As a young girl, Marisa Howard dreamed about becoming an Olympian one day. But her focus was on another Olympic sport, gymnastics. She had no idea what the 3,000-meter steeplechase even was.

She also had no idea she’d be a mom when the dream actually came true.

Over the last two decades, Marisa, 31, has gone through numerous highs and lows, near-misses, injuries, a lack of sponsor support, and joyful life changes—most notably giving birth to son, Kai, in 2022. But the steeplechaser from Boise, Idaho, never let go of the dream. Relying on her faith, a strong family support system, and the frugal but full life she shares with her husband, Jeff, the dream came true on June 27 with a third-place finish in the steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

After chipping away at her craft for three Olympic cycles,Ìę Marisa ran the race of her life—finishing with a 15-second personal best of 9 minutes and 7.14 seconds—to earn a spot on Team USA.

Her dream of running for Team USA in the Olympics officially materialized on August 4 when she lined up to race in the prelims of the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Paris. She ran with the lead pack in her heat as long as she could, but with two laps to go she slid to seventh and finished in that position in 9:24.78, missing the chance to advance to the August 6 final by two places and about seven seconds.

“I think it just becomes a lot more real when you see people that have been kind of knocking on the door for years and finally break through. It’s like, ‘Wow, we’re human and we can do it.’ Dreams do come true,” Marisa said. “I was six or seven or eight years old when this Olympic dream was born, and I plan on competing until he’s that age, hopefully, to show him what it’s like to do hard things and chase your dreams. I think it’ll be cool in 10 years when I show Kai these videos and be able to tell him, “Look at what Mommy did when you were two.”

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In between making the team in late June and arriving in Paris in late July, Marisa’s life returned to normal—as if being a mom with a 2-year-old is ever normal, or at least consistent, on a day-to-day basis. That month included rough bouts of stomach flu for her and her son, the continued day-to-day management of Kai with Jeff, juggling workouts with childcare help from family and friends, reestablishing normal sleep patterns for everyone, and of course, finalizing travel plans to get the family to Paris.

It all came with a humbling reminder of the perspective that has been the bedrock of Marisa’s postpartum revival as an athlete.

“The day after I qualified, we were driving back home to Idaho and we were all tired. Kai was exhausted and screaming in the car, and I told my husband, ‘He doesn’t care that I’m an Olympian, he just wants food and sleep and, really, I’m just mom,’” she said. “It’s humbling—there’s nothing more humbling than taking care of your sick baby—and I think as a parent, we’re humbled every single day, and we come up short sometimes despite doing the best we can, but I’m thankful that there’s grace and forgiveness. I think it makes those high moments so much sweeter.”

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Don’t Call it a Comeback

Marisa is part of a new wave of elite runners that aren’t putting their family plans on hold due to their career, and one of several moms who competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Stephanie Bruce raced the 10,000 meters just nine months postpartum after giving birth to her daughter, Sophia, in September 2023, while Kate Grace ran strong preliminary and semifinal 800-meter races to advance to the final of that event just 15 months after giving birth to son, River, in March 2023.

Elle St. Pierre gave birth to her son, Ivan, at about the same time, and returned to racing six months postpartum, finishing seventh in a speedy 4:24 at the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City. That was just the beginning for St. Pierre, who broke the American indoor record in the mile (4:16.41) in January then won the gold medal in the 3,000 meters at the indoor world championships in Glasgow in March. At the Olympic Trials, Pierre won the 5,000 meters and placed third in the 1500, qualifying for Team USA in both events, even though she declined the Olympic entry for the 5,000.

After Howard gave birth to Kai in late May 2022, she began doing pelvic floor therapy along with general strength training and some easy jogging. By the time she started running in earnest that fall, she was surprised at how quickly her aerobic fitness came back to her.

“What’s really surprised me is that I’m able to run paces that I never hit before pregnancy with the same amount or less effort,” she says. “My aerobic engine has just gotten so strong. You do see women come back stronger, but it’s a wide range of how long it takes them to come back. ”

When she returned to the track, she was aiming for a top-three finish at the 2023 U.S. championships to qualify for the world championships in Budapest. She made it to the final and was in third place with two laps to go, but just didn’t have the closing speed. However, she did get the Olympic Trials standard by clocking a near-PR of 9:22.73, demonstrating she was just as fast as her pre-pregnancy self despite limited training and two years away from racing.

By late 2023 and early 2024, Pat McCurry, Marisa’s coach since college, was able to add more volume and intensity to her training, setting up what he thought would be her best season yet. And while Marisa admittedly didn’t race as well as hoped in her races before the Olympic Trials, McCurry knew she was capable of great things.

“She was on a different level once we got back to that base fitness post-pregnancy, and I think that’s what’s paid off in massive fitness dividends,” said McCurry, who has coached Marisa on Idaho Afoot training group since 2015. “The racing didn’t look amazing from the outside. The training was spectacular. We were doing things in training since January that we’ve never done before—just the level of intensity and volume we were sustaining was stellar.”

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Bootstrapping It

Marisa picked up running at Pasco High School in Washington, and carried on with the dream at Boise State University. There, she also met Jeff Howard, a Boise State runner who held the school record in the 10,000 meters. But more important than their common athletic passion, they shared the same Christian values that were the foundation of her life. They married in the summer of 2013 just after he graduated. He eventually took a job as a high school teacher at a nearby school, while she blossomed into a three-time NCAA Division I All-American for the Broncos, notching a runner-up finish at the 2014 NCAA championships and fourth-place finish the following year as a senior.

After she graduated, she picked up a small sponsorship deal with women’s apparel brand Oiselle and set her sights on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials . She got injured and missed the trials that year. But Howard and her husband bought a house in Boise and started their family life in earnest. That added stability, along with the guidance of McCurry, who she began working with in 2016, allowed her to dig deeper into training and continue to make progress in the steeplechase, lowering her personal best to 9:30.92 at a race in Lapinlahti, Finland.

The Oiselle sponsorship evaporated after about three years but that didn’t seem to matter. She and Jeff were living frugally and loving life, especially because, by then, most of their family had moved to Boise. Marisa had two aunts who had lived in the area before she went to college, and Jeff’s parents moved to town shortly after they were married. Marisa’s parents, and later her best friend, Marianne Green, also picked up their roots and relocated to town.

The ensuing years brought a variety of highs and lows—several near-miss fifth place finishes at U.S. championships, a silver medal at the 2019 Pan American Games, a few injuries that delayed her progress, a  breakthrough eight-second PR in the semifinals of the 2020 Olympic Trials, and, of course, welcoming Kai into the world in 2022.

What makes Marisa’s situation especially challenging is that she’s run competitively without a traditional sponsor since 2017, more or less collectively bootstrapping the dream on her husband’s high school teacher’s salary and working part-time as a schol nurse and as a coach. (She will officially join the Boise State staff as an assistant coach after the Olympics.) She often stays with friends when she travels to races and says she’s grateful to the meet directors who have flown her out to race, put her up in hotels, and also paid her to pace races.

She also earned USATF Foundation grants and in 2022 was the recipient of a $10,000 grant to offset child care expenses from a program sprinting legend Allyson Felix organized through Athleta’s Power of She Fund and the . Marisa competed at the 2024 Olympic Trials as part of the , which provides a small quarterly stipend, running apparel, and shoes to about 40 athletes in all disciplines of track and field.

“We’ve found ways to make it work. We drive used cars, and we refinanced in 2020, so thankfully our mortgage is very low,” she says. “So really a lot of my expenses are just shoes, a little bit of travel, coaching fees, gym fees, and things like that. But it does add up. But thankfully we live well within our means and are able to do it. As I’ve said before, the Lord always provides.”

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Getting It Done

But even with that support and her continued progress, Marisa entered the Olympic Trials as a dark horse contender to make Team USA. And that’s despite knowing that Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs, the top stars of the event for the past 10 years, were sidelined with injuries. She hadn’t run great in her races leading up to the trials, and her confidence was waning, McCurry says.

