PARIS – The enhancement of sports facilities at the Paris Games wasn’t limited to Olympic venues.
The City of Paris also reinvigorated community sports courts, a vital component of any neighborhood’s urban culture.
This isn’t a new concept. When Phoenix has hosted big events, professional leagues and local organizing committees often contribute money to improve youth fields and and athletic structures. But it was particularly important in Paris, where updating the sports landscape requires a deft touch in a city knows for its one-of-kind architecture. Continue reading “Olympics bring vibrant sports courts to Paris’ often forgotten neighborhoods”
CHICAGO – Democrats put a bright spotlight on Phoenix Rep. Ruben Gallego at their national convention, underscoring the importance of his race with Republican Kari Lake for an open U.S. Senate seat.
Both hope to succeed Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who announced in March that she would not seek reelection. Democrats would struggle to keep their narrow majority if they lose in Arizona.
CHICAGO – Black Democrats account for a relatively small share of the electorate in Arizona, but they’re thrilled at the prospect of electing Kamala Harris as president.
“Her candidacy is a big deal for the African American community in Arizona,” said Nicole Brown, a communications strategist from Tempe and according to state party officials, one of 18 Black delegates from Arizona at the Democratic National Convention this week.
CHICAGO – Former President Donald Trump has driven some Republicans out of his party. Democrats have spent the week offering them a new home.
They have toned down progressive language in their platform. At the Democratic National Convention, they have framed Trump as an extremist and deployed disaffected Republicans to encourage others to defect to Vice President Kamala Harris.
“John McCain’s Republican Party is gone,” Mesa Mayor John Giles, who co-chairs the Arizona chapter of Republicans for Harris, said from the convention stage, invoking the late senator known for working across party lines. “Let’s turn the page. Let’s put country first.”
CHICAGO – Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, fresh from Kamala Harris’ vice presidential short list, kicked off the morning for Wisconsin Democrats on Tuesday with a plea to avoid complacency and get voters to the polls.
“We cannot allow Donald Trump to get within a mile of the White House again,” the former astronaut told the breakfast crowd on Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention. “This is not rocket science. It isn’t. If it was, I could help you with that.”
PARIS – Hosting the Olympics gives any city a chance to show itself off to the world. Paris, with the Eiffel Tower lit up at night among several glamorous visuals, hardly needed any introduction when the world converged upon the City of Light for the 33rd Olympiad.
Even in such a picturesque atmosphere, the distinct street culture survives the millions of tourists that flock to Paris every year. Graffiti lines many public spaces and is embraced as part of a cultural identity. Among the arrondissements, it might as well be their screaming crowd backdrop as they play against their friends and foes in a little-known, tight-knit community of Paris street sports. Continue reading “From skateboarding to basketball, Paris showcased its street sport culture during Olympics”
PARIS – Even though the Paris Games are over, a commitment to the mental health of athletes is not.
While it’s the pinnacle of sporting achievement, the Olympics create a pressure-filled environment for athletes that almost no other competition can mimic. The weight of a nation, the expectations of greatness and the knowledge that this may be the only chance at gold all take a toll on an Olympian’s mental health.
The IOC and Team USA are proactive in protecting the athletes’ mental health as well as finding ways to help block out social media attacks. The Paris Olympics highlighted that mental health awareness continues to grow through therapy, high-tech relaxation and AI.
PARIS – From this year’s Paralympics’ mascot proudly displaying a disability to the introduction of the first nursery in the Olympic Village, the Paris Games inspired conversations about inclusivity.
Although the Games are coming to a close, the discussion is far from over. Paris has long been a site of historic milestones for women, from Joan of Arc to Marie Curie. This year’s Olympics, the first to achieve full gender parity – an equal number of male and female athletes represented – marks significant progress since women were first allowed to compete in 1900, in Paris.
At the time, women only represented 2.2% of athletes and were limited to competing in tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf. Today, that has expanded to 20 mixed gender events and 152 female competitions at this year’s Games, including triathlon, which has been put in the spotlight recently due to the controversy over swimming in the Seine River. Continue reading “As Paris Olympics comes to a close, gender equity, inclusivity discussions continue”
PARIS – Hollywood may be the cinematic capital of the world, but few cities are featured more in film than the City Of Light. From American favorite such as “The Da Vinci Code,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Mission Impossible: Fallout” and “Taken” to French hits like “Amélie,” Paris has provided the backdrop for some of cinema’s best projects.
Paris’ flexibility as a film-making city has no bounds. The city has countless iconic scenes from movies. With its rich film history, more and more directors requested to shoot in Paris following the COVID-19 shutdown.
