2024 Paris Olympics: The countdown begins
As the summer season approaches, the countdown to the 2024 Paris Olympics begins. It is the first time since the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics that athletes and spectators will have a relatively normal experience as COVID-19 completely transformed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when they were held in 2021 — most stands were empty as very few fans were permitted.
With 392 events spread across 32 different sports, fans will have no shortage of content over the three-week period.
As of May 12, we are 73 days out from the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
When do the 2024 Paris Olympics start?
While the televised opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics — which features athletes floating down the Seine River instead of being in a stadium in an unprecedented move by Olympic organizers — is on July 26 at 10:30 a.m. local time, actual competitions kick off a couple of days earlier. The first men’s soccer game is on July 24 at 6 a.m. local time; that marks the unofficial start of the Olympics. Not long after, rugby starts at 6:30 a.m. local time. But the opening ceremony officially marks the beginning of the Olympics.
How long will the Olympics last?
The 2024 Paris Olympics start on July 24 and go until Aug. 11, the day of the closing ceremony. The full schedule with a daily breakdown for each sport can be found at olympics.com.
Sports added, lost in 2024
There is one new sport being added for the 2024 Paris Olympics: “break.” This is known as breakdancing and will feature 20 total athletes on the men’s and women’s sides. Team USA has qualified two athletes so far for the event: Sunny Choi and Victor Montalvo. One more male and one more female will qualify for Paris.
Coming back for the 2024 Paris Olympics after making their debut in Tokyo are climbing, skateboarding and surfing.
With those sports being added by the Olympic committee, karate, softball and baseball have been removed for 2024.
Who has qualified so far for Team USA?
Rocky Harris, an Arizona native who is the chief of sport and athlete services for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, told USA Today in April that more than 800 athletes will qualify for Team USA in Paris. But with a majority of those qualifying competitions taking place in the summer, most of the team’s roster is still to be filled out.
At the moment, there are 107 Team USA athletes across 17 different sports who have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The full list of Team USA athletes can be at teamusa.com.
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school and Olympic sports. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 2024 Paris Olympics: The countdown begins
