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Paris 2024 Olympics - Ceremonies - Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. General view of fireworks during the gran finale of the closing ceremony.
Hard Numbers: Olympic Edition. Au revoir, Paris!
126: Team USA had its third-best Summer Olympics ever, winning 126 medals across 34 different sports. Historically, the US has done even better at home, netting 174 medals with a staggering 83 golds in the 1984 LA games and 231 medals at the 1904 games in St. Louis. With Sunday’s closing ceremony behind us, all eyes now turn to the next edition: Los Angeles 2028.
40: China came in second in overall medals with 91, but the real rivalry is all about the gold, baby. The United States and China walked away with 40 gold medals each — the first-ever golden tie for the sporting superpowers.
12: Russian athletes were not allowed to participate under their national flag due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so the usual medal powerhouse wound up with zilch — while Ukrainian athletes won 12 medals, including gold in the women’s high jump, men’s boxing, and women’s team saber. It was Ukraine’s second-lowest medal count since independence, and the country sent its fewest-ever competitors – 140 athletes – this year, a downturn attributed to the ongoing conflict.
8: None of the eight Palestinian athletes at the Games won a medal, but their mere presence was a major achievement given the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. The conflict has claimed the lives of national volleyball team members Ibrahim Qusaya and Hassan Zuaiter, national athletics coach Bilal Abu Samaan, and the Palestinian Olympic football coach Hani al-Masdar. Others have seen their Olympic dreams eviscerated by war, like weightlifting Junior World Champion Mohammed Khamis Haidar Hamada, who lost 20 kilograms and suffered a possibly career-ending knee injury while carrying water amid the fighting.
1: Boxer Cindy Ngambamade history by winning bronze in the women’s 75kg category, becoming the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team athlete to win a medal. Ngamba has lived and trained in the UK since age 11 but struggled with her immigration status and had to fight to avoid returning to her native Cameroon, where her homosexuality is criminalized.
0.1: The biggest controversy of the Paris Games came from the smallest of margins, after US gymnast Jordan Chiles saw her score in the floor exercise final improve by 0.1 following an appeal from her coaches — just beating Romanian athlete Ana Barbosu for the bronze. The Romanians weren’t happy and appealed the decision immediately, saying Chiles’ coaches had missed the 60-second window allowed for scoring inquiries. The case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which decided Saturday that Chiles’ coaches had indeed missed the cutoff – by four seconds. Chiles’ score was reverted, and Barbosu was awarded the bronze instead. The US team plans to appeal the ruling.
32 million: NBC says the first 13 days of the Olympics drew 32 million viewers, a major coup for the broadcaster and a 76% increase over the Tokyo games. Can they beat their own record in LA? We’ll find out in four years.
Could the Olympics ever be free of politics?
Should politics play a role at the Olympic Games? The International Olympic Committee insists the Games are non-political, but in practice, that’s never really been the case. From boycotts to political protests to national scandals, politics always loom large at the Olympics, and the 2024 Paris Games are no exception.
Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about how politics and sports overlap at the Olympics and beyond, including the IOC’s troubling coziness with authoritarian countries like China and Russia. Jenkins points to the Olympic Truce and the history of international cooperation at the Games but also stresses that this Olympics is taking place amid one of the most divisive political eras in decades. Despite the controversies and geopolitical tensions at the games, she says it is the athletes themselves that “scrape the grime” off the Games and make them so inspiring. The effort and commitment to compete after training for four years, she says, is one of the “great competitive miracles we all get to watch.”
Season 7 of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, launches nationwide on public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don''t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
The politics of the Paris Olympics
As the political drama ramps up in the US, Democrats have acted with remarkable speed and solidarity to pass the torch to VP Kamala Harris. At the same time, the world’s most elite athletes are gathering along the Seine in Paris to light a more literal torch, of the Olympic variety.
Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about some of the biggest stories leading into the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, including security challenges, the ban on Russia’s Olympic Committee due to the war in Ukraine, and growing calls for reform within the IOC, which has faced accusations of corruption and bid rigging in recent years. The IOC insists the Games aren’t political, but in practice, that’s never really been the case. This year, a doping scandal involving Chinese swimmers, Russian disinformation, and mounting calls for Israeli athletes to compete under a neutral flag threaten to overshadow the City of Light’s big celebration. Jenkins and Bremmer also dig into Saudi sportswashing, China’s relationship with pro sports teams in the US, and the WNBA’s most-watched season in history.
Season 7 of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, launches nationwide on public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don''t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, security fears and logistical challenges abound
The 2024 Summer Olympics kick off in Paris, France, this week, as the world’s most elite athletes and over 300,000 spectators gather along the Seine for one of the most ambitious Opening Ceremonies in the history of the Games. But will Paris pull it off?
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins for a preview of what to expect at the 2024 Paris Olympics, along with security challenges and political concerns going into this year’s Games. Global conflicts loom large, threatening to overshadow the City of Light’s big celebration. Following the IOC ban on Russia’s Olympic Committee due to the war in Ukraine, Russia has been spreading AI-generated misinformation around the Games, increasing the threat of terrorism. The 2024 Games will be a huge challenge because the Olympic sites are embedded throughout the city of Paris and across France. The logistics are so complicated Jenkins predicts it will be “the most difficult Olympics to secure by a long shot.”