“I felt like not having a full contract [from a shoe sponsorship] had kind of eroded away at some of her confidence, and she was starting to have a little bit of imposter syndrome at races,” says McCurry. “We just had a really firm talk where I was like, damn it, you’re better than this,” he says. “Not we, not the training, you, Marissa Howard, are better than this.”

That pep talk was just what she needed. It helped remind Marisa about her bigger purpose, just as much as packing diapers, toys, and pajamas for Kai did before she and Jeff made the eight-hour drive to Eugene for the Olympic Trials.

In her semi-final heat at the trials on June 24, Marisa ran aggressively and finished second behind Gabbi Jennings in 9:26.38. After the race, she said she was looking forward to the final, but, for the moment, was most interested in making sure Kai got to bed on time.

Running with purpose and caring for her son emboldened her for the final, where she ran with conviction among the top five before moving into the lead briefly with a lap to go. In what was a thrilling final lap, Val Constien retook the lead and sprinted to victory down the homestretch in an Olympic Trials-record 9:03.22, followed by a surging Courtney Wayment (9:06.50) and a determined Marisa (9:07.14) as the top nine finishers all set new personal bests.

 

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“My husband and I talk about competitive greatness: You want to rise to the occasion when everyone else is at their best. So it’s like, gosh, I was able to do it! I think a lot of it for me has always been about having my priorities in place. I’m a Christian first, and then a wife, and then a mom, and then a runner. And I think if I keep those in that line, that’s where I see success,” Marisa says.

“I’ve sat next to gold medalists and other high-level athletes in chapels before U.S. championship races and they’ve told me, ‘I’ve won that gold medal and it doesn’t fill that void in my heart.’ And just knowing that a medal or success isn’t going to change you, ultimately, you have to be secure in who you are. So just remembering where my priorities lie helps to kind of keep me grounded.”

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My main memory of the Olympic Sport Climbing event in is that it was (a) confusing, and (b) a shambling mess. I came away feeling that the organizers’ incomprehensible decision to jam two totally different sports together—speed climbing, with its emphasis on moving quickly up an easy route, and lead and bouldering, with their emphasis on —ended up creating an event that was unfair to just about every athlete participating in it.

Luckily, there are two major differences between the Olympic Sport Climbing event (singular) that debuted in Tokyo three years ago and the Sport Climbing events (plural) that we’re watching in Paris this week.

Speed Is Now Its Own Event

Paris 2024 has two Sport Climbing events, with speed athletes competing for one gold medal while Boulder & Lead athletes vie for another. Is this a big deal? Emphatically yes. In a 2021 article I wrote that to ask a speed athlete to compete in Boulder & Lead is less like asking a 100-meter runner to compete in the marathon than asking a short track speed skater to compete in figure skating—two radically different sports that happen to involve ice. I still believe that. And, as evidence, I point to the fact that no athlete in Paris is competing in both the Speed and the Boulder & Lead Combined events.

Someday, perhaps, the Olympics will emulate the IFSC World Championships and give Sport Climbing four medals (Speed, Boulder, Lead, and Boulder & Lead Combined). But for now, simply carving Speed off makes sense. Many athletes excel at both Boulder and Lead. Janja Garnbret, Adam Ondra, Jakob Schubert, Colin Duffy, Toby Roberts, and Anraku Sorato have all won World Cups in both events—and a majority of the climbers in the Olympics have podiumed in both at the World Cup level.

The Combined Format Has a New Scoring Structure

Because Speed is no longer part of the Combined event, the Combined event’s scoring in Paris relies—intuitively—on athletes accumulating points based upon how far they climb up the boulders and lead walls.

In Tokyo, where Speed was included, this cumulative scoring structure couldn’t work, since nearly everyone gets to the top of the speed wall. Instead, Olympic organizers devised a ridiculously confusing system in which, at the end of each discipline, climbers were given points correlating to their finishing rank. The combined score was then reached by multiplying the results from each of the disciplines—with the lowest three scores earning medals. (For example, Adam Ondra placed fourth in Speed, sixth in Boulder, and second in Lead in the Tokyo Olympic final, so his combined score was 48 (4 x 6 x 2). Alberto GinĂ©s LĂłpez won gold with a score of 28, having placed first in Speed, seventh in Boulder, and fourth in Lead.) The frustrating—but also sort of fascinating—thing about the multiplication structure was that scores changed drastically with slight variations in finishing order. Whenever a climber passed another climber’s high point on the lead wall, for instance, everyone else’s scores changed too, which made following the event intensely anxiety provoking. Reporting on it for Climbing, I watched with a notepad and a calculator at hand, always half convinced that I’d made an error and was entirely misunderstanding the state of the competition.

In Paris, the scoring is far less convoluted—but it’s still got complexity. The TLDR version is that scoring is based on how far you get up each of the four boulders and the lead route in each round. How logical! But in reality it’s not quite so simple, so if you’re not familiar with that yet, read our article

All this is very cool (and good for the sport) for three reasons:

Speed Climbers Don’t Get Shafted

Before 2016, when Sport Climbing’s inclusion in the Olympics was first announced, Speed walls were quite rare in commercial climbing gyms in the United States—and speed climbing was generally considered some weird aberration popular only in Iran and Indonesia and various post-Soviet nations. As a result, U.S. viewers tended to interpret Speed’s inclusion in the Tokyo Combined event based on how it might pollute the results generated by the Boulder and Lead events that we actually cared about. We tended to forget, in other words, that for the speed specialists and their fans, Tokyo was a total disaster. Since their discipline did not prepare them to do well in Lead or Boulder, the math was against them, which meant that only three speed climbers made the finals—two by winning semis outright, the third (France’s Anouck Jaubert) by also topping two boulders in the bouldering round. In finals, Aleksandra MirosƂaw easily won Speed, but—as she and everyone else understood would happen—was trounced in the other two rounds and therefore, despite setting a new world record, did not medal.

This year, that’s not the case. Aleksandra MirosƂaw is back, and she’s still the best speed climber in the world, and if she performs in quarter finals and finals like she did in Monday’s semis (where she broke her own world record twice and is pushing the time down toward the 6 second mark), she’ll certainly have a medal to hang on her wall.

• °Úžé±đČč»ć:Ìę]
  

The Combined Event Gains Credibility

In Tokyo, only one male speed specialist, France’s Bassa Mawem, qualified for finals—but after winning the early Speed rounds and ensuring his final slot, he ruptured his bicep on the semifinal lead route. As a result, Mawem wasn’t able to take place in finals, which basically meant that the remaining seven men, all of whom were specialized boulderers and/or lead climbers, suddenly found that their speed skills actually mattered, which threw a ton of randomness into the event. Ultimately, it was by winning Speed that Alberto Gines Lopez—who finished fourth in Lead and seventh in Boulder—took Olympic gold, and it was by doing surprisingly well in Speed (he placed fourth) that Adam Ondra was, , in gold medal contention.

Because of the important role that Speed ended up playing in the men’s field, viewers were left feeling like there was a real disconnect between the event’s ostensible purpose (identifying the best climber on that particular day) and the tests to which climbers were submitted. If you’d subtracted the Speed event, for instance, you’d have gotten very different results, and would have needed a different way of identifying victors. (Nathaniel Coleman won Boulder and came in fifth in Lead; Jakob Schubert came in fifth in Boulder and won Lead; Colin Duffy came in fourth and third respectively; who would have won?)

Retroactively removing Speed from the competition isn’t particularly fair, of course, since Speed was part of the competition whether people like me like it or not, and since randomness (sometimes in the form of injury) is actually one of the more interesting elements of competitions. Without it we’d get bored. But the event’s structure did lead a lot of people to essentially dismiss the results as the fluke byproduct of an Olympic bureaucracy that categorically misunderstood what climbing was about and therefore structured a competition such that it was impossible for the results to actually reflect who the best climber was. “Cool,” they thought. “Now let’s go back to valuing World Cups.”

