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With heavy responsibility on her shoulders, will Amusan get Nigeria a medal?

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Tobi Amusan, the flag bearer for Team Nigeria, is now the object of attention. Not only are Nigerians looking up to her to evade an increasingly seemingly-barren outing at Paris 2024, the world is also focusing on her to replicate the form that earned her a world record in 100m hurdles two years ago.

 With a time of 12.12 seconds to her name, she is the current world record holder after her blistering performance at the 2022 women’s 100 metres hurdles semi final in Eugene Oregon.

The performance made her the the first ever Nigerian world record holder in athletics event.

Amusan is also the current Commonwealth and African champion in the100 m hurdles,

 With her profile, she cannot evade attention. She opens her account this morning in Heat 1 of the Women’s 100m Hurdles.

On track with her will be: Mako Fukube of Japan, Sidonie Fiadanantsoa of Madagascar, Janeek Brown of  Jamaica, Maribel Caicedo of Ecuador, Alaysha Johnson of the US, Maayke Tjin-A-Lim of the Netherlands and Wu Yanni of China.

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There are five heats. The first three in each heat  will automatically qualify for the semi finals while the next three  fastest will also advance to Semi-Final. All otherswill have the advantage of the newly introduced   Repêchage Round, which in plain language means second chance, may also advance. But that option is not available to those who did not start (DNS), those who did not finish (DNF) and those disqualified (DQ).

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

Olympics

Olympic rings removed from Eiffel Tower

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The Eiffel Tower and the Olympic Rings

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.

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Olympics

Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul

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Ahmed El-Gendy won Egypt's only gold at the Paris Olympics

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. 

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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

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Olympics

Paris 2024 Games break record ticket sales

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Beach Volleyball - Men's Gold Medal Match - Sweden vs Germany (Ahman/Hellvig vs Ehlers/Wickler) - Eiffel Tower Stadium, Paris, France - August 10, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo

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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