By Christine Ayala
The 2024 Olympics kicked off in Paris on Friday. Here is a running list of interesting tidbits about the Summer Games.
There may be too much poop in the Seine River to host swimming events
E.Coli levels in Paris’ Seine River may be too high for athletes. The river was the planned venue for the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming events. City officials have been working for months to clean up the river for these events. It was also the stage for the opening ceremony.
E. coli levels must be below 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters to be considered safe, according to European officials.
Gymnastics is apparently more than one sport
The U.S. dominates in gymnastics at the Olympic level, especially the U.S. Women’s team — but only specifically in “artistic” gymnastics. This is the sport that involves female athletes competing in floor tumbling routines, uneven bars, vault and balance beam. Meanwhile, male athletes compete in floor tumbling routines, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar events.
Apparently, “rhythmic” gymnastics and “trampoline” gymnastics are entirely separate sports.
Rhythmic gymnastics doesn’t include the high-flying tumbling and power moves seen in artistic gymnastics. Instead, female athletes compete in four events involving several hand-held apparatus: ribbon, hoop, ball and clubs. All are floor events involving one of these apparatuses, as well as leaps and dance elements. This is also an all-women Olympic sport.
Trampoline gymnastics involves female and male individual competition in which athletes bounce more than 8 meters (more than 25 feet) high in the air on a trampoline and must complete a series of skills within 10 bounces.
One reason many Americans may not be as familiar with rhythmic gymnastics or trampoline is due to the fact that the U.S. has not excelled in the sport at the Olympic level, unlike artistic gymnastics — in which it is often among the favorites for gold in the team and many of the individual events.
The U.S. has never medaled in several Olympic events
Despite sending the largest delegation of athletes to the Olympics for many summer games, the U.S. has not landed an athlete on the podium for several sports. These include:
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Trampoline
Table Tennis
Hand Ball
Badminton
Breakdancing is now an Olympic sport
Breakdancing — officially called “breaking” —is the only new sport being added to the event roster in the 2024 Summer Games. This Olympic event involves 16 athletes competing in one-minute "battles," with the top two of each group advancing to the next round, which continues until the top three battle each other for the medals. Athletes are judged on musicality, vocabulary, originality, technique and execution.
Several other events were first introduced at the last Summer Games in Tokoyo, including skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing and karate (which is not returning).
Christine Ayala is a health and wellness writer and content creator. She has more than a decade of reporting and editing journalism experience. She is certified as a personal trainer by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). She is a strength athlete who has competed as a powerlifter, including at the USPA 2022 Drug Tested Nationals.
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