Paris 2024, week #2: the size 13 shoes of Usain Bolt
Welcome to Paris! The 2024 Olympic Games officially began on July 26th. 329 sets of medals will be handed out in just 19 days packed with non-stop action. Following it all will be a handful, which is why we will hand-pick and preview the key events of each week.
Squeezing it all into a weekend and just two full weeks sounds unthinkable? It certainly takes a lot of planning. For many around the world, swimming and athletics are the two anchor sports of the Olympics; traditionally, swimming competitions are held during the first week while athletics have to wait for their turn patiently (fun fact: it will be reversed for LA 2028).
We have already witnessed success and heartbreak in Paris, which also means the swimming part is well underway. But few events can compete with athletics attention-wise. Many have never rowed or break-danced, but we certainly have ran as fast as possible or thrown a rock as far as possible. Whatever. The events are just easy for everyone to grasp.
The fastest man alive
“Nobody roots for Goliath.”
Wilt Chamberlain once dominated basketball to such an extent that rules had to be adjusted. Many of his ludicrous records still stand half a century later. He scored 101 points – in one game – more than 62 years ago and no one has ever come close, even though scoring 50 or even 60 is not that big of a deal these days. A one-of-a-kind athlete? Maybe not, but certainly way, way ahead of his time.
The quote above from Chamberlain sums up how the big man felt himself. Being too good at something makes a lot of people root against you or just plain jealous. It can take years, sometimes decades, to truly appreciate such greatness. In the present day, think Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo – once either loved or hated (by the other side, because you had to pick a side), they are now almost unanimously respected.
But some special athletes are universally loved from the start. Think Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan. Or Usain Bolt. Between 2008 and 2016, the towering Jamaican was as close to unbeatable as they come, and he did it all without seemingly breaking a sweat. All smiles, always playful. Some say he saved athletics. Everyone knew him. Everyone.
With a perfect nine-out-of-nine at the Olympics, Bolt was the fastest man alive without question. And while his records – the world mark of 9.58 from Berlin 2009, and the Olympic record of 9.63 from London 2012 – still stand, he has been retired for more than half a decade now. Usain Bolt remains the benchmark for every sprinter.
The five noteworthy finals since 2017 have all produced a different winner with Justin Gatlin, Christian Coleman, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Fred Kerley, and Noah Lyles all holding the fastest man baton for a period of time. Furthermore: 11 different athletes (from 15 possible spots) have finished on the podium. The field is wide open.
American sprinter Noah Lyles approaches the Olympics after becoming the first athlete since Bolt to secure a sprint triple at the World Championships in Budapest a year ago, but a season-best of 9.81 leaves Lyles third after new Jamaican sensation Kishane Thompson (9.77) and African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79). While the latter feels like a one-off (the second-best result of Omanyala is 9.98), Thompson has thrice ran under 9.85.
Another 23-year-old Jamaican Oblique Seville and Lyles complete a trio of athletes who have managed that feat, but a total of 32 sprinters have broken the 10-second barrier in 2024 and 11 of them have ran 9.90 or faster. Wide open indeed.
Key fixtures of week #2
- August 3rd: Men’s 100m Preliminary Round (11:35) and Round 1 (12:45)
- August 4th: Men’s 100m Semi-Final (21:00) and Final (22:50)
A dream come true
“It is good that big men cry.”
Can anyone win Olympic gold if in the right place at the right time? For the Latvian quartet of Karlis Lasmanis, Nauris Miezis (quoted), Agnis Cavars, and Edgars Kruminš, it all came together in Tokyo three summers ago. 3×3 basketball was included for the first time; there were no expectation for them to deliver. But they did.
To be frank: if one is really, really good at basketball, he will stand out in a nation of just 1.8 million people. But they had been either promising youngsters (once) or just plain average playing 5v5; Kruminš played his last two seasons for a notoriously lacklustre Valga-Valka team without standing out one bit. Five years later, he was an Olympic champion and a national hero.
The Latvian Olympic Committee had invested in the 3×3 project since 2017, but even they could not have foreseen such an outcome. In Paris, Lasmanis and Miezis are back for more, joined by Francis Lacis and Zigmars Raimo – yes, the same Raimo who was a role player for Kalev/Cramo. If they can do it, maybe everyone has a chance.
Serbia has dominated the World Cup scene, winning six out of the first eight tournaments while Team USA triumphed in 2019. France, Poland, Lithuania, and the Netherlands have also intervened in distributing the medals over the years.
Key fixtures of week #2
- July 30th: Lithuania – Latvia
- August 2nd: Serbia – Latvia
Eight participating teams form one group and will play a round-robin. The first two will progress to the semi-finals while teams placed from third to sixth will enter the quarter-finals.
Team Estonia will hope to earn their first medal after fencer Nelli Differt was bitterly left fourth. There is hope, mostly in the decathlon: Johannes Erm was crowned the European Champion with a new personal best in June and holds down second place in the season rankings while Karel Tilga finished fourth at the Budapest World Championships last summer.
Golf and triathlon will also commence.
Let the games continue!
