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.”
Quiz: Is this an Olympic sport?
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As times have changed, so, too, has the Olympic program.
When Paris first hosted in 1900, croquet and tug-of-war were featured (that was croquet’s only Olympics appearance, while tug-of-war was featured five more times until the Games in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920).
Contests of all kinds have come and gone and sometimes returned over the years — a trend that will continue thanks to the International Olympic Committee’s allowing host countries to nominate one-off events that “enhance the popularity of the Games.”
So, what’s new this year? And what will be in the lineup at Los Angeles 2028? Two sports below are set to make their Olympic debuts, while several are making returns. Others are but office daydreams.
Click here to go for gold and test your knowledge of the Olympic program.
Here’s how Paris is tightening security for the Olympics
PARIS — In the days leading up to the opening ceremony, security around Paris has visibly tightened — armed officers, walled-off tourist hot spots and daily barge sweeps for explosives are part of the heightened security measures.
To enter any part of the control zone, whether its blocks away from an Olympic event venue or the Seine River, getting through checkpoints can take 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic and time of day. Police check everyone’s credentials and match it with an ID.
Over 12-foot-high wooden planks are blocking off popular tourist sites like the Champs de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower and the grounds by Les Invalides ahead of the games.
Today, there’s also a more visible military presence as the “Vigipirate” — the country’s counterterrorism unit — have begun patrolling the streets along with police and the Gendarmerie.
An American family who owns a barge in the Seine told NBC News that authorities do daily sweeps for explosives underneath the boats and police regularly check their living space.
Paris ready for Olympics opening ceremony after political issues and pollution concerns
A surprise election and concerns over pollution in the River Seine did not impede French officials from getting Paris ready for the 2024 Olympic Games. NBC News’ Jay Gray reports on what to expect.
Potential rain for the opening ceremony
Three days out from the opening ceremony on Friday, it appears that the hundreds of thousands of planned spectators may need an umbrella.
There will be showers throughout the day in Paris, with the showers forecast to increase in coverage and intensity heading into the evening hours and during the opening ceremony. The temperatures should be in the mid-70s.
Meet the engineer and other clock-punchers competing for Team USA
Former college basketball star Canyon Barry isn’t the only Olympian who has to balance 9-to-5 work with preparation for Paris.
But Barry, a hoops scion (his parents both plied their trade in the game), has a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in nuclear engineering. And he was probably the only Team USA athlete giving a high-level work presentation from Mongolia at 2 a.m. — the afternoon back home in Florida — last month while he was also getting ready for the Olympics.
“It’s definitely a grind at times,” Barry said in an interview that started 30 minutes behind schedule … because he had to take a work call. “I’m so fortunate [my employers] are willing to work with me. That’s part of the Olympic spirit to do whatever you can try to succeed and pursue that dream.”
Scores of elite athletes have to put on their work boots before they lace up sneakers to run down Olympic aspirations. Sports psychologist Mark Aoyagi said the laboring athletes face a uniquely difficult challenge.
Read the full story here.
Team Mongolia can take a victory lap for its Olympic uniforms
If it were up to the internet, Team Mongolia’s uniforms for the Paris Olympics would win gold in the competition for most drip.
The uniforms, by Mongolian couture brand Michel & Amazonka, have a hold on people across social media. Fans have been praising the striking designs and intricately embroidered vests, dresses and accessories that heavily feature cultural motifs and will be worn during the opening ceremony Friday.
Read the full story here.
Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic torch on its final leg
On Friday, it will be Snoop Dogg’s turn to carry the Olympic torch. The rapper will take the torch on its final leg around the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, the town’s mayor Matheiu Hanotin said today in a post on X.
The “Drop It Like It’s Hot” artist will be joined by French rapper MC Solaar and Ukrainian retired pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka, among others, as they carry the flame around the area that’s home to the Olympic stadium and aquatics center.
The torch relay is a historic Olympic tradition and the Paris flame was lit in April during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece, where the ancient Games were held. It’s been relayed across France over the past two months.
After passing through Saint-Denis, the torch will arrive at the Eiffel Tower — its final destination — ahead of the opening ceremony.
Cameroonian and Syrian athletes named as refugee team flag bearers
Boxer Cindy Ngamba and taekwondo athlete Yahya Al-Ghotany have been announced as the flagbearers for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Team at Friday’s opening ceremony.
