China won the first two gold medals of the Paris Games on Saturday, in shooting and diving, while American swimmer Katie Ledecky began her quest to become the most decorated woman in Olympic history, the day after a torrential and unprecedented opening ceremony. . Already two Chinese gold medals China won the first title of the Games by beating South Korea (16-12) in the mixed 10-meter rifle shooting final in Châteauroux. Kazakhstan won bronze after beating Germany (17-5). The Chinese divers triumphed in the women's synchronised 3m springboard event, ahead of the United States and Great Britain, at the Saint-Denis aquatic centre. . What a queen for the 400m? American swimmer Katie Ledecky on June 18, 2022 at the World Championships in Budapest © AFP – Ferenc ISZA Katie Ledecky, already the winner of ten Olympic medals, including seven gold, could become the most decorated woman in Olympic history this week. The 27-year-old American swimmer, who was the hot favourite in the 1,500m (Tuesday) and 800m (Friday), dominated the 400m heats on Saturday morning, beating her big rivals, the 23-year-old Australian Ariarne Titmus and the Canadian Summer McIntosh, who is not yet 18. . Parity against the clock Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel on July 20, 2024 on the Tour de France between Nice and the Col de la Couillole, in the south-east of France © AFP – Thomas SAMSON For the first time, men and women will take exactly the same route (32.4 km) on the cycling time trial. Honor to the ladies to start at 2:30 p.m. with three favorites: the American Chloe Dygert, reigning world champion, the Dutch Ellen van Dijk, returned from maternity, and the Australian Grace Brown. French riders Audrey Cordon-Ragot and Juliette Labous will be waiting for the favourites to slip onto the podium. The men will set off after 4:30 p.m., with the main favourites being Belgian Remco Evenepoel, Italian Filippo Ganna and Briton Josh Tarling. Even though Evenepoel criticised the state of the road, the best riders could set speed records. . First for Wembanyama French pivot Victor Wembanyama on July 12, 2024 in Decines-Charpieu, eastern France © AFP – MAXIME GRUSS Before Stephen Curry's Dream Team takes to the court against Nikola Jokic's Serbia on Sunday, it is France, silver medallists three years ago in Tokyo, who begin the Olympic tournament against Brazil at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, whose setting impressed the Americans. Despite particularly disappointing preparation matches, the French are aiming for the podium in the first Olympic campaign of their young star Victor Wembanyama. . Nikola Karabatic begins his farewell tour French handball player Nikola Karabatic on July 15, 2024 in Paris © AFP – JULIEN DE ROSA Nikola Karabatic, 40, begins his quest for a fourth Olympic title against an old acquaintance, Mikkel Hansen, the Danish handball icon, who also has a very rich list of achievements. This first match (9:00 p.m.), worthy of a final, could allow us to assess the ambitions of the two teams, favorites for gold. . Dupont in gold? French rugby player Antoine Dupont on July 25, 2024 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis during the Olympic rugby 7s tournament © AFP – CARL DE SOUZA Disappointing during the first phase, the Blues of rugby 7s found against Argentina (26-14) in the quarter-finals the automatisms that allowed them to win the world circuit in the spring. In the semi-finals, they will have to be able to control the speed of the South Africans (3:30 p.m.). They will be assured of a medal in the event of victory. In the event of defeat, they will play the match for bronze. The other semi-final (4:00 p.m.) pits Fiji, undefeated since the introduction of the “7” at the Olympics in 2016, against Australia. . Djokovic's Quest, Nadal-Alcaraz Duo Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal carries the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, July 26, 2024 © POOL – Xu Chang At Roland-Garros, Novak Djokovic, the most decorated man in Grand Slam (24 titles) but never gold medalist at the Games, makes his debut against the Australian Matthew Ebden while waiting to meet, perhaps, Rafael Nadal in the second round. The day after his active participation in the opening ceremony, the Majorcan, on a physical edge, enters the doubles competition with Carlos Alcaraz, double winner of Wimbledon. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, four times winner at Roland-Garros, starts against the Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. . The rain leads to the postponement of skateboarding Rain falls on Paris, the day after the opening ceremony of the 2024 Games, on July 27, 2024 in Paris © AFP – Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV The men's street event scheduled for Saturday in the urban park set up in the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées, the first in skateboarding at the Paris Olympics, has been postponed to Monday due to the rain. . Memories of joy and water Down the Seine for 6 km, lighting the cauldron, Celine Dion singing in tears from the Eiffel Tower… The opening ceremony, rainy but unique, was hailed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not as “a stone” but as “a mountain” in the Olympic edifice. The grandiose and sometimes crazy spectacle achieved one of the best television audiences in history (between 22.07 and 23.4 million viewers depending on the time). It was criticized by French bishops who deplored “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity”. It was also marked by a diplomatic blunder: during the river parade, the South Korean athletes were wrongly presented as North Koreans, forcing the IOC to apologize. All reproduction and representation rights reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116