PARIS — It was clear early on that diver Delaney Schnell had the right personality to become an Olympian.
Her mother, Cindy Feaman, who was her middle school cross country coach, recalls Schnell not wanting to run one day. All of a sudden, something clicked in her as she walked to the trophy table.
“She walked over to the award table, and there was this horse trophy,” Feaman said. “I saw her eyes, she’s staring at it, I saw her eyes, and I knew she was going to run that race hard. She came in second, but she gave it her all to try and get that trophy.”
PARIS – Weeks before starting her sophomore year of college at the University of Arizona, Maryam Sheikhalizadehkhanghah made her second appearance on the Olympic stage in Paris, swimming the 50-meter freestyle for team Azerbaijan.
At just 20, Sheikhalizadehkhanghah has made a name for herself in multiple countries. Born in Iran, she immigrated to Azerbaijan at a young age to pursue her swimming dreams and then made another pivotal choice to move to the U.S. to attend and compete for the University of Arizona.
“It’s a really good feeling and I’m really glad that I could represent my country for a second time and I’m also really proud of myself because it’s a lot of challenges and a lot of hard working to be able to stay at this place,” Sheikhalizadehkhanghah said. “I’m also really proud that I also represent my university as a Wildcat here.” Continue reading “University of Arizona swimmer Sheikhalizadehkhanghah represents Azerbaijan in Paris Olympics”
PARIS – Walking down the canals and streets of Paris, the Summer Olympics’ presence is felt everywhere. Multi-colored signs say “Paris 2024,” fan festivals buzz with thousands of people and stadiums at the feet of iconic Parisian architecture highlight the energy of the Games.
Slug: Sports–Nico Young Olympics Reflection, 1,000 words.
Photo available.
By Abigail Scott Cronkite News
PARIS – For Nico Young, the moment was like no other.
“Walking out into the stadium was overwhelming,” he said. “At first, it felt like being at a concert, but I was the singer, the one everyone was looking at.”
Many of them were. On Aug. 2, the day of the Paris Olympics’ 10,000 meters, Young was barely 22, the youngest U.S. Olympian in the race in 20 years. And his time of 26 minutes, 58.11 seconds was so fast it would have set the Olympic record at any other Summer Games. Except this competition was so fast Young, who stayed with the leading pack much of the race, finished 12th.
PARIS – For the first time, amateur runners had a chance to follow in the Olympians’ footsteps and run the same course used for the marathon earlier in the day. Among the athletes that competed Saturday?
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
The congresswoman is a fitness fanatic, having competed in multiple marathons and Ironman triathlons, summited Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013 and hiked Mount Fuji in July
“The opportunity to run in the Olympics, that’s like a bucket list, so I couldn’t miss it,” Sinema told Cronkite News Friday in Paris.
And she didn’t. She was one of 20,000 amateur runners who competed in the Marathon Pour Tous (Marathon For All), finishing in 4:48.48. The race started in Paris and looped through Versailles, passing through some of the city’s most iconic landmarks.
The senator, 48, started running cross country in high school, and by her own admission, wasn’t very good. Not until her 30s and now 40s did she start getting faster, she said, a classic late bloomer.
“Growing up, my family, we were pretty poor, and so I didn’t have a lot of money to play lots of different sports,” Sinema said. “But running, all you need is a pair of tennis shoes. I just kind of increased my distance over the years and found it’s a great way to relieve stress and also hang out with friends.”
It wasn’t long before Sinema was competing in long distance races and finishing well. In 2019, she qualified for the Boston Marathon, and in a three-mile race for government officials and media staff, she posted the fasted female time and broke a senate record in the process. Sinema would soon start competing in Ironman triathlons, which required her to learn how to swim.
“I didn’t have a lot of access to swimming (as a child), so I was an adult learner,” Sinema said. “I can swim good now, you know, I’m pretty decent.”
In all, she’s done four full Ironmans and “a bunch” of half Ironmans.
Sinema trains almost everyday to keep in shape. Within the busy schedule of being in Congress, how does she find the time to train? It’s simple.
“The reality is, I just wake up early in the morning,” Sinema said. “If you are dedicated to it, you can get the training in, you can work your job and you can enjoy this incredible opportunity of running.”
The reality is she may have more time to train in the future. In March, she announced she would not run for a second term.
She does her best to run or cycle every single day and lift weights a few times a week in order to not lose muscle mass. While some are collecting chip crumbs on their couches, she’s making sure she’s in physical shape to allow for her demanding athletic schedule. If she’s on the treadmill though, she might watch a Netflix show or two.