Such critics should note, however, that, in the Olympic bureaucracy’s defense, things went far better in the women’s field, where two speed specialists—Aleksandra MirosƂaw and Anouck Jaubert—managed to qualify for finals and then took first and second place in Speed. This, as organizers no doubt intended, left the Bouldering and Lead rounds to operate more or less as their own competition. We turned a blind eye while the speed climbers pretended to try on boulders and routes far harder than they’ll ever climb, and then we watched Janja Garnbret crush absolutely everything as expected.

The Competition Is Easier to Watch—and Understand

One of the great problems with Tokyo, as noted above, was that it was incredibly hard to understand the state of the overall competition while watching it—which was annoying for climbers like me, but potentially off-putting to non-climbers, who had to endure watching a strange (to them) sport described via a and scored via an incomprehensible (to everyone) scoring system. Now, thanks to the new scoring format, it’s pretty easy to follow the state of the competition. Sure, if you’re an English major like me, you may still want to keep your calculator handy—but for the rest of you, it’s just addition. How hard can it get?

Note: If you’re interested in an in-depth analysis of why the Tokyo Olympics kinda sucked in a fascinating way, check out my 2021 story,   It describes how Adam Ondra went from probably winning gold to taking sixth  place when, thanks to some brilliant climbing by Jakob Schubert, he came in second rather than first in Lead. It also, as the title suggests, demonstrates how the speed specialists were even more disadvantaged by the combined structure than the lead climbers.

The post Why Paris 2024 Is Way Cooler (for Climbers) than Tokyo 2021  appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

wasn’t even qualified to race the , but behind-the-scenes wrangling opened the door to start Sunday to deliver in 40 years.

A decision weeks ago to replace triathlete with Faulkner on the two-rider U.S. team put her on the start line Sunday and set into motion the dynamics to win the gold medal.

In a spectacular race Sunday, Faulkner marked favorites and then pounced late to solo to America’s first gold medal since and both won gold in road racing in Los Angeles 1984.

Knibb, who is racing in mixed triathlon late in this Olympic Games, didn’t race Sunday after giving up her

“It was an easy decision to make. She’s never raced on the road before, and we talked about the pros and cons of it,” USA Cycling’s head of performance Jim Miller told Velo.

“They have a triathlon team relay the day after the road race, so I talked to their team, and I said if I was in your shoes, I would probably want her not to race this because you can win a medal in the triathlon relay.”

The triathlete punched her ticket for the Paris Olympics after beating Faulkner by 11 seconds in the U.S. national time trial race in May, which earned her a spot in both the road race and time trial in Paris.

KRISTEN FAULKNER IS AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION!

— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling)

While a solid performer on the cycling legs in triathlon, Knibb has no experience racing in the bunch, and everyone decided the best thing to do was to allow the more experienced Faulkner start the women’s race.

Knibb, who crashed three times during a wet and treacherous time trial race to open the Olympic Games, opted not to race the road race.

Everyone agreed, and Knibb offered up her spot to Faulkner.

The replacement was made even easier with Faulkner confirming her chops on the road with some big wins in 2024, not to mention that she was already part of the women’s team pursuit squad on the track.

“Taylor agreed, so it was a mutual decision and an easy conversation,” Miller said. “With Kristen, we know we have a very strong card to play in the road race.”

Faulkner, however, said she wasn’t convinced that she wanted to take the spot on the road race because she’s also a key member of the four-rider team pursuit team in track racing this week.

“I almost didn’t race the road race, and I had to ask myself if I would be capable of racing the road race and be ready for the team pursuit. We want to medal, that’s why we’re here,” Faulkner said.

She discussed it with her coaches and decided it was worth the risk, and she even simulated the 72-hour window from the road race to the team pursuit qualifying during her preparation for the Games.

“I decided I would only do the road race if I was confident I could medal,” she said. “I even decided if I was dropped I would pull out to prepare for team pursuit, and I would only continue in the race if I believed I could medal.”

That decision proved right on target, as Faulkner attacked up the first assault of the Montmartre climb Sunday to ride into the leading medal group.

She linked up with the leading duo with 4km to go, and didn’t even blink.

Faulkner then attacked while the others looked on, and she rode away with gold.

The post Kristen Faulkner Won America’s First Road Cycling Gold in 40 Years appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Rippling muscles, knife-blade boats, and carbon-fiber everything. Giant athletes with lats so big they dwarf the vessels they’re kneeling—yes, kneeling—on top of. Arms rotating so fast they look like helicopter blades. Races that are over in the blink of an eye. Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of Olympic canoeing.

The first time I heard of Olympic canoeing, I laughed out loud. I had no idea it even existed as a competitive sport—let alone an Olympic one. I myself have done my fair share of paddling—albeit with . My image of the sport has always been a slow-paced, bucolic sort of travel. I thought it was reserved for retirees with birding binoculars, explorers on the , or kids in puffy orange life jackets eating bugs out of each other’s hair on sluggish Georgia creeks. In my mind, that’s all canoeing could ever be—until I saw these space-age, carbon-fiber boats charging across the finish line this weekend. °ÂŽÇ·É,ÌęI thought. This looks nothing like what I did in summer camp. 

For starters, the boats look much cooler. They’re carbon-fiber toothpicks painted in racing stripes. There are two main types of boats: open-topped numbers that look pretty similar to the traditional summer camp version, and closed-topped kayaks. The techniques the athletes use to move these boats are equally fascinating. Here are some of the more surprising disciplines.

Canoe Slalom

AKA Obstacle-Course Racing in a Canoe 

The races I watched this weekend were “slalom canoe.” Slalom is basically an obstacle course. In it, athletes grip a single-bladed paddle and dart through a man-made coarse riddled with rapids, tiny waterfalls, and gated checkpoints. The women’s K-1 (“one-person kayak”) slalom final was on Sunday, and the men’s C-1 (“one-person canoe”) was Monday. Australia took gold for the women’s K-1, and France won the men’s C-1. There will be more canoe slalom races if you want to experience my awe for yourself.

Kayak Cross

AKA Full-Contact Paddle-Fighting

Early next month, things will get even weirder. Come August, kayak cross makes its debut. This is a multi-person obstacle race where full contact is allowed. Athletes are allowed to push each other and try to flip each other’s boats. If you flip, you’re required to do a 360-degree underwater roll to right yourself. Things often get pretty physical. The Paris Olympics is the kayak cross has ever appeared in the Olympics, so there will be a lot of eyes on this one.

Canoe Sprint

AKA All-Out Speed (With the Occasional Portage)

In summer camp, I was taught to keep my butt on the seat of the canoe at all times. These folks were apparently taught otherwise. In the canoe sprint events, which begin August 6, athletes take a knee in the floor of the canoe and lunge forward to get maximum reach. The paddles are carbon-fiber, but aside from that, they resemble the single-bladed paddles you probably used to tool around your grandpa’s pond as a kid. Athletes use a short, quick stroke, which I find remarkably ungraceful. There’s nothing quite like watching a grown man hack at the water as hard as he can with what looks like a very expensive pizza peal. Even better is the C-2 sprint, which involves double the athletes—and therefore double the chaos.

Adding to the intrigue: The boats, which are also made of carbon fiber, are extremely shallow to maximize speed—which means they can get pretty squirrelly. If you’re looking to watch a professional athlete capsize himself into a river on TV, this is your time. In past World Championship events, race organizers have even —sections where athletes are required to exit the water and run with their canoe to the next put-in. Portaging is a time-honored necessity of as well as canoe marathon, another competitive paddling event, but isn’t typical for canoe sprint. As such, it probably won’t appear in the Olympics (though we can still hope).

Where to Watch Canoeing in the Paris Olympics 

Olympic canoeing is something of an undiscovered sport, but the power and technical talent of the athletes is hard to ignore. If you’re hoping to get in on the action, you’ll need to tune in via NBCUniversal. If you have cable, you should be able to find the events on NBC, CNBC, or USA Network. If you’re looking for a streaming option, you’ll need to purchase a Peacock subscription ($7.99 per month).

