Olympics
US forecast to top medals table for fourth straight Games
The United States will top the medals table for the fourth straight Summer Games in Paris, while France will get a major host-nation bump from eighth to third, according to a forecast 100 days out from the opening ceremony.
The Gracenote virtual medals table, opens new tab, which is compiled using results data from key global and continental competitions since the Tokyo Olympics, has the U.S. on top both on gold medal count (39) and total medal count (123).
The U.S. will host the next Olympics after Paris in Los Angeles in 2028.
France is predicted to win 28 gold medals and 55 in total, a jump of 18 golds and 22 medals from its performance in Tokyo three years ago, and will replace the host nation of that Games, Japan, in third place on the table.
China, the last country apart from the U.S. to top the medal table, will retain second place with 35 gold medals, while Britain, Australia and Japan will win the fourth highest number of gold medals with 13 apiece, Gracenote predicts.
The Russian Olympic Committee team were fifth on the Tokyo medals table but only a few Russians and Belarusians will compete in Paris as neutral athletes because of sanctions put in place after the invasion of Ukraine.
“Almost all Russian and Belarusian competitors have been absent from international competitions since February 2022,” Gracenote, the content solutions unit of Nielsen, said in a news release.
“Any who take part in Paris 2024 without results in this period cannot be predicted accurately. However, it appears that there will be limited participation of these athletes and we expect the medal table to be the usual accurate reflection.”
Ukraine, whose athletes have struggled to prepare for the Games because of the continuing conflict at home, are forecast to win three golds and 13 total medals in Paris.
At the bottom of the table, Tajikistan, Finland, San Marino, Trinidad & Tobago, North Korea, Fiji, Panama and Vietnam are all forecast to win a single bronze medal.
-Reuters
The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.
The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June.
According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.
The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.
Olympics
Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.
Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.
Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.
Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review.
Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.
-Insidethegames
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.
Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.
In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.
-Reuters
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