Tonight, the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – the Paris 2024 Olympics to you and me – officially begin. Yes, although the football and rugby has been going on for a couple of days, it’s Friday’s opening ceremony that really kicks things off. For the ceremony, expect fireworks, French culture, and high fashion – costumes have been designed by Louis Vuitton and Dior, amongst others – but what should you be looking out for the next two-and-a-bit weeks of sporting action? Online Editor Jimmy McIntosh previews Eight of the most exciting things to come.
Breakdancing
Taking place at the Place de la Concorde, the largest public square in the French capital, breakdancing (or “breaking”, as it’s known for Olympic purposes) makes it debut in the Games. First appearing at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, the format sees sixteen B-boys and B-girls compete against each other, judged on creativity, personality, technique, musicality, variety, and performativity.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Paris 2024 marks the CircleZeroEight Issue 05 cover star’s fifth and final Olympics. Can she go out with a bang? She’ll face stiff competition in the 100m sprint from the legendary Sha’Carri Richardson. Will either of them beat Florence Griffith Joyner’s 1988 record of 10.49?
Simone Biles
The legendary gymnast is looking to make amends for her Tokyo trauma, where she underperformed, before withdrawing from the Team gymnastics final due to mental health concerns. The 27-year-old has long been one of the greatest gymnasts around, and last year debuted the Yurchenko Double Pike vault, one of the hardest skills around. Might we see this move, dubbed the “Biles II” to full effect this summer?
Murray’s Last Hurrah
This Olympics marks Andy Murray’s last ever professional tennis match – with the 37-year-old retiring after the Games. Having won gold at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, will the Scotsman make it three out of four?
Sky Brown Skateboarding
The 16-year-old British-Japanese skateboarder Sky Brown is surely going to become one of the sport’s greatest ever. As the youngest professional skateboarder in the world, Brown is hoping to improve on her Tokyo performance – where she won bronze at the age of 13, making her Team GB’s youngest ever medallist.
Surfing, 10k Miles Away
The surfing portion of this year’s Games is taking place in Tahiti, the French Polynesian island and overseas collectivity of France. 9,755 miles from Paris, it will break the record for farthest Olympic medal event to be held outside of the host city. And we thought the sailing in Weymouth was bad in 2012.
A Public Marathon
For the first time ever, amateurs will be allowed to partake in the marathon on the same day at the Olympic Games. Okay, so the public won’t be racing at the same time as the athletes, but the course will be open for anyone to run following the official race end.
The Paralympics
Starting on the 28th August, the 2024 Paralympic Games marks the first time that Paris will have hosted the event, with 549 events across 22 sports taking place at the end of summer. A record 235 medal events will be in the women’s category, with the number of female participants double that of Sydney 2000.
