Paris Olympics continues on with more gold to be given out

AP Photo/David Goldman

The Olympic motto comes from before the official Olympic Games began.

The original motto was first said in 1881 by the Dominican priest Henri Didon in the opening ceremony of a sports event.

In Latin, the motto is, “Citius, Altius, Fortius.” In English that translates to “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”

Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Olympic movement, was in the crowd for Didon’s speech and adopted those words as the Olympic motto in 1894.

“It expresses the aspirations of the Olympic Movement,” the IOC said. “Not only in its athletic and technical sense but also from a moral and educational perspective.”

The motto was changed during a session of the International Olympic Committee in July of 2021.

It now reads in Latin, “Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter.” Which in English translates to “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.”

The change was made to recognize the “unifying power of sport and the importance of solidarity.”

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

One game after Team USA head coach Steve Kerr called himself an "idiot" for not playing Jayson Tatum in the Olympic opener against Serbia, he had another player not see an ounce of playing time - this one was an MVP.

Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star center, was a starter against Serbia, but he was replaced by Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis in the 103-86 victory over South Sudan on Wednesday in Paris. 

Embiid was the only player on Team USA to not see an ounce of playing time in the first half, let alone the entire game, against South Sudan, a scrappy bunch that gave the Stars and Stripes fits during their exhibition game this month.

Embiid, who opted to play for the United States while also having eligibility for France and his home country, Cameroon, was deadpan on the Team USA bench throughout the game, as the broadcast picked up.  

Instead of substituting for Davis off the bench, Kerr called on Bam Adebayo to relieve him. Adebayo played 21 minutes and led the U.S. in points with 18 on 8-of-10 shooting, along with seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal. 

Embiid was the NBA’s leading scorer last season, averaging 33 points per game for the Sixers, but he struggled in the team’s opener against Serbia. He only played 11 minutes, going 2-for-5 from the field for four points while going 0-for-3 from the free throw line. He had just two rebounds as well.

This is an excerpt from a report by Scott Thompson.

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How expensive is it to host the Olympics? In short, quite expensive.

Paris has already spent $9.7 billion on Olympic expenses, and the French taxpayers are paying for about $3.25 billion of that according to The Associated Press.

There is no guarantee you end up making that money back either.

The IOC projects Paris’ will receive $12.2 billion of economic benefit from these games, leaving them in the black should they come true.

The IOC says that the “economic benefits for the city, region, and country and predicted to far outweigh the Games-related investments.

Yet the numbers from past games tell a different story.

In 2012, London spent $14.6 billion and generated $5.2 billion. In 2010, Vancouver spent $7.6 billion yet only brought in $2.8 billion.

In 2008, Beijing spent a whopping $42 billion and only brought in $3.6 million.

According to the University of Oxford, every Olympics since 1960 – except for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles – has been over budget by an average of 172%.

The reason the 1984 Olympics were profitable for Los Angeles was because most of the infrastructure required for the Games were already built.

A lot of cities that were over their budget built brand new stadiums for the Olympic Games. Those stadiums have been seldom used since the Games left their respective cities.

Paris has only built one competitive venue for the 2024 Games, relying on previously built infrastructure and temporary venues to avoid having to build so many new venues.

Time will tell if the 2024 Paris Games can join the 1984 Los Angeles Games as being the only Olympics that has been profitable in the last 64 years. 

Block by block, Simone Biles is building an unforgettable Paris Olympics resume. She added another big block to it on Wednesday. 

In an Instagram post featuring a collage of photos from Tuesday's competition, she appeared to reference a comment from former American Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner with a caption that read "Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions." 

After making light of Skinner's comments with her Instagram post, Biles later sent a post that read, "oop I’ve been blocked," on X on Wednesday.

Currently, Biles and Skinner are not following each other on X or on Instagram.

Shortly after making the comments about this year's team, Skinner posted a video defending her comments on Instagram Stories, saying that she had been "misinterpreted or misunderstood." She later posted an apology note on her Instagram page to Biles and the rest of the team.