The post Olympic Canoeing Looks Nothing Like It Did at Summer Camp appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

“Less busy than usual.” That’s what pops up on Google Maps when this intrepid reporter is looking to book a table in the elegant Paris neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-PrĂ©s.

In fact, no reservations are needed across Paris as the mix of negative headlines and pre-Games hype is keeping away the hordes during these .

Hard-core sports fans are piling and there are big crowds for major events, including this weekend’s and , but several venues are seeing empty seats.

Paris is devoid of the masses of summer tourists who typically clog the City of Light every July and August.

That’s not to say there are no tourists, but there are certainly a lot less than normal.

There are no long ticket lines at MusĂ©e d’Orsay, and no waiting list for a lunchtime table at Les Deux Magots. The metro and RER lines are quiet and it’s easy to zip around the city by bike.

“Trùs dommage!” said a taxi driver Sunday morning. “Normally in summer we are booked one day in advance, now we are all waiting 30 minutes for a fare.”

That lament echoes across Paris’ typically tourist-swamped Left Bank.

Tables on the terraces of the Rue de Buci were sitting empty on a Saturday night, and museums and top tourist sites have plenty of same-day tickets.

The normally busy streets from Le Marais to the Arc de Triomphe are eerily quiet.

“Everyone left the city if they could and the tourists are scared to come,” said one hotel receptionist. “We are normally booked solid all summer, now we have free rooms during the Olympics.”

Empty streets, empty seats

It’s the same in nearly every Olympic Games.

Pre-Games hype sends a bolt of fear among the locals and scares away tourists who expect lockdowns, security checks, road closures, and traffic jams.

And a lot of that is true.

The Eiffel Tower is closed off to tourists, and many of Paris’ top attractions have been converted into sports venues, including the Place de la Concorde, Gran Palais, Les Invalides, and the area around the TrocadĂ©ro and the Eiffel Tower.

Some of the famed bridges over the River Seine are also closed, including the gold-fringed Pont Alexandre III and others, but most have re-opened after the opening ceremony Friday night.

The entire city center of Paris along both sides of the Seine, roughly from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, was on a multi-down restricted zone that was open only to residents or hotel guests.

More than 44,000 ugly metal barriers were put up in Paris this week as part of massive security preparations ahead of the Olympics, which formally kicked off yesterday.

Locals are not thrilled.

— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope)

That’s since been lifted, but a strong police presence remains high across the city as officials are clamping down to try to avoid any risk of a terrorist attack or political disturbances.

So far, things have been very quiet.

What’s keeping fans away?

In the run-up to the Paris Games, hotel prices were marked up dramatically, with rooms going for $900 a night and more during the key Olympic dates between July 26 and August 11.

Business travelers as well as tourists are staying away, either rescheduling meetings or going to nearby Spain or Italy instead.

One report in Euronews said hotels were sitting on 25 to 40 percent unbooked inventory, and prices have been slashed to try to fill rooms.

This reporter booked a room for the Olympic Games barely a week before the opening ceremony, and found dozens of reasonably priced rooms in the city center, with double rooms with breakfast starting at $175 per night, prices not seen since before COVID-19.

Airlines have also reported under-sold flights, with Delta and Air France both expecting to lose $100 million during the Games, according to media reports.

There are plenty of tickets available for most Olympic events across all sports, and things typically pick up during the second week.

Paris looks gorgeous for Olympic Games

There’s still plenty of Olympic buzz around Paris, and the city is absolutely gorgeous as it’s dressed up and well-lit for its closeup for the worldwide TV audience.

Sport fans pour out of the venues and into bars and cafés, often watching more Olympic events live on TV and cheering on their home nations.

National and sponsors “houses” — a longtime Olympic tradition — keep the vibe and booze flowing at different spots across Paris.

For Parisians who’ve stayed home, a few hassles here and there with road closures, construction sites, and detours is a small price to pay for a few weeks of relative calm.

“It’s like we have our city back,” one Parisien said as they sat idly on a shady terrace. “Paris has not been this quiet in decades.”

Paris right now might not be ideal for that once in a lifetime trip, but it’s perfect for anyone who wants to watch the Olympic Games in person or just loll away an afternoon at a Parisien cafĂ©.

The are this weekend. It’s still not too late.

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The Olympic Games is far from a set menu when it comes to the lineup of events. While the 100-meter dash, gymnastics, and swim events are expected courses each four-year installment features new flavors, while others are taken off the table. and takes a few off the table as well. Breakdancing called “Breaking” in Olympic parlance, will make its debut at the Paris Games,Ìęwhile karate, baseball, and softball have departed. But if you ask me, the most impactful Olympic losses happened long ago. Chariot racing, which never really made the jump from the Ancient Olympic Games, might look pretty neat with a drone follow cam. I think Pankration, a grappling event believed to be invented by Theseus when he defeated the minotaur in the labyrinth, is ready for its renaissance.

A century ago, when the Olympics last time landed in Paris, the lineup of sports looked dramatically different. We wanted to see just how much that menu has changed over the last century. Let’s face it, we’ve outgrown the telegram, the icebox, and the silent film. Our sports look a little different, too. Here’s a look at five competitions from the 1924 Paris Games that won’t be served up in 2024.

Art

Yes, you read that right. For nearly 40 years, art competitions were included on the Olympic program, awarding medals across five disciplines: music, architecture, literature, painting, and sculpture. Eventually these Olympic competitions were discontinued in 1954 due to concerns about amateurism versus professionalism, but not before Olympic gold medals were awarded to nearly 50 participants.

The 1924 Games were considered the apex of the Olympics’ art era with almost 200 participants over all disciplines. During these Games, Hungarian Alfred Hajos earned a silver in the architecture event, adding to his two swimming golds from the 1896 Games and becoming one of only two participants to ever win an Olympic medal in athletics and art.

Art wasn’t without its controversies. In 1924 there were no medals awarded in the music competition—judges decided that none of the musical compositions was worthy of the Olympics. Judges in architecture also did not award a gold medal that year.

Rope Climbing

A short-lived Olympic competition within gymnastics, rope climbing only made it into four Olympics (in 1896, 1904, 1924, and 1932) before getting cut down after the 1932 Games. The competition format was simple: the athlete to climb to the top in the quickest time won. Climbers could only scale the smooth, unknotted rope with their hands (no feet allowed), covering 25 feet (the 1896 Games required 41 feet of climbing and only two athletes reached the top). Rope climbing was also part of the all-around gymnastics competition.

Czech gymnast Bedrich Supcik won the 1924 gold medal in his first ever rope climbing competition, posting a time of 7.2 seconds. The event originally judged similar to gymnastics, and an athlete could be awarded a perfect 10 the rope in under 9 seconds, but after a 22-way tie for first, judges decided to award the gold medals based on time, locking Supcik’s place in Olympic history.

French Cane Fighting

Canne de combat, a French martial art using a wooden cane as a weapon, was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Games, and a nod to the host country’s history. Similar to fencing, “La Canne”, as it’s often called, features two competitors battling each other with slightly tapered, chestnut canes. It was originally considered a form of protection for upper-class citizens in large cities like Paris, but earned a large following in the sporting world.

In 1924, the sport featured a single match between a college professor and a French La Canne champion named Beauduin. The winner has been lost to the annals of history.

Tandem Cycling

And you thought your tandem ride home from the Margarita Night at your local taco joint was scary. How about pedaling a tandem bicycle on a sloped velodrome for an Olympic gold medal? No this is not a drill, tandem cycling was a real live event at the 1924 Games (and for many years after). Two-person teams once went head-to-head (and clip-to-clip) in the velodrome for Olympic glory. The event was finally removed after the 1972 Munich Games.

The 1924 edition of this psychotic pursuit involved five teams, with two semi-final heats, one bye round, and a three-man team final. The French team of Lucien Choury and Jean Cugnot prevailed in the final, with Denmark and the Netherlands taking second and third respectively. It was later reported that in between the semi final and final, Dutch rider Maurice Peeters polished off an entire bottle of cognac to quell the nerves. Bold move, Cotton.

