Athletes learn to bake ‘délicieuses’ baguettes in the Olympic Village
Olympic athletes may already be experts at their sports, but they have one more skill to master in Paris: French baguette making.
Aleah Finnegan, a former U.S. gymnast who now represents the Philippines, documented her experience learning to make baguettes in the Olympic Village on TikTok.
A professional chef from Sodexo Live!, the company that provides the food inside the Olympic Village, led a group of athletes from an array of countries in a step-by-step tutorial.
“Excellent form, Emma,” Finnegan joked as her teammate, Emma Malabuyo, placed freshly rolled dough in the oven.
They learned how to prepare and cut the dough, design their baguette, bake it properly and, of course, taste test it.
“Délicieuse,” Finnegan proclaimed.
Notable events debuting in the 2024 Paris Olympics
Several sporting events will make their debut during the 2024 Paris Games. Among them is breaking, commonly known as breakdancing. Breaking will showcase 16 athletes for the men’s and women’s competitions in head-to-head matchups. Breakers will compete in a round robin before advancing to a knockout stage. Judges will score breakers on five categories — technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality. Breaking will debut on Aug. 9 at La Concorde, a historic square at the end of the Champs-Elysees.
Outside of breaking, multiple sports have added new events for the Paris Games. Women’s boxing will now include a new division for bantamweight at 119 pounds.
Meanwhile, sailing has added men’s kite, women’s kite and dinghy. In kiting, athletes race on boards that fly above the water. Mixed dinghy features teams of one male athlete and one female athlete racing together in one boat. Notably, all sailing races will take place at Marseille Marina, approximately 400 miles southeast of Paris.
Additional events include men’s and women’s kayak cross in canoe shalom, K-2 500m and C-2 500m in canoe sprint as well as mixed team skeet in shooting events, where one man and one woman from each nation will partner.
Who is the oldest American Olympian?
While most Olympic athletes are in their 20s, a few notable exceptions exist.
Steffen Peters, who is 59 years old, is the oldest American Olympian at the Paris Games. Peters, from San Diego, is competing in equestrian.
At the Games, he’ll be riding a horse named Suppenkasper (nicknamed “Mopsie”). Mopsie is three months older than gymnast Hezly Rivera, who is the youngest American Olympian. She turned 16 just last month.
British equestrian star Charlotte Dujardin drops out of Olympics, apologizes for ‘error of judgement’ after old video surfaces
Charlotte Dujardin, a British dressage rider, could have become Britain’s most decorated female Olympian in Paris.
But that dream has been put on hold. The 39-year-old athlete announced Tuesday she’s pulling out of the competition following the emergence of a video “from four years ago” that showed her “making an error of judgement during a coaching session.”
It wasn’t clear what video she was referring to or what was shown in the video. With six Olympic medals, three of them gold, Dujardin holds the joint record as most decorated female Olympian for Team Great Britain.
“I have made the decision to withdraw from all competition — including the Paris Olympics” she said in a statement on Instagram, noting an investigation is underway by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.
“What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils,” Dujardin said. “However there is no excuse. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.”
“I am sincerely sorry for my actions and devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors.”
Israeli athletes get 24-hour protection after French lawmaker says they’re ‘not welcome’ in Paris
Israeli athletes will receive 24-hour protection during the Paris Olympics, French officials have said, after a left-wing lawmaker said the Israeli delegation was not welcome in the French capital.
Speaking at a rally on Saturday, Thomas Portes, an MP with the far-left party France Unbowed, called for protests over the participation of the Israeli team in the Games amid the country’s continuing offensive in Gaza.
Portes said the Israeli delegation would not be welcome in Paris and he called for an immediate and permanent cease-fire to bring fighting in Gaza to an end.
His comments drew a swift backlash, with Yonathan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, accusing the politician of effectively “putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes,” as he pointed to the 1972 killing of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian operatives at the Munich Olympics in a post on X.
Israeli athletes, he said in a separate post, were “already the most in danger” at the Games. There has been a sharp increase in antisemitic, anti-Israel and anti-Muslim attacks since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in a television interview on Sunday that Israel’s Olympic team would receive 24-hour protection during the Games following Portes’ comments.
Sweet dreams for athletes as cardboard beds hold up
Olympians can rest easy.
