A professional French diver had a very uncomfortable incident at the opening ceremony for a venue that will accommodate swimming, water polo, and diving at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris when he tripped while attempting a jump.
From the 10-meter board, 33 feet in the air, the mishap forced him to tumble backwards and smash his back on the board before plunging into the water at the new Olympic Aquatic Centre. Unfortunately, French President Emmanuel Macron was in attendance and witnessed the event.
Jandard, who was understandably ashamed and mortified, was able to thank supporters and make jokes about the incident on French television and social media.
Jandard trips
Because of the incident, the 26-year-old diver had lower back bruises and welts from the fall, but he is still training and is not seriously hurt.
He admitted: “I fell in front of the president. I fell in front of the whole of France… I’ve broken boards before, but the board had never broken me before. Now it has.”
Life's ups and downs… Hilarious moment #French diver slips on diving board at #Olympic#POOL inauguration ceremony attended by Emmanuel #Macron. This unlucky athlete won silver in the Team Event alongside Jade Gillet at the #World Aquatics Championships in 2022. pic.twitter.com/hYpiqt4pbI
“I would have preferred this ceremony to have gone well from start to finish… There was that little hitch. If it made people smile a little, so much the better,” Jandard then added.
Jandard competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and earned silver and bronze medals for France at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. It is anticipated that he will compete for a gold medal in his native nation.
British diver Tom Daley has officially secured his spot on Team GB’s diving team for the upcoming Paris Olympics, marking his fifth Olympic appearance.
After taking a hiatus from the sport following his gold medal win at the previous Olympics, Daley is set to make his comeback alongside teammate Noah Williams in the 10m synchronized platform event. Their partnership resulted in a silver medal at the World Championships following Daley’s return to competition in December last year.
Reflecting on Daley’s remarkable return, Williams acknowledged his unparalleled talent, stating, “No one else in the world would take two years out and be as good as he is.”
Initially presumed to retire during his time off, Daley’s decision to return to diving was influenced by his son Robbie’s desire to witness his father compete in the Olympic Games.
The fifth for Daley
His comeback started at the British National Diving Cup last December. Earlier this year, he and Williams won the world silver, guaranteeing Great Britain’s place in the 10m synchronized event in Paris. The pair also won gold at the World Cup event in Berlin last March.
Later this month, Williams will take the flight to the States, where he will train with Daley for two weeks in order to get the two of them tuned in before the Olympic games.
On the other hand, in the women’s 10m platform synchronized event, Team GB has also confirmed world bronze medallists Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, the daughter of TV presenter Fred Sirieix, while Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding will compete in the men’s 3m springboard event, which Laugher won gold in with Chris Mears in Rio in 2016.
In the women’s 3m springboard event, Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew-Jensen, who took home silver and bronze respectively at the 2023 world championships, will compete together.
Moreover, following the Aquatics GB Diving Championships, which are held in Birmingham from May 23–26, the British competitors for the individual events in Paris will soon be announced.
Safety is the priority in track and field, so fans were shocked to hear that Olympic sprinter Trayvon Bromell would need surgery to remove a bothersome bone spur in his ankle, which would prevent him from competing.
This setback is similar to his heel issues from 2016 when he required numerous surgeries and prolonged rehabilitation. Fans are devastated by Bromell’s potential third Olympic appearance, but they are also optimistic about his recovery.
On his way to the Olympics in Paris, Trayvon Bromell, the 2016 World Indoor 60-meter champion, ran into more difficulties. Bromell pulled up in the 100-meter final at the Meeting Città di Savona in Italy, clutching his thigh as he crossed the finish line, according to Chris Chavez on X.
Bromell: Another setback
Fans desire of a speedy recovery but their thoughts are fueled by recollections of his incredible 10.14 run in Jacksonville, which was marred by a persistent cramp during only his second meet.
Comfort comes from his devoted wife, Alexys Bromell. The story of Trayvon’s tenacity emerges, as a monument to success in the face of hardship.
Alongside Olympic champions Andre De Grasse and Marcell Jacobs, Trayvon Bromell, the 2022 Diamond League 100-meter champion, secured third place with a time of 10.135 seconds on April 27, 2024, in the East Coast Relays.
The following day, he got married to his longtime partner and current wife, Alexys Bromell. They joyfully shared pictures from their wedding day on Instagram, which included their mesmerizing first dance.
“I’m only permitted to reveal a limited amount of my personal life without restriction, and the most of my posts are track-related. But it’s really something amazing to be able to share this moment with all of you and have your support”. Trayvon quoted to essentiallysports.com.
As the 2024 Olympics approaches, get to know these several athletes who have performed and delivered their best in their respective sports last 2023 and now have high hopes for Team USA at this coming summer games in Paris.
Athletes showcase their skills and capabilities, 12 months prior to the Olympic year. Aside from USA’s Simone Biles who is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, here are five other American athletes who proved that they deserve the spotlight at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Track and Field – Sha’Carri Richardson
Photo: Instagram.com/itsshacarri
Richardson has secured a great performing year by winning sprint races in the Doha Diamond League event, the Miramar Invitational. She had beaten Jamaican athlete Shericka Jackson and double Olympic short sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the World’s Championships in Budapest with a record of 10.65 seconds ahead in the 100m division. She also bagged bronze in the 200m division, and her presence helped Team USA to take home gold in the 4x100m event.
Her athletic performance in 2023 indeed showed that she had moved on past the penalty that caused her to not play at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. With her determined attitude to win, Richardson can run for greater achievements in the 2024 Olympics, and hopes to make a memorable Olympic debut.
