing and attempt to stay at the top of the medal tally at the Paris Olympics 2024. This year, USA has fine-combed every selection, and has left no stones unturned in sending their best teams and players towards the journey of participating at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Viacom18, the official broadcast and digital partner for Paris 2024, announced the biggest Olympics presentation yet in India, with 20 concurrent feeds and a roster of Olympians, starting July 26, 2024, across the Sports18 Network and for free on JioCinema. The network has lined up former champions across multiple sporting disciplines to amplify the best Olympic presentation ever. It also launched its campaign film ‘Dum Laga Ke… Haisha’. For the first time, Olympics coverage in India will be presented across 20 concurrent feeds on JioCinema for free, allowing fans to catch their preferred action and Indian performances at the Olympic Games anytime, anywhere, on their preferred device.

Huma Abedin is now officially engaged to billionaire Alex Soros. Page Six broke the story first, emphasizing the gorgeous diamond ring Soros presented her, which has garnered a lot of attention. While dining with famous fashion designer Anna Wintour, Abedin, 47, showed her new jewelry, igniting conversations about its stunning estimated value.

ABC News is all set to host the second US Presidential Debate on September 10. In a matter of nine weeks, the two candidates are expected to have a second face-off. David Muir and Linsey Davis will host the debate and the rules to participate in the debate have been confirmed. The location of the debate is yet to be confirmed. There are also reports that the two Vice-Presidential nominees will also have a debate soon. Many questions have also been raised if Biden will participate in the debate as many Democrats are calling for his replacement on the ballot box.

French President Emmanuel Macron has refused the resignation of the country’s prime minister, asking him to remain temporarily as the head of the government after chaotic election results left the government in limbo

Taylor Swift's European tour was top of mind for Nikita Rao when planning where to go for her family's annual summer vacation.

Team Great Britain will be fielding some of their best sportsmen this time around to ensure they are at the top rungs in the overall medal count. Paris Olympics 2024 will be a huge challenge for Team GB as their performance is matched by the likes of USA, France, China, Japan and others, who will be looking to leave a mark in these prestigious Games.

UPI to pay in Paris' Galeries Lafayette. India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has marked a significant expansion with its launch at the Galeries Lafayette flagship store on Haussmann Boulevard in Paris. Following a successful introduction at the iconic Eiffel Tower earlier this year, this move aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to internationalize UPI, an instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016. The Indian Embassy in France announced on Thursday, «On July 3, 2024, UPI became operational at the flagship store of the world-renowned Galeries Lafayette in Haussmann, Paris. This extends the acceptance of UPI in Paris following its successful debut at the iconic Eiffel Tower.»

PTI had earlier reported that Narang was in race to become the CDM of the Indian contingent.Six-time world champion Mary Kom had resigned from the position in April, saying she was left with no choice but to step down owing to compelling personal reasons.