Look for the full interview with Sally Jenkins on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, airing on US public television soon (check local listings.)
Season 7 of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, launches nationwide on public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don''t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
- What We’re Watching: Putin’s propaganda, new Iran-Israel feud, Title 42 tussle ›
- Ian Explains: Who does China and Russia want to win the US election, Biden or Trump? ›
- France’s center right splits over cooperating with Le Pen ›
- Politics, protest & the Olympics: the IOC’s Dick Pound ›
- Paris 2024 Olympics chief: “We are ready” ›
- Could the Olympics ever be free of politics? - GZERO Media ›
- The dangers of sportswashing for the Olympics - GZERO Media ›
- Ian Explains: Why authoritarian rulers love the Olympics - GZERO Media ›
Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Women's Group A - Canada vs New Zealand - Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium, Saint-Etienne, France - July 25, 2024. Katie Kitching of New Zealand in action with Jade Rose of Canada.
Drama abounds at the Olympics. But not the kind you’d expect.
Canada is making news at the Olympics already – but not the good kind. On Wednesday, two Canadians – analyst Joseph Lombardi and assistant coach Jasmine Mander – were sent home and removed from the women’s soccer team after a member of the support team was caught spying with a drone on the New Zealand women’s team practice. Lombardi was also given a suspended prison sentence from French officials, which he accepted.
Team Canada Head Coach Bev Priestman opted to voluntarily sit out the first game against New Zealand. Fifa is now investigating Priestman, Lombardi, and Mander.
The drone scandal couldn’t entirely distract, however, from the news that singer Celine Dion was seen in Paris, fueling speculation that she could perform at the Olympics. Dion was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome in 2022, which has left her unable to perform.
She won’t be the only artist catching attention in Paris, though. Snoop Dog will carry the Olympic torch on Friday.
The US is expected to win 123 medals and lead the count at the Paris games, while Canada is anticipated to bring home 22, putting them just outside the top 10.
Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Alsu Kurmasheva, who is in custody after she was accused of violating Russia's law on foreign agents, attends a court hearing in Kazan, Russia May 31, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Russia jails another US journalist, Latinos warm to RFK Jr., Paris tightens security for Olympics, India looks to roll in the deep, HIV prevention milestone for Africa
6.5: A Russian court revealed on Monday that Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was sentenced on Friday to 6.5 years in prison for “spreading false information” about the Russian army. Kurmasheva, a dual citizen who works for the US-funded Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe service in Prague, was arrested while visiting her family in Russia in October. Her husband says the charges relate to a book of profiles of anti-war Russians that Kurmasheva edited. She is the second American journalist that Russia has sentenced to a lengthy prison term in the past four days alone.
24: ¿Latinos por Roberto? A new poll shows 24% of US Hispanic voters support third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. That’s nearly 10 points above the national average. Respondents were split 36 to 36 on Biden vs. Trump. The poll was taken before Biden dropped out of the race, but it illustrates the increasingly uphill battle that Democrats face in keeping the support of a traditionally blue voting group. Read our in-depth look at the “Latino vote” here.
30,000: France is not messing around when it comes to security for the Paris Olympics, which begin later this week. Authorities will deploy 30,000 police throughout the event, rising to 45,000 during peak times. Alongside them will be 15,000 French military personnel and nearly 2,000 foreign police. Security officials have already conducted hundreds of raids, arresting members of far-right, far-left, and jihadist groups suspected of planning attacks. At least two plots have reportedly been broken up already.
4: India wants to get into the deep-sea mining game as it tries to secure supplies of rare minerals critical for its economy and energy transition. New Delhi has already won several licenses for the Indian Ocean, but it’s eyeing a bigger prize: a vast swathe of the Pacific between Mexico and Hawaii. Experts say it will take India at least four years to develop the required skills and technology to compete with Asian rival China. In the meantime, international authorities are still working out rules for deep-sea mining.
56: For the first time ever, a majority of new HIV infections occurred outside of sub-Saharan Africa, a UN report says. The milestone, based on numbers from 2023, reflects sustained progress against the disease by governments in Africa – where new infections have fallen 56% since 2010. Globally, new infections have fallen 39% during that time. But experts warn that case numbers are currently rising elsewhere in the world, particularly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and north Africa.
Sportscaster Al Michaels, Hall of Fame inductee poses at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 22nd annual Hall of Fame gala in Beverly Hills, California March 11, 2013.
Al Michaels meets A.I. Michaels
NBC is gearing up to broadcast the 2024 Summer Olympics, which kick off on July 26 in Paris, France. But when you watch, listen closely — NBC’s most recognizable voice might sound a little different.
Legendary broadcaster Al Michaels gave his permission for NBC to digitally replicate his voice and use it on an Olympics-related video feature on its streaming service Peacock during the upcoming games. Michaels’s voice will be used on the Peacock program, “Your Daily Olympic Recap,” which summarizes highlights of each day’s events — but Michaels won’t be reading it. NBC will use generative AI to analyze what happened at the games and write a script for the faux-Michaels.
While AI may never replace our most cherished play-by-play announcers and color commentary teams, NBC is leaning into two things that AI does quite well: make summaries and, as we explored in a recent newsletter, replicate voices. We’ll see if the strategy can bring more eyeballs to often-overlooked digital venues by adding some ersatz star power.