Olympics
Athletics: Where’s Saint Lucia? Alfred puts her country on the map
All eyes were on Sha’Carri Richardson as she attempted to end a long American wait for Olympic women’s 100 metres gold on Saturday – but it was Julien Alfred, from an island of 180,000 people, who stole the show.
The Saint Lucian sprinter delivered a brilliant performance to win the 100 metres final in a national record 10.72 seconds, beating world champion Richardson into silver and breaking Jamaica’s recent stranglehold over the event.
That it was Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medal only made the moment sweeter.
“I feel honoured just to be an ambassador for my country,” Alfred told reporters. “Not many people know about Saint Lucia. Sometimes I can be in an Uber and they ask me where I’m from… and they’ll be like ‘Where’s Saint Lucia?’”
There are David-and-Goliath stories to be found across any Olympics but perhaps few of the proportion of Saint Lucia versus the United States – or Jamaica.
Saint Lucia, an Eastern Caribbean island nation, had never previously had an athlete on the Olympic podium while Americans have won well over 300 titles in athletics alone, topping the all-time medal table by a massive margin.
Alfred, 23, got herself in the right mindset by watching videos of retired Jamaican great Usain Bolt on Saturday morning and by the evening had catapulted herself into her country’s own pantheon of greats.
“(I was) hoping that they could get their first Olympic medal and it came as a goal, so I’m sure they’re celebrating right now,” said Alfred, who grew up running barefoot in a country that lacked proper track facilities.
“It feels amazing to be honest.”.
Alfred will also compete in the 200 metres in Paris, with the first round set for Sunday.
-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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