Swimming – Hunter Armstrong
Photo: Instagram.com/hunterarmstrong_
Well-known as “The Magician”, Armstrong had shown surprising results in the past year. He had won gold in the non-Olympic 50-meter backstroke, and also bagged bronze in the 100-meter backstroke at the World Aquatic Championships. More so, he had competed for the gold-winning 4×100-meter medley relay squad.
Will he be able to do more of his magic tricks on the pool at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics?
3×3 Basketball – Jimmer Fredette
Photo: Instagram.com/jimmerfredette_32
When American fans hear the name Jimmer Fredette, his heroics in the NCAA tournament for Brigham Young University and his legendary time in the NBA will first come to mind. Now, it is the start of her career as a 3×3 basketball star.
Fredette is well-known as a veteran basketball player, but he is new to the 3×3 set-up. However, despite the newness of the game, it did not stop him from leading Team USA to achieve gold at the Pan American games, and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. They also won silver in the World Cup.
Unfortunately, the men of Team USA did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics last 2020. It is Fredette and his teammate’s mission to win the first 3×3 medal and bring it home to their beloved country.
Gymnastics – Shilese Jones
Photo: Instagram.com/shicanfly
After the unfortunate events that had happened in Jones’ life back in 2020–not qualifying for the 2020 Olympics team and the loss of her father due to a kidney disease–she could have easily given up elite gymnastics. However, her commitment had helped her become one of the best gymnasts in the world today.
Jones was part of the U.S. team that competed at the Gymnastics World Championships, and they had won gold. She also won bronze in the all-around and bars.
This Olympics, she is more than determined to continue proving to the world that she is one of the finest gymnasts. With Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, and Gabby Douglas, Jones can be a part of the new American Dream Team.
Wrestling – Zain Retherford
Photo: Instagram.com/zaintrainusa
Retherford had an unpleasant season back in 2022, despite winning silver in the world championships. Last year, he came back stronger and took home gold in 70kg.
Having the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials at his alma mater, Penn State, the wrestler will definitely have a huge crown beaming with pride as he begins his journey to the Olympics.
Australia’s Jessica Fox is widely seen as the greatest individual slalom canoe paddler of all time. The 30-year-old eight-time world champion has four Olympic medals under her belt.
The Paris Olympics mark a return to roots for her.
She was born in Marseille, France, but moved to Australia with her family at the age of four.
Selected to be the Australian flag-bearer at the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony, she said it was “probably the greatest moment of my career” . She shared the honour with the Australian field hockey player and five-time Olympian Eddie Ockenden.
Fox, whose mother is French, said, “Obviously that French connection is very strong and it’s such a wonderful, special, unique moment to be able to bring my two cultures together: the French, the Australian,” according to Australia’s ABC News.
She comes from a family of Olympian paddlers.
Her younger sister, Noemi Fox, 27, is making her Olympic debut in Paris, competing in the women’s kayak cross event.
Their mother, Myriam Jerusalmi, won bronze for France at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games and coaches Jessica. Their father, Richard, paddled for Britain at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The Paris Olympics will be Jessica Fox’s fourth Summer Games.
She made her debut at the 2012 London Olympics, where she won a silver in the K1 event. Four years later, she won a bronze in the same event at the Rio de Janeiro Games. She won not only a bronze in K1 at Tokyo but struck gold as well. Fox like several others had been been urging women be allowed to compete in canoe slalom, and when it was introduced in the Tokyo Olympics, she won gold in that C1 event.
Outside the Olympics, Fox has won 22 medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, including 14 golds, five silvers and three bronzes. Her eight gold medals in individual events make her the most successful paddler, male or female, in World Championship history.
Leon Marchand wins historic double: 200m butterfly and breaststroke on same night, an unprecedented feat
Only three days after winning his first Olympic gold medal, Paris Games wunderkind Leon Marchand won two more golds on Wednesday (July 31). In an unprecedented feat, the 22-yer-old Frenchman won the 200-metre butterfly and the 200-metre breaststroke on the same night, both in Olympic record times.
He had already won the 400-metre individual medley on July 28.
After coming from behind to beat world-record holder and defending Olympic champion Kristóf Milák in the 200-metre butterfly, Marchand romped through the 200-metre breaststroke.
From @TheAthletic: The Frenchman Leon Marchand just accomplished something that no swimmer has done before: He won the 200m breaststroke and the 200m fly at the same Olympic Games. And he won them both on the same night. https://t.co/lFMtVjiQuGpic.twitter.com/2pMYOfwU2U
More than 15,000 fans—many of them holding up cardboard cutouts of his smiling face—nearly brought down the roof of La Defense Arena. “Léon! Léon! Léon!” they screamed.
Butterfly
Trailing most of the way in the butterfly, Marchand overtook Hungary’s Milák on the final lap. He finished with an Olympic record of 1:51.71, winning by four-hundredths of a second.
Canada’s Ilya Kharun won the bronze.
After the award ceremony, Marchand was back in the practice pool. There was another race to go.
Breaststroke
Marchand led all the way in the 200-metre breaststroke, touching out in two minutes 05.85 seconds.
Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook, the 2021 champion in Tokyo, had to be content with the silver while Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands took the bronze.
“It was pretty crazy to have the chance to be in the final in both races,” said Marchand. “And then I just loved it, it was huge.
“I’ve fulfilled a lot of dreams since I’ve been here. Doing this double was also something I felt capable of, but to really do it in the real world is something else.”
“I’m so very proud of him,” said his coach, American Bob Bowman, who also coached the great Michael Phelps. “That’s a tremendous, historic effort.”
Even Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time who won 28 medals, had not performed a double like Marchand.
