Olympics
From Prison to Podium – A tale of Brittney Griner’s gold medal extra special after Russian prison
On the highest step of the Olympic podium, U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner wept, tears trickling down her face as her country’s national anthem serenaded her for a gold medal she could not have imagined winning while in a Russian prison.
Griner, who had played professionally in Russia in addition to playing in the WNBA, was detained February 2022 in a Moscow airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner, who had a medical marijuana prescription in the United States, spent nearly 10 months in detention.
“I didn’t think I would be here,” the 33-year-old said after the United States beat France 67-66 in the gold medal game at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
“And then to be here and winning gold for my country, representing when my country fought for me so hard to even be standing here. This gold medal is going to hold a special place amongst the other two I was fortunate to win.”
Griner, who was also on the gold medal-winning teams at the Rio and Tokyo Games, was released in December 2022 in a high-profile prisoner exchange involving arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death”, and returned to the WNBA for the 2023 season.
U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve praised Griner for how well she had handled the Olympics, her first trip abroad since her detention in Russia.
“When you see BG around the team, her outward, she’s okay,” Reeve said. “You know on the inside, there’s a lot going on there.
“She was so thankful to be here … I think we all should just keep checking on her because it’s unfathomable what she went through.”
Griner’s teammate A’ja Wilson described her “a warrior, a trooper”.
“This is a huge gold for BG,” Wilson. “We all know what she was going through … It’s so good just to see her happy.”
-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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