Running Deer Shooting

Shooting is still a big part of the Summer and Winter Games, but in the early parts of the 20th Century, these competitions were a little more dramatic. One of the most celebrated was the 100-meter running deer competition. In this event, a deer target mounted to a carriage was pulled 25 yards in four seconds, and participants would have to shoot the “animal” from a distance of 100 meters. The speed at which the target moved was not uniform, as the carriages carrying them were sometimes simply rolled down hills. Different areas of the target carried different point values, and the shooter with the most points at the end of 50 deer runs won.

American John Keith Boles . The career army officer would go on to serve in World War II and would never compete in another Olympic event.

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America invented mountain biking 40 years ago when hippies and hipsters took to fat-tire racing on fire roads in California and Colorado, but it wasn’t until Sunday that a U.S. racer won silver in the .

, born in 1998, battled back from a broken wheel early in by an untouchable to finish second, the best by a U.S. rider in cross-country since MTB became a medal sport in 1996.

“I visualized finishing with the medal around my neck for a long time,” Batten said. “So I know it feels like something special, but I can’t explain how amazing this is.”

It must feel historic.

Her silver is the first U.S. Olympic medal in cross-country since Georgia Gould was third in 2012 London. Mountain bike pioneer Susan DeMattei also won bronze in the inaugural Olympics in 1996.

No American male has won an Olympic mountain bike medal.

It almost didn’t happen.

Broken Wheel but not Broken Dreams

Batten destroyed her front wheel on one of the early laps and ceded valuable terrain after making a wheel change.

“I got a flat tire and destroyed my front wheel and I think I had the fastest wheel change ever,” she said. “I knew the start was important. And I messed it up. That was really disappointing and I thought I lost my chance of a medal right there. I stayed calm.”

Batten raced on the Elancourt Hill course before and knew that the mix of fast gravel-like tracks and the technical berms, jumps, rock gardens, and drops were in her wheelhouse.

She started picking off groups of riders in her comeback without giving up hope.

Up the trail, France’s Loana Lecomte crashed heavily and was knocked unconscious while riding in the bronze medal position behind Ferrand PrĂ©vot. She suffered a concussion and a jaw injury, but was not otherwise seriously injured.

Puck Pieterse (Netherlands) looked to have a lock on silver at about 1 minute behind Ferrand-Prévot when she suffered a puncture midway through the race.

That gave Batten, who found an ally in 2016 Olympic champion Jenny Rissveds (Sweden), the opening she needed.

The pair worked together to move up into the podium places in the closing laps and fended off a resurgent Pieterse, who finished fourth, and Evie Richards (United Kingdom) in fifth.

“Me and Jenny have been racing every single race this year. She’s made me a better athlete,” she said. “I knew when we were together in those last few laps, I knew it’d be really really hard to beat her.

“I put my whole heart and soul in today’s race and I knew after she gave a couple of really big attacks that she might be burning a little bit too many matches,” she said. “My legs never hurt for some reason. I just I don’t know I just wanted it so so bad.”

Threat of a Protest Doesn’t Cast a Pall

The race wasn’t without controversy.

A frustrated Pieterse crossed the finish line in fourth just 21 seconds out of the medals, and she approached third-place Rissveds at the line. What did she ask?

“She asked if I was going to protest the medal,” Rissveds said.

What was the issue?

Batten was spotted racing through the technical zone on the final lap without taking a water bottle or receiving technical assistance, something that the race jury noticed.

After the race, Dutch officials wanted to protest to the UCI, but race rules do not allow a formal protest, Wielerflits reported.

Velo asked Batten after the press conference if there was a threat of losing the medal?

“I don’t know if there’s a protest, we’ll see,” she said.

At the finish line, journalists asked Batten why she did not grab a water bottle, as UCI rules suggest.

“No, I did not grab a water bottle,” she said, with the American flag draped across her shoulders. When asked if she was supposed to, she replied, “I have no idea. I was in the moment.”

Media reports stated afterwards that she was handed a 500 CHF fine for ‘failure to respect the instructions of the race organisation or commissaires (using the pit lane without feeding or heaving technical assistance).’

USA Cycling officials confirmed that no formal protest was filed and that the silver medal — and the historic result — stand.

For Batten, her personal mountain bike and Olympic journey began in 2012, the last time an American won a mountain bike medal.

“That was the year that I decided I wanted to be an Olympian because of her,” she said of Gould’s medal in 2012. “I just won my first junior national title and Georgia is the reason why I’m here today.”

With one eye on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Batten is hoping to emulate Ferrand-Prévot, who was untouchable on a triumphant victory on home roads.

An American gold on American dirt in an American Olympics: there’d be no better way to write more history.

Second place for USA!

Haley Batten earns in cycling women’s mountain bike cross-country for . It’s their first medal in the event since 2012! | | | |

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics)

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Speed climbers were dealt a rough hand at the Tokyo Olympics when they were pitted against lead and bouldering specialists in a strange three-discipline combined format. Fortunately, speed climbing will be contested as a discipline all by itself at the Paris Olympics—proving, finally, who the best speed climbers in the world are.

Speed begins with a qualification round on August 5, then quarterfinal and final rounds on August 7.  In total, 14 climbers per gender will be vying for the speed medals. Here are the climbers to watch.

Favorite Speed Climbers at Paris Olympics (Men)

Sam Watson (USA)

When Team USA’s Sam Watson was just 15 years old, he was given the nickname “Sub-Six Sam” for breaking speed climbing’s hallowed six-second mark. In the years that followed, he continued to set the new standard for American youth speed climbing—including setting a World Record in the Male Youth A category (5.37 seconds) at the Youth World Championships in Dallas, Texas, in 2022. The youth accolades ensured Watson’s place in speed climbing history, but he was only getting started. He eventually smashed John Brosler’s long-standing (adult) American Record of 5.20 seconds with a run of 5.02. And then Watson went “sub-5-seconds”—a landmark achievement that only a handful of speed climbers have accomplished—and notched a new world record of 4.79 seconds at this year’s speed World Cup in Wujiang, China. Watson should be considered the favorite in the men’s field.

Career highlight (thus far): Time-wise, Sam Watson’s high-water mark was setting that world record of 4.79. (It’s worth noting he’s run even faster—4.66 seconds—in practice.) In terms of a noteworthy competition result, a win at a World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2022 ostensibly announced Watson to the world.

Why he could win in Paris: Watson, at 18 years old, owns the fastest time ever run by a human climber; if he can have clean runs in Paris, avoiding slips or false-starts, no one will be able to catch him.

Bassa Mawem (FRA)

If Sam Watson will cruise into the Paris Olympics with youthful zeal, France’s Bassa Mawem, at 39 years old, will possess all the wisdom, experience, and wherewithal that comes with age. Mawem’s participation at World Cups dates back to 2006—in fact, Mawem’s comp career predates the IFSC itself, as the governing body of World Cups during Mawem’s rookie year was the UIAA. Mawem has won multiple speed World Cups over the years, but, more importantly, he took part in the Tokyo Olympics several years ago—which enhanced his level of big-event experience. Unfortunately, those Tokyo Olympics were disastrous for Mawem, as he tore his bicep near the end of the qualifying round (although he did manage to clock an Olympic speed record of 5.45 seconds prior to the injury derailment). Fortunately, he is fully healed and better than ever, evidenced by a first-place finish at the European Continental event last year that earned him a ticket to the Paris Olympics.

Career highlight (thus far): A World Cup victory in Moscow, Russia, in 2019, saw Bassa Mawem beat China’s Long Cao, Iran’s Reza Alipour Shenazandifard, Indonesia’s Aspar Aspar, and others who were among the fastest men in the world (and still are).

Why he could win in Paris: Mawem is yet to go sub-5 in a competition, but he has come close. If some of the faster climbers in Paris stumble or false-start, look to Mawem to prevail by staying calm amid the intense Olympic pressure.

