The international sporting event that spans two weeks every four years, the summer Olympics, officially begins today. The games are held in a different city, in a different country around the world each time they are held. This year, the games are hosted by Paris, France. The games this year are quite historic as it has actually only been three years since the last summer games were held. The last games, held in Tokyo, Japan, happened in 2021. They were scheduled for 2020; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to the summer of 2021. Nonetheless, they are still known as the 2020 games. Many other changes were made to the games in order to safely accommodate all Olympians, some of which we still see in this year’s games. However, most parts of the Olympics have been restored to the ways seen prior to the 2020 games.
We kick off the games today with the Opening Ceremonies.
The Opening Ceremonies have long been a historic part of the Olympic Games. The host country of France is making history by having the Opening Ceremonies take place throughout the city of Paris, with the Seine River setting the mainstage. Typically, the ceremonies take place in a stadium, with the countries all marching in the Parade of Nations. Instead, this year they are sailing down the Seine, with each country having their own dedicated boat. Each country picks two of their athletes, one man and one woman, to be the leaders as the flag bearers. The United States has selected basketball legend and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Lebron James, as the male flag bearer and first time Olympian, 20-year old tennis star, Coco Gauff, as the female flag bearer. She is the youngest flag bearer selected.
After today’s ceremonies, the competition begins tomorrow.
As always, the event schedule is similar to what it usually is. In the first week of the games, we will see things kick off with handball, rowing, gymnastics, swimming, and more. In the second week, track and field events are the largest events, as other competitions finish their heats. Making a debut at this year’s games is breakdancing. Not present at this year’s games are baseball and softball, two sports that commonly go in and out of the games, depending on the host country.
Team USA is expected to earn many medals at this year’s games, hoping to top the 113 medals earned in the 2020 games, 39 of which were gold.