2024-08-17 02:55:13
Flash endings, teenagers on the ladder of honor, marriage proposals with guaranteed success… In short, apart from purely sporting achievements, the olympic games in Paris also offered a series of curiosities and incidents that will be remembered long after the races are over. Adding to that the dramatic political scandals, one might wonder if this was a sporting event.
Embarrassing but true…
South Sudan’s men’s basketball team was the only African men’s representative in Paris and, despite having never even appeared in an international forum until a year ago, recorded a 90-79 victory over Puerto Rico in their debut game. But before that, an unpleasant surprise awaited them. The sloppy hosts played the anthem of Sudan, from which South Sudan gained independence in 2011 after several decades of civil war. The mistake was corrected on the fly, but the offense remained.
Equestrian events had to be briefly interrupted when a deer straying into the grounds of the Palace of Versailles spooked and ran straight across the cross-country course and jumped into the man-made lake. Only the quick intervention of the National Guard officers saved the animal from drowning.
At all culinary glory of France, no one expected this problem: during the production of the medals (5084 gold, silver and bronze), 18 grams of one of the symbols of Paris – the Eiffel Tower – were inserted.
All this thanks to the company dealing with its maintenance, which set aside 290 kg of iron after one of the repairs of the over 100-meter wonder. The problem is that because of the iron, the taste of the medals was not very good and a Chinese gymnast spat it out in disgust during the traditional photo of the medalists.
An Olympics will bring them together…
According to official IOC data, seven athletes have proposed marriage to their sweethearts during the competitions. The first to get scared was the Argentine handball player Pablo Simonet, who proposed to Pilar Campoy, a player from the country’s field hockey team, and received an affirmative answer. In fact, all seven entries were accepted, including the double to French sailing crew Sarah Steyert/Charlene Picon.
Docking after the race that brought them the bronze medal, they each said “I do” to their boyfriends, fulfilling the agreement that a place in the top three would mean an engagement.
Robbing old men and children who grew up too quickly
Speaking of medals, the women’s park skater had a total age of…46 years! Champion Arissa Trew (Australia) is 14 years old, making her the youngest gold medalist in modern Olympic history, breaking a record that dates back to 1896! In the same sport, Zheng Haohao became the youngest proven Olympic athlete (a week shy of turning 12).
At the opposite pole were equestrians Juan Antonio Jimenez (Spain, 65) and Mary Jenna (Australia, a week shy of turning 70), who were the oldest participants in Paris. But since Jenna was in the reserve role and was not included in the team, Jimenez deserved the championship among the doyennes. But he did not win a medal and the honor of oldest medalist at the games went to his equestrian colleague, American Laura Kraut, who is “only” 58 and took bronze in the show jumping.
But if youth was not a vice in skateboarding, in judo 15-year-old Nera Tieboa made a splash with the record for the shortest stay on the tatami mat. The contestant from Kiribati was in the tournament for exactly… five seconds! That’s how long it took Ukrainian Daria Beloded to record an ippon against her and immortalize her in the annals of the Olympic Games.
And the top of the ice cream…
From the debut of breakdance, it was assumed that strange stories would be born, but one of them surpassed everything. In a competition dominated by teenagers, 36-year-old Sydney professor Rachel Gunn caught the eye. But for all the wrong reasons.
Gunn was so far below the level of the rest that he didn’t earn a single referee’s vote in any of his group matches. But if there was a medal for trolling, it would be the undisputed #1 in the backlash and mockery she garnered on social media.