Where athletes sleep has been a controversial subject in the run-up to the Paris Games, with the use of cardboard bed frames aimed at promoting sustainability sparking claims on social media that organizers were trying to prevent any participants from coupling up.
“When I tested them last time, it withstood my testing,” says Irish gymnast Rhys McClenaghan in an X post in which he jumps up and down and does an athletic forward-roll on one of the “anti-sex beds” without it collapsing. “Nope, they pass the test,” he concludes. “It’s fake. Fake news.”
The Olympic organizers have posted a video on YouTube explaining the use of the beds, last used in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which are made from recycled materials. Athletes have a choice of mattress firmness.
President Macron to give TV interview on Tuesday evening
French President Emmanuel Macron will speak to France Télévisions and Radio France on Tuesday evening. Not only does the appearance come three days before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, this will be Macron’s first interview since France’s inconclusive parliamentary elections.
With the country’s political landscape currently fractured and a new government yet to be formed, Macron spoke publicly Monday about the need for a “political truce” during the Olympic Games.
As France welcomes the world to Paris 2024, Macron’s call for a political truce suggests that he does not intend to name a new government during the Olympics. For now, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s caretaker government continues to run the country.
Celine Dion and Lady Gaga arrive in Paris … but will they perform?
Two of the world’s most popular singers, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, have arrived in Paris. But officials are staying mum on whether they’ll be performing at the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday.
French newspaper Le Parisien reported that Dion, who is French Canadian, arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning and will perform “L’Hymne à l’amour” by Édith Piaf at the Olympics, in what would be a moving and emotional performance following her stiff person syndrome diagnosis. Last month, she shared an intimate view into her struggles with the syndrome in the documentary “I Am Celine Dion.”
Video on social media showed Lady Gaga waving to fans outside her car in Paris on Monday.
France’s Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, told French media she would neither confirm nor deny if Dion was performing, but said there will be an “exceptional line-up of artists” including dancers, musicians and actors at Friday’s opening ceremony.
Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar won’t compete in Olympic road race
After his dominant performance in the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar will miss the Olympics this year.
The Slovenia Olympic Team said in a statement yesterday that Pogacar, 25, will not be among the members of the country’s cycling team, citing fatigue.
“Once again, congratulations to the Tour de France winner for his third victory in the world’s most prestigious cycling race, and we hope he rests well and prepares for his next races,” the team said.
He will be replaced by Domen Novak.
Pogacar, who won bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, confirmed the decision today on Instagram, and wished Novak luck.
“After an intense few months I’m going to take a bit of rest and build up to the World Championships where I look forward to wearing the Slovenian colours again with pride.”
The winner of the UCI Road World Championship, to be held in September, captures the coveted rainbow striped jersey and the title of world champion. It is currently held by Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel.
Asked Sunday what’s next for him after the Tour, Pogacar said, “Van der Poel looks really good in the World Championship jersey, but I want to take it from him this year.”
Pogacar won the Tour after holding the yellow jersey for much of its 21 stages. He won six of those stages, including Sunday’s time trial final. He did so after also winning the Giro d’Italia, a rare double last achieved in 1998.
America’s cheerleaders prepare to take on Paris: ‘This is the Olympics we’ve been waiting for’
Ahead of the 2024 Games, the “TODAY” show’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin reflect on Olympics past and present, what they’re packing — and the moments they’ll never forget.
HODA KOTB: THE CHEERLEADER
What she’s most excited for at this year’s Games: “I’m looking forward to the feeling of just elation, unity, inspiration … all the things that the Olympics brings.”
On why the Olympics are humbling: “The Olympics always reminds me of how small the world is, and I think it’s such a good thing to remember. You look around, you realize, ‘Wow, here we all are in one tiny spot on this globe. People from all over the globe are right here together competing, whether win, lose or draw — whatever it is, you are doing it as a team.’”
Why she can’t actually watch gymnastics: “It’s my favorite sport, except for I can’t watch it because I’m like, ‘Oh, God, don’t look. Don’t. Tell me when it’s over! Tell me when it’s over! Did she stick it?’ Then everyone’s screaming. ‘She made it!’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I missed that moment because I couldn’t bear to watch it.’ But sometimes it’s too much to bear. You get all freaked out.”
The Olympic event she’d compete in if she could: “I think I would probably do something like one of the track events. There would be something really fun about the feeling of being in the starting blocks, being with all the fastest people in the world.”