Also Read:

Jinbao Long (CHN)

In 2021, the speed fan base became captivated by the Indonesian team, as Indonesian climbers began chipping away at the world record at an unprecedented rate. It was exciting, and as viewers got caught up in the ever-changing world records, it became easy to overlook the fact that the Chinese team—traditionally a speed powerhouse—was largely absent from the circuit due to lingering travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the China squad finally returned to the circuit in a big way, in 2022, it was Jinbao Long that led the charge. Long made the podium at a trio of successive speed World Cups in 2022—in Villars, Chamonix, and Edinburgh—and suddenly, with Team China’s reemergence, the dominance of the Indonesian team was not such a sure-thing anymore. Long eventually earned a silver medal at the World Championships in 2023 and qualified for the Paris Olympics, and it feels like he’s just starting to hit his stride. Fans can expect him to push the pace in Paris—and, along with his teammate Peng Wu, perhaps deliver multiple sub-5 runs—while being one of the most formidable challengers in the field.

Career highlight (thus far): Jinbao Long won a World Cup gold medal in Chamonix in 2022.

Why he could win in Paris: Long has repeatedly notched times near the five-second mark, and he is undoubtedly capable of running even faster. That mix of speed and uniformity could be his key to getting the gold medal. It doesn’t hurt that his compatriot and fellow Olympian Peng Wu recently clocked a blazing time of 4.83 seconds at the Olympic Qualifier Series. Perhaps that will give Long some healthy added pressure and motivation in Paris.

Veddriq Leonardo (INA)

There is a fascinating blip in the history of speed climbing’s fastest times. From approximately 2015 to 2021, the best times at World Cups typically hovered in the mid-5-second realm (5.76, 5.62, 5.55, 5.48, etc.). But then, at a World Cup in Salt Lake City in 2021, Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo set a new world record—5.20 seconds—and ushered in a whole new era of speed climbing. Suddenly there was no performative ceiling, and fans and pundits had to recalibrate perceptions of human potential in the speed discipline. Just as the sports world clamored to see a sprinter run a mile in less than four minutes in the spring of 1954, comp fans longed to witness a speed climber ascend a 15-meter wall in less than five seconds. Fittingly, when it finally happened, it was Leonardo who successfully accomplished it, clocking a run-time of 4.98 seconds at a World Cup in Seoul in 2023. Even though Leonardo no longer holds the world record (having relinquished it to Sam Watson earlier this year), Leonardo should still be considered one of the fastest men in the Olympic field and one of the favorites to win gold.

Career highlight (thus far): Veddriq Leonardo broke his own world record last year, which lowered his personal best time from 4.90 seconds to 4.85 seconds.

Why he could win in Paris: Aside from Sam Watson, there is nobody better than Veddriq Leonardo in the men’s field at consistently notching runs of sub-5.

Favorite Speed Climbers at Paris Olympics (Women)

Aleksandra Miroslaw (POL)

Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw once had an undefeated streak in speed World Cups that stretched from 2019 to the tail-end of the 2023 season. In a discipline rife with stumbles, slips, and false-starts, that is a remarkable statistic. Add to it that Miroslaw also owned the world record for part of that time—and still owns it. She also won World Championships in 2018 and 2019. Such accolades combine to form a resume that might never be duplicated on the comp scene. They also make Miroslaw an intimidating presence for anyone that will line up next to her for a race at the Paris Olympics. Additionally, Miroslaw will enter the Paris Olympics as a highly experienced competitor, as she participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 (and set the current Olympic record of 6.84 seconds). She will be the favorite in Paris, and, at 30 years old, she will likely be looking at the Paris Olympics as a fitting capstone to her career.

Career highlight (thus far): Aleksandra Miroslaw’s victories at the elite level date back to 2012, but a World Cup win this April in Wujiang proved that she’s still the best, even after all these years.

Why she could win in Paris: Miroslaw is the fastest woman in the world on the wall, a moniker earned and proven repeatedly at World Cups and World Championships.

Emma Hunt (USA)

The greatness of Team USA’s Emma Hunt was first viewed through an American lens. At a World Cup in Salt Lake City in 2022, she set an American national record of 7.17 seconds. In the months and years that followed, she repeatedly improved on that record (breaking it nearly 10 times over the course of the next two years) and ultimately landed on the current national record of 6.30 seconds. But as she claimed her space in the United States’ record book, she also made her presence known at the global level, particularly by earning World Cup medals in 2022 and 2023 (and a gold medal at Salt Lake City earlier this year). She’s yet to clock a time comparable to Miroslaw’s personal best of 6.24 seconds, but Hunt is extremely close. If Hunt lines up against Miroslaw at the Paris Olympics, it could very likely be the popcorn race of the event.

Career highlight (thus far): Emma Hunt’s silver medal at last year’s World Championships in Bern, Switzerland, was the first speed World Championship medal for an American woman.

Why she could win in Paris: Hunt’s American record, which was set at this year’s National Team Trials, is just 0.1 seconds slower than the world record. If there is anyone who is statistically capable of inching out Miroslaw on the speed wall and claiming Olympic gold, it’s Hunt.

Lijuan Deng (CHN)

China’s Lijuan Deng has been on the circuit since 2018, but her breakout year was 2022. She won two World Cups in a row that season—in Villars and Chamonix—and has more or less hovered around the podiums ever since. Furthermore, although Deng’s best competition times—around 6-and-a-half seconds—don’t quite nudge up against the world record the way that Emma Hunt’s best times do, Deng has more World Cup medals. Plus, analyzing Deng’s Olympic potential in that manner is sort of splitting hairs, as Deng seems to be perpetually improving. The fact is, Deng should be considered one of the top-tier speed climbers in the Olympic field, and Deng is someone who could spoil the party, so to speak, for the favorite, Miroslaw.

Career highlight (thus far): Lijuan Deng took part in last year’s World Championships, but her tenth place finish there did not do justice to her capabilities. She’s better than that. A better representation of her skill would be her first-place finish at the Asian Qualifier Series in Jakarta last year, which resulted in her Olympic berth.

Why she could win in Paris: Deng has an ability to consistently deliver smooth races in the pressure-cooker of competition, even if her times don’t shatter records.

Piper Kelly (USA)

There was a time, particularly in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics several years ago, when Piper Kelly was the face of American speed climbing. She owned the national record, and she was adjusting to the three-discipline Combined format while vying for a ticket to those Tokyo Olympics. But then she dislocated her shoulder, which proved to be an unfortunate termination to those Olympic ambitions. Her climbing career halted for a long time and she was still recovering from multiple dislocations—and surgery—when hype for the Paris Olympics began years later. Many fans didn’t want to admit it, but Kelly’s chances of returning to her post-injury level seemed unlikely. Yet, Kelly re-entered the World Cup scene and showed remarkable consistency. She participated in five World Cups in 2023 and always finished within the top 30. That same year, 2023, she won at the Pan Ams in Santiago, Chile, and punched her Olympic ticket. She clocked a run of 6.98 seconds earlier this year—her first time going sub-7—and it feels like she still has a lot of rocket fuel left in the tank.

Career highlight (thus far): Winning at the Pan Ams was the most impressive victory of Piper Kelly’s career, particularly since it entailed beating American teammates Emma Hunt (who false-started) and Sophia Curcio.

Why she could win in Paris: Kelly has been since her return to full form—particularly with personal coach Albert Ok—and her times have steadily improved. As a result, there’s a growing feeling that Kelly’s best-ever run could happen at the Olympics.

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I have always wanted to go to the Summer Olympics, and the upcoming Games in Paris sound like a dream. Are tickets still available? Are flight prices sky-high? Should I even attempt this? —Stoked About the Spectacle 

Paris is always popular, especially in summer. So when one of the world’s greatest cities hosts one of the planet’s greatest sporting events—the Olympics—everyone will want to be there. Officials in Paris project that 11.3 million people will attend the Summer Games, which run July 26 through August 11, and 3.9 million will attend the Paralympic Games, which take place August 28 through September 8.

As if those numbers aren’t daunting enough, keep in mind that hordes of Americans flock to France (and the rest of Europe) to travel each summer, and the Tour de France will once again draw legions of spectators to the country from June 29 until July 21. So if you’re thinking of visiting, you’d better get cranking now on hotel and restaurant reservations, plane tickets, and transportation.

