Olympics
Athletics: Pretty purple track proves popular in Paris
In a departure from the traditional brick-red colour, the track on which Olympic athletics champions are crowned in Paris is a vibrant purple — and athletes so far seem pretty pleased with it.
“The entire thing just kind of radiates light,” said Thea LaFond, who will chase the first ever Olympic medal for Dominica when she competes in the triple jump final later on Saturday.
“It’s probably really girly to be like, ah I think it’s so cute, but I do — a purple track, how, like, fabulous!”
Camille Yvinec, director of brand identity for Paris 2024, said her teams had worked on the colour palette for two years.
Ultimately, they picked purple for the Stade de France track as a reference to the lavender fields of the south of France, where cities such as Nice and Marseille are hosting some Olympic events.
“We wanted to have a colour palette that was, above all, sophisticated,” said Yvinec. It was a shift away from the primary colours of the Olympic rings, she added, and a break with traditional track colours.
The Rio Olympics of 2016 featured a blue athletics track, and Madrid already has a green athletics track, so Paris had to think outside the box.
“It’s really beautiful,” Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh said after qualifying for the final, adding that it was the first purple track she had seen in her life. “It’s really cool, it’s the new colour of Olympics really.”
United States athlete Shamier Little embraced the purple vision by colouring her hair a matching shade.
“Purple has been one of my themes,” she said after she and her relay partners broke the world record in the 4×400 metres. “Going into this, I had this vision. I found a barber, I just asked him to bring together my vision and he did perfectly.”
Sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma have also prepared for purple, producing shoes in lurid orange and yellow hues to clash with the track.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, who won gold in the 10,000 metres on Friday, was among the athletes wearing fluorescent orange spikes that popped against the purple, ensuring maximum visibility, in the stadium and on television, for the latest “supershoe” technologies.
Gymnasts in Paris have also praised the pastel colour scheme of the Bercy Arena where they compete, saying the pale green tones of equipment such as the pommel horse were calming.
-Reuters
Athlete Familiarisation – Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France – August 01, 2024. General view of athletes using the running track inside the stadium ahead of the athletics. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczyns
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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