Cindy Ngamba was born in Cameroon and moved to the UK at the age of 11. Yahya Al-Ghotany fled Syria’s civil war with his family to Jordan.
The team comprises 37 athletes and will be competing across 12 sports. The IOC says the team represents more than 100 million displaced people worldwide who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution.
Last week the athletes spent three days at a training camp in Normandy, France. The first Refugee Olympic Team competed at Rio 2016.
Olympic visitors can send home French cuisine in stamp form
Tourists attending the Paris Olympic Games can send home the aroma of classical French cuisine by buying the scratch-and-sniff postage stamps that are now on sale.
The stamps are supposed to smell like traditional French baguettes, although not everyone agrees.
Andy Murray confirms plans to retire after 2024 Paris Olympics
British tennis player Andy Murray has confirmed he will retire after competing at the Paris Games. The three-time grand slam champion has already played in four Olympic Games and is the only man to have won two tennis singles gold medals.
Murray posted on X: “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament @Olympics. Competing for GB have been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get do it one final time!”
The 37-year-old made his Olympic debut at the Beijing Games in 2008. He won his first grand slam at the US Open in 2012.
Paris center calm and damp as city makes its final preparations
PARIS — It’s raining in Paris, giving a sense of calm before the storm as the city prepares for an opening ceremony that showcases the best of the city’s landmarks.
The city center is unusually quiet this morning, with the route that the Olympics opening ceremony will take closed off. But a bike ride from the Île de la Cité to the Eiffel Tower reveals that how much work has already been done to get the Seine river Games-ready.
Every bridge is stacked with bleachers and the river’s banks are lined with huge TV screens.
The Pont de la Concorde, meanwhile, is closed off right now. When it opens, it will allow tourists to access the historic Place de la Concorde, where a massive makeshift venue has been built for modern sports like breaking.
Further along, you can just spot Hôtel des Invalides above the Paris 2024 hoardings. The 17th century hospital for wounded soldiers will host the archery.
And from the banks next to the Pont d’Iena you can see the huge arena beneath the Trocadero where the Champions Park will allow Olympic medalists to meet their fans.
Paris 1924 Olympics saw a first gold for a Black American athlete
A century ago, at a small stadium just outside Paris, a college track and field star from Ohio named William DeHart Hubbard took a dramatic leap forward for himself and for all African Americans back home in the segregated United States of America.
By defeating the best long jumpers in the world at the 1924 Paris Olympics, Hubbard became the first Black athlete to win an individual gold medal at the Games.
Hubbard’s nephew Kenneth Blackwell, the former secretary of state of Ohio, told NBC News his uncle recognized that he was carrying the hopes and dreams of millions of Black Americans on his muscular frame when he raced down a track toward a sand pit and leaped into history.
Read the full story here.
How many Arcs de Triomphe could Katie Ledecky swim this Olympics?
The Olympic swimming pool at new Seine Saint Denis aquatics center is part of the only new permanent facility built for these Games. It’s 164 feet long, which is roughly the same height as the French capital’s famous Arc de Triomphe.
That means, over the course of the Paris Games, Katie Ledecky could swim the length of up to 124 Arcs de Triomphe.
U.S. has led medal chart in every Summer Games since 1996
The U.S. has come out on top at every Summer Olympics since 1996. At the last Olympics, in Tokyo, the U.S. again topped the medal chart with 113 podiums. That was 24 medals more than the next-best delegation — China.
Also in Tokyo, U.S. women marked the third straight Games in which they brought home more medals than the men. The women won 66 of America’s medals — or 58% of the total — which is a higher percentage than any other delegation except for China and the Russian Olympic Committee.
Maybe it’s because there were more women than men on the U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo — some 329 of the 613 total athletes — or maybe it’s sheer girl power.
President Biden announces full U.S. opening ceremony delegation
President Joe Biden has announced the U.S. delegation headed to the Paris Olympics.
Among them are first lady Jill Biden, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Other members of the presidential delegation include French Ambassador Denise Campbell Bauer, 2028 L.A. Olympic and Paralympic Game Chair Casey Wasserman, Olympic figure skater Brian Boitano and basketball coach and Olympian Dawn Staley.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will lead the U.S. delegation for the August 11 closing ceremony.