Can You Still Get Tickets to the Summer Olympics?

Scoring tickets to the upcoming Olympics is akin to scoring a camping reservation in Yellowstone—it has to do a lot with timing and luck. Nearly 70 percent of the ten million tickets available for the Games have already been sold via the official ticketing platform ; one million of those were snapped up in global draw in May in just 36 hours, a new Olympic sales record. Ticket sales for the Paralympic Games opened on October 9 on the same site.

Since July 5, tickets have been on sale in real time. Will you find one to the event of your choice? Maybe. Think of it like nabbing a last-minute campsite due to a cancellation: if tickets become available because someone has decided they cannot go, for example, they can be put on sale anytime. The good news is, almost 60 percent of tickets have been priced at 100 Euro ($106 as of press time) or less. They may be the most affordable part of your trip. You can find a full ticket-price breakdown .

Some events, including triathlon, sports climbing, BMX and BMX freestyle, and breaking (breakdancing) sold out in less than two hours. As you might expect, tickets for certain finals, including judo and three-on-three basketball, are also sold out. According to data specialist Statista, the most popular Summer Olympic sports among Americans are gymnastics, swimming, and diving, and when I last got on the Paris 2024 site, some tickets for these events were still available.

Here are a few ways to improve your chances of getting tickets: Create an to receive regular updates on ticket releases. An official . Consider investing in travel packages from , the official Olympic hospitality provider. Basic travel packages range from $520 to $870 per person per night at a three-star hotel and a ticket to watch one Olympic event, such as women’s field hockey or the men’s street final in skateboarding. The next tier up are hospitality packages, which start at similar pricing but don’t cover accommodations, only tickets, with primo seating and exclusive access to in-venue lounges for marquee events like soccer. If a specific Olympic event is high on your bucket list, consider splurging on a travel agent. Jean-Pierre Soutric, a Paris-based agent at ,Ìęand Hillel Spinner, a New York City–based agent at , provided a wealth of tips for this column and can help with arranging everything from tickets to flights and hotels.

Is It Worth Going to Paris if You Don’t Have Olympics Tickets?

If you want to enjoy the festive atmosphere, yes! Paris plans to offer multiple free viewing opportunities. For the first time in the history of the Summer Games, the opening ceremony won’t take place in a stadium. Instead, it will be held along the River Seine, with no admission fee for spectators to access the upper quays. (A note to anyone who is claustrophobic: at least 600,000 spectators are expected to attend—ten times the amount that could fit in a traditional Olympic stadium).

In addition, 80 big screens and speakers will be placed along the route, allowing everyone to feel a part of the celebration. And throughout the Games, free “fan zones” will be held at the park of La Villette in the 19th arrondissement and at the TrocadĂ©ro in the 16th arrondissement, both offering live transmissions of the events.

Soutric personally plans to attend the opening ceremony and other events. He notes that because most people will be in town to watch the Games, either in person or at the fan zones, this a fantastic time to enjoy the city’s typically jam-packed museums and other attractions (if you can find a hotel room; see below for tips). If you feel overwhelmed by the crowds, he suggests a day trip to Versailles, the Champagne region, or Normandy.

Consider Travel Costs

Paris is pricey. Before you put in the time and effort of securing tickets, consider whether you can afford the airfare and a convenient place to stay.

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű editor Tasha Zemke, a self-described “major planner,” bid for tickets to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London using that Games’ dedicated website and won tickets to track and field and soccer. Knowing that London was one of the world’s most expensive cities, she started looking for accommodations a year out and was shocked to find hotel rooms in central London already charging upward of 1,200 pounds a night (approximately $1,900 at the time). Ultimately, she settled on an economical bed-and-breakfast 90 minutes north of the city via the tube for her family. But the ride didn’t factor in the 20-minute walk to the local tube station or other forms of packed public transportation to reach each sporting venue. “Every day we were exhausted,” she recalls. “Had I realized how expensive and hectic the trip would be, I might never have gone through with it.”

Summer airfare to Europe is always astronomical, so start searching for fare sales now. Don’t narrow your choice to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle or Orly international airports. You might find better deals into other major European cities and then choose to continue on via train or the Chunnel, car, or low-cost air carriers that serve the Continent, such as EasyJet, Ryanair, Volotea, or Vueling.

Hotel occupancy in Paris during the Olympic Games is expected to be between 56 percent and 76 percent, says InÚs de Feran, a spokesperson for the Paris Tourism Office. Room rates in Paris are traditionally high throughout summer and will likely be going for a premium during the Games. (A recent search on Travelocity for a hotel in central Paris on Saturday, July 27, resulted in one property asking $243 after taxes and two properties going for about $385 each; the remaining properties available began at $485 per night for two people.) The same is true of Airbnbs and other home rentals. The toughest reservations to secure will be in northern Paris, near the Olympic Village.

Right now it may seem like accommodation availability is scarce, says Soutric. But if you’re willing to gamble on waiting, there’s a good chance you’ll find a place to stay in the spring or early summer. “A lot of hoteliers stopped selling rooms or are holding out for top prices, but plenty of rooms haven’t been sold,” he says. “My suspicion is that as the Games get closer, a lot of rooms will go on sale.”

Map Out the Logistics of Where to Stay During the Olympics

The main Olympic Village is located less than five miles north of central Paris, and 15 Olympic sites hosting 21 sports will be within six miles of the Village. Car traffic will be a nightmare, predicts Soutric. However, the transportation network of the Ile-de-France is working on a specific pass for the duration of the Games, and a specific app and the Paris 2024 site have a helpful that estimates travel time via public transportation between sites.

The speediest way to get around will probably be by bike. New bike lanes being inaugurated for the Games will connect to all competition sites, and extra rental bikes will be added to the city’s current fleet. De Feran says the biggest crowds are anticipated around the , the site of newer sports like BMX and skateboarding.

Before booking tickets, look closely at where the is located. A handful will be scattered across the country. For example, soccer will be played at six stadiums in other cities, including Lyon and Bordeaux. If you’re a Tour de France fan, take note: the traditional Champs-ÉlysĂ©es finish in Paris has been rerouted to end in Nice next year in order to avoid incoming Olympic crowds.

Food for Thought

If you love food as much as you love sports, you won’t be alone; this is, after all, one of the gastronomic capitals of Europe. I asked Lindsey Tramuta, the city’s foremost restaurant expert and author of The New Paris and The New Parisienne, for her picks, both for a casual bite and fine dining. These are her recommendations.

A charming neo bistro (a more casual take on the more formal, classic French bistro) a block from Canal Saint-Martin, in the tenth arrondissement, with a menu rooted in rustic simplicity and natural wines. Don’t miss the signature homemade gnocchi dressed up with seasonal vegetables with labneh and herbs.

A veggie-forward neo bistro in the 11th arrondissement with an extensive selection of natural wines.

and

Two long-standing falafel favorites, both in the heart of the historic Jewish district called the Marais, located in the third and fourth arrondissements.

If budget allows, reserve a meal (or at least drinks) at this rooftop restaurant at the Cheval Blanc hotel in the first arrondissement. Tables overlook the Pont Neuf section of the Seine, and the menu, created by Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Donkele, offers contemporary takes on French-bistro classics.

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű correspondent Jen Murphy was studying abroad in Australia during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Even without tickets, she made the journey from the nation’s Gold Coast, crashed in a cheap hostel, and loved feeling the spirit of the Games in the city. She hopes to go to Tahiti to watch the Olympic surfing event this summer.

The post Thinking of Going to the Summer Olympics in Paris? Better Make Plans Now. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

I have always wanted to go to the Summer Olympics, and the upcoming Games in Paris sound like a dream. Are tickets still available? Are flight prices sky-high? Should I even attempt this? —Stoked About the Spectacle 

Paris is always popular, especially in summer. So when one of the world’s greatest cities hosts one of the planet’s greatest sporting events—the Olympics—everyone will want to be there. Officials in Paris project that 11.3 million people will attend the Summer Games, which run July 26 through August 11, and 3.9 million will attend the Paralympic Games, which take place August 28 through September 8.