“I like ‘The Gentlemen,’” Sinema said. “There was a movie, and then they made a Netflix show, and they’re both very good. I would highly recommend it.”
Another advantage of coming to Paris? The anonymity. It’s a far cry from the U.S. where security escorts her wherever she goes.
“Nobody knows who I am here, nor do they care,” Sinema said. “So I get to be kind of normal. It’s wonderful.”
The same can’t be said for the incredible athletes who are recognized everywhere they go that Sinema has been following throughout the Olympics.
“I am one of those people who struggles with productivity during the Olympics because I obsessively watch everything and I get super hyped,” Sinema said. “Obviously the U.S. athletes are amazing, and we’re killing it in track and field.”
With less than 100 days until the election, Sinema preaches a message of inclusivity, saying as a country we have more in common with each other than we don’t, and the Olympics promote the same message.
“What I love about the Olympics is how it brings people from all over the world together, and the camaraderie and support that you see through sport is amazing,” Sinema said. “It has the power to transcend pettiness and politics and show the real heart of the human spirit and bring us together.
“The person who’s making the most noise on Twitter is not usually the one who’s going to solve your problems.”
Ariizona Sen. Krysten Sinema meets with media Friday in Paris, where she will run in the “Marathon Pour Tous” (the Marathon for Everyone) Saturday on the same course on which the athletes compete. (Photo courtesy of Cronkite News)
PARIS – With over 15 augmented reality experiences developed, this year’s Summer Olympics is incorporating AR like never before.
The IOC and the Paris 2024 organizing committee engaged in a variety of digital partnerships to bring AR into the Olympics. From the world’s first AR vending machine to Olympic-themed filters and Lenses, each AR experience offers a new way for users to engage with this year’s Games.
PARIS – The Paris Olympics have taken social media by storm, and at the top of the trending list are the beds that were provided in the Olympic Village.
“Oh my God, these cardboard beds are so stiff,” said Sierra Vista native Jasmine Schofield, a swimmer competing for Dominica this summer. “It’s actually terrible.”
Slug: Sports–Drag Community Reaction Olympics, 830 words.
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By Abilgail Scott Cronkite News
PARIS – A man painted entirely in blue sits on top of a lavish table, surrounded by people in extravagant, festive outfits. To many, the scene feels like a modern twist on a Dionysian feast, with everyone enjoying rich food and wine in a lively, joyful atmosphere that channels the spirit of the Greek god of celebration.
Others saw the recent Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony in a different light, suggesting it attacked Christianity and questioned its inclusion of drag queens in the event, prompting many in that community to come to the show’s defense.
“This is very French, to be provocative, because in France we read Voltaire literature and Enlightenment literature, which is always making fun of religion, making fun of the president,” said Lola von Flame, a performer at Madame Arthur, a renowned cabaret venue in Paris, who added that satire and challenging authority are important in French culture. Continue reading “As closing ceremony nears, Paris drag community offers support of artistic Olympic celebrations”
PARIS – Few expressions of human creativity are as freeing as art, and dancing is surely one of its most taxing forms.
Break dancing – officially called breaking – has long been a powerful form of self-expression for urban youth. Originating in New York City, kids have been popping and locking to whatever the currently charting hip-hop tracks were since the late 1960s and early 1970s. Breaking – while at times can be aggressive – is an interactive, intimate, liberating and spiritual connection between the music and dancers.
PARIS – Snoop Dogg isn’t the only one looking forward to breaking’s debut at the Olympics this year. Unfortunately for the darling of the Paris Games, he won’t get to see the sport in 2028 when the Summer Games land in Los Angeles, his home city.
The inclusion of sports such as breaking are part of a flexible process to align with the goals of each host city’s organizing committee, which “proposes events that it feels are fit their vision for their specific edition of the Games,” an IOC spokesman said in an email.
PARIS – From sitting courtside with Snoop Dogg to fan-girling over Simon Biles, the U.S. women’s basketball team is determined to make the most of its time on and off the court.
Team USA, which takes on Nigeria Wednesday, understands part of bonding with teammates is what you do on the court, but also what happens off the court. Participating in the Olympics is an experience that athletes recognize is rare, and seeing other athletes perform makes them become like everyone else watching at home – a fan.
This approach to balance is paying off. The U.S. women beat Nigeria 88-74 in the quarterfinals Wednesday behind A’ja Wilson’s 20 points and 11 rebounds.
