Criticism began to mount since the opening ceremony, which was not up to the required standard in form and content, and the chaos and scandals continued until the last day, as athletes complained about the unsuitable conditions in the Olympic Village, and others expressed their dissatisfaction with the poor quality of food and the pollution of the Seine River waters where some of the water competitions are held, in addition to the spread of diseases among athletes.
Opening Ceremony Disaster
The opening ceremony witnessed a number of controversial performances, such as the embodiment of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper by a group of transgender artists, as well as the singer Felipe Catrin, who appeared naked and embodied the Greek god Dionysus in the same scene from “The Last Supper.”
The concert received many negative reactions, as it was described as insulting to the Christian religion, and it was also criticized for promoting violence, according to some media outlets, regarding the singing section that showed the former Queen Marie Antoinette singing with a severed head.
As the criticism mounted, the official video of the opening ceremony was removed from the tournament’s YouTube account.
Disastrous organization and fatal mistakes
A major mistake occurred at the opening ceremony after guards raised the famous Olympic flag backwards.
At the end of the opening ceremony, the guards raised the flag with its five Olympic rings on a pole in the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, the flag was reversed, with the two lower rings of the symbol turned up. The usual shape of the flag is “three rings on top of two rings.”
After another disastrous mistake at the same ceremony, South Korea protested that its athletes were presented as North Koreans.
As the boat carrying the South Korean athletes passed through the Seine, they were introduced in French and English as being from the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the official name for North Korea, with which its southern neighbor is still technically at war.
In a similar scandal, the award ceremony for the winners of the 92kg boxing competition included a grave mistake when the Thai flag was raised instead of the flag of Tajikistani boxer Davlat Boltaev, who won the bronze.
Paris Olympics platform reveals athletes’ secrets
The official digital platform for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has achieved widespread popularity, after revealing personal details of the athletes participating in the Olympics.
The Spanish network “Relevo” revealed that when visiting the official website of the Paris 2024 tournament, followers can find out private information about the participating athletes, which may include the names of their partners, talk about their sexual orientation, or touch on family matters.
The network explained that the official website of the Paris Games collects the personal files of all athletes participating in the Olympic event in order to facilitate the work of journalists and provide users with more information, but it seems that they “skipped” their research efforts.
Stealing sports missions
Several athletes participating in the Paris Olympics were victims of robberies in the Olympic Village, and the incidents were reported to the police.
Japan’s Kyodo News Agency revealed that a player in the national rugby sevens team had his wedding ring, a necklace and a sum of money stolen from his room in the village.
Javier Mascherano, coach of the Argentine Olympic football team, also reported that some of his players were robbed before their first group match against Morocco.
Worms in athletes food
British swimmer Adam Peaty has revealed that athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics found worms in their food, criticising the poor food service in the Olympic Village.
Six-time Olympic medallist Peaty complained about the quantity and quality of food served, saying it would affect the athletes’ performance.
“The food is not good enough to make athletes perform at their best,” Beattie explained. “We need to give our best.”
“In Tokyo the food was amazing. In Rio it was amazing. But this time? Not enough protein options, long lines, waiting 30 minutes for food because there is no queuing system,” he added.
“I love my fish, people find worms in my fish. We look at the best athletes in the world and feed them the best food,” he added.
Golden hero sleeping on the streets of Paris
One of the champions of the Paris 2024 Olympics was forced to sleep on one of the streets of the French capital, due to his complaints about staying in the Olympic Village.
Italian swimmer Thomas Ciccono was seen sleeping on the streets of Paris, days after winning the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke.
Saudi rower Hussein Ali Reda took a video of the Italian champion sleeping in a Paris park, after complaining about the poor condition of the Olympic village hosting the athletes.
Thomas Ciccone complained about the lack of air conditioning in the Olympic Village rooms, which led him to take a nap outdoors in a garden in the Olympic Village.
Seine River Pollution
Paris Olympic swimmers have given shocking testimonies after their experience swimming in the River Seine, where some of the aquatic competitions are held at the Paris Games.
Belgian triathlete Juliane Vermeulen said she had a “strange taste that certainly doesn’t taste like Coca-Cola” and saw “strange things that I don’t want to remember” while swimming under a bridge in the River Seine as part of a 1,500-meter race.
Athletes suffer from nausea and vomiting
There have been isolated instances of swimmers vomiting after swimming in the Seine, including Canadian triathlete Taylor Myslawchuk, who reported vomiting 10 times.
For her part, German swimmer Leonie Beck, who came in ninth in the 10-kilometre race, posted a photo of herself on Instagram, giving a thumbs up but looking sick.
“I vomited 9 times yesterday with diarrhea,” Leonie wrote, before adding sarcastically: “The water quality in the Seine is certified.”
Disease outbreak in the Olympic Village
The World Health Organization confirmed, in the middle of last week, that at least 40 athletes participating in the Olympic Games have tested positive for the Corona virus.
American Olympic runner Noah Lyles was the most affected by the spread of the virus.
Lyles finished third in the 200m, his specialty, last Thursday (19.70 seconds), dashing his hopes of winning the sprint double, after he was narrowly beaten by the yellow metal in the 100m.
After winning bronze, Lyles revealed that he had been suffering from the coronavirus.
Source: RT + Agencies
#Paris #curtain #falls #Olympics #scandals
2024-08-12 17:13:29