As if those numbers aren’t daunting enough, keep in mind that hordes of Americans flock to France (and the rest of Europe) to travel each summer, and the Tour de France will once again draw legions of spectators to the country from June 29 until July 21. So if you’re thinking of visiting, you’d better get cranking now on hotel and restaurant reservations, plane tickets, and transportation.

Can You Still Get Tickets to the Summer Olympics?

Scoring tickets to the upcoming Olympics is akin to scoring a camping reservation in Yellowstone—it has to do a lot with timing and luck. Nearly 70 percent of the ten million tickets available for the Games have already been sold via the official ticketing platform ; one million of those were snapped up in global draw in May in just 36 hours, a new Olympic sales record. Ticket sales for the Paralympic Games opened on October 9 on the same site.

Since July 5, tickets have been on sale in real time. Will you find one to the event of your choice? Maybe. Think of it like nabbing a last-minute campsite due to a cancellation: if tickets become available because someone has decided they cannot go, for example, they can be put on sale anytime. The good news is, almost 60 percent of tickets have been priced at 100 Euro ($106 as of press time) or less. They may be the most affordable part of your trip. You can find a full ticket-price breakdown .

Some events, including triathlon, sports climbing, BMX and BMX freestyle, and breaking (breakdancing) sold out in less than two hours. As you might expect, tickets for certain finals, including judo and three-on-three basketball, are also sold out. According to data specialist Statista, the most popular Summer Olympic sports among Americans are gymnastics, swimming, and diving, and when I last got on the Paris 2024 site, some tickets for these events were still available.

Here are a few ways to improve your chances of getting tickets: Create an to receive regular updates on ticket releases. An official . Consider investing in travel packages from , the official Olympic hospitality provider. Basic travel packages range from $520 to $870 per person per night at a three-star hotel and a ticket to watch one Olympic event, such as women’s field hockey or the men’s street final in skateboarding. The next tier up are hospitality packages, which start at similar pricing but don’t cover accommodations, only tickets, with primo seating and exclusive access to in-venue lounges for marquee events like soccer. If a specific Olympic event is high on your bucket list, consider splurging on a travel agent. Jean-Pierre Soutric, a Paris-based agent at ,Ìęand Hillel Spinner, a New York City–based agent at , provided a wealth of tips for this column and can help with arranging everything from tickets to flights and hotels.

Is It Worth Going to Paris if You Don’t Have Olympics Tickets?

If you want to enjoy the festive atmosphere, yes! Paris plans to offer multiple free viewing opportunities. For the first time in the history of the Summer Games, the opening ceremony won’t take place in a stadium. Instead, it will be held along the River Seine, with no admission fee for spectators to access the upper quays. (A note to anyone who is claustrophobic: at least 600,000 spectators are expected to attend—ten times the amount that could fit in a traditional Olympic stadium).

In addition, 80 big screens and speakers will be placed along the route, allowing everyone to feel a part of the celebration. And throughout the Games, free “fan zones” will be held at the park of La Villette in the 19th arrondissement and at the TrocadĂ©ro in the 16th arrondissement, both offering live transmissions of the events.

Soutric personally plans to attend the opening ceremony and other events. He notes that because most people will be in town to watch the Games, either in person or at the fan zones, this a fantastic time to enjoy the city’s typically jam-packed museums and other attractions (if you can find a hotel room; see below for tips). If you feel overwhelmed by the crowds, he suggests a day trip to Versailles, the Champagne region, or Normandy.

Consider Travel Costs

Paris is pricey. Before you put in the time and effort of securing tickets, consider whether you can afford the airfare and a convenient place to stay.

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű editor Tasha Zemke, a self-described “major planner,” bid for tickets to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London using that Games’ dedicated website and won tickets to track and field and soccer. Knowing that London was one of the world’s most expensive cities, she started looking for accommodations a year out and was shocked to find hotel rooms in central London already charging upward of 1,200 pounds a night (approximately $1,900 at the time). Ultimately, she settled on an economical bed-and-breakfast 90 minutes north of the city via the tube for her family. But the ride didn’t factor in the 20-minute walk to the local tube station or other forms of packed public transportation to reach each sporting venue. “Every day we were exhausted,” she recalls. “Had I realized how expensive and hectic the trip would be, I might never have gone through with it.”

Summer airfare to Europe is always astronomical, so start searching for fare sales now. Don’t narrow your choice to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle or Orly international airports. You might find better deals into other major European cities and then choose to continue on via train or the Chunnel, car, or low-cost air carriers that serve the Continent, such as EasyJet, Ryanair, Volotea, or Vueling.

Hotel occupancy in Paris during the Olympic Games is expected to be between 56 percent and 76 percent, says InÚs de Feran, a spokesperson for the Paris Tourism Office. Room rates in Paris are traditionally high throughout summer and will likely be going for a premium during the Games. (A recent search on Travelocity for a hotel in central Paris on Saturday, July 27, resulted in one property asking $243 after taxes and two properties going for about $385 each; the remaining properties available began at $485 per night for two people.) The same is true of Airbnbs and other home rentals. The toughest reservations to secure will be in northern Paris, near the Olympic Village.

Right now it may seem like accommodation availability is scarce, says Soutric. But if you’re willing to gamble on waiting, there’s a good chance you’ll find a place to stay in the spring or early summer. “A lot of hoteliers stopped selling rooms or are holding out for top prices, but plenty of rooms haven’t been sold,” he says. “My suspicion is that as the Games get closer, a lot of rooms will go on sale.”

Map Out the Logistics of Where to Stay During the Olympics

The main Olympic Village is located less than five miles north of central Paris, and 15 Olympic sites hosting 21 sports will be within six miles of the Village. Car traffic will be a nightmare, predicts Soutric. However, the transportation network of the Ile-de-France is working on a specific pass for the duration of the Games, and a specific app and the Paris 2024 site have a helpful that estimates travel time via public transportation between sites.

The speediest way to get around will probably be by bike. New bike lanes being inaugurated for the Games will connect to all competition sites, and extra rental bikes will be added to the city’s current fleet. De Feran says the biggest crowds are anticipated around the , the site of newer sports like BMX and skateboarding.

Before booking tickets, look closely at where the is located. A handful will be scattered across the country. For example, soccer will be played at six stadiums in other cities, including Lyon and Bordeaux. If you’re a Tour de France fan, take note: the traditional Champs-ÉlysĂ©es finish in Paris has been rerouted to end in Nice next year in order to avoid incoming Olympic crowds.

Food for Thought

If you love food as much as you love sports, you won’t be alone; this is, after all, one of the gastronomic capitals of Europe. I asked Lindsey Tramuta, the city’s foremost restaurant expert and author of The New Paris and The New Parisienne, for her picks, both for a casual bite and fine dining. These are her recommendations.

A charming neo bistro (a more casual take on the more formal, classic French bistro) a block from Canal Saint-Martin, in the tenth arrondissement, with a menu rooted in rustic simplicity and natural wines. Don’t miss the signature homemade gnocchi dressed up with seasonal vegetables with labneh and herbs.

A veggie-forward neo bistro in the 11th arrondissement with an extensive selection of natural wines.

and

Two long-standing falafel favorites, both in the heart of the historic Jewish district called the Marais, located in the third and fourth arrondissements.

If budget allows, reserve a meal (or at least drinks) at this rooftop restaurant at the Cheval Blanc hotel in the first arrondissement. Tables overlook the Pont Neuf section of the Seine, and the menu, created by Michelin-starred chef Arnaud Donkele, offers contemporary takes on French-bistro classics.

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű correspondent Jen Murphy was studying abroad in Australia during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Even without tickets, she made the journey from the nation’s Gold Coast, crashed in a cheap hostel, and loved feeling the spirit of the Games in the city. She hopes to go to Tahiti to watch the Olympic surfing event this summer.

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