"It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work," Skinner's statement said, in part.

Biles later appeared to respond in a post on Threads that read, "[N]ot everyone needs a mic and a platform."

This is an excerpt from a report by Jackson Thompson.

Expect more medals, Olympic swimming legend Katie Ledecky said as she thanked fans for their support in a video message shared on social media following a big night in the pool. 

“Thanks so much for the support tonight and all week, we’re feeling the love and Team USA is heating up,” Ledecky said in the message shared by USA swimming on X. “Let’s go USA!”

The United States leads the total medal count with 30 Olympic medals. Ledecky’s gold medal in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle on Wednesday night raised the American’s gold medal count to five.

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The last time the Olympics were held in Paris was exactly a century ago in 1924.

In those games, there were 126 trials for 17 sports. Just 135 of the 3,089 athletes that competed were women.

The Olympic Games were starting to gain more relevance globally, as 44 countries sent representatives to Paris. All continents were represented in the 1924 Olympic games.

The 1924 Games were historic because it was the first Games where the Olympic Village was built. Later that year, in the winter of 1924, France was host to the first ever Winter Olympics. The competitions held in Chamonix are considered the inaugural Winter Olympic Games.

The history of Paris and the Olympics dates back further than 1924.

Greece was the host of the first Olympics, but Paris hosted the second ever Olympic Games in 1900.

In fact, they were not even called the Olympics yet. “The Games of the II Olympiad” took place over the course of five months from May to October 1900.

The Paris 2024 games will make history as well: they will be the first carbon-neutral games, and the first gender-equal games.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

Katie Ledecky has always been a fan favorite, but one young fan experienced an unforgettable moment after Ledecky took home the gold medal with ease in the women's 1500-meter freestyle on Wednesday night.

Video of the young girl gripping an American flag and shouting after Ledecky left the pool deck has gone viral on social media.

"She waved at me," the young girl appeared to say before sitting back down in shock.

Ledecky's official time of 15:30.02 broke the Olympic record in the event – a record she previously set at the Tokyo Games. It also marked her 8th gold medal, tying her for the most won by an American woman.

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Block by block, Simone Biles is building an unforgettable Paris Olympics resume. She added another big block to it on Wednesday. 

After leading the U.S. women's gymnastics team to a gold medal and becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympics history, Biles made sure certain people didn't forget it. 

In an Instagram post featuring a collage of photos from Tuesday's competition, she appeared to reference a comment from former American Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner with a caption that read "Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions." 

Prior to the start of the Paris Olympics, Skinner said, "Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. Just notice, like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic," in a since-deleted YouTube video, according to the New York Post.

After making light of Skinner's comments with her Instagram post, Biles later sent a post that read, "oop I’ve been blocked," on X on Wednesday.

This is an excerpt from a report by Jackson Thompson.

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The U.S. women’s soccer team was already through to the quarterfinals, but they continued their domination through the group stages to remain undefeated with a 2-1 win over Australia on Wednesday. 

Trinity Rodman got Team USA on the board first with a goal in the 43rd minute and Korbin Albert sealed their victory with another score in the 77th minute. 

The U.S. advanced out of the group stages with nine goals, the most in for the program in Olympic history. The United States is the winningest team at the Olympics, with four gold medals in women’s soccer – a streak they’re hoping to continue under new coach Emma Hayes.

They will next play Japan on Saturday at Parc des Princes in Paris. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Danielle Collins, the final American tennis player competing in the women’s singles in Paris, withdrew from her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek in the third set on Wednesday. 

According to The Associated Press, Collins said she cramped and went into convulsions because of dehydration and exhaustion after competing in heat that reached 97 degrees on Tuesday.

She went on to blame Olympics organizers for not having insulated water bottles, for the water not being cool enough, and for not “prioritizing the health of the athletes.”

Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, who was hit by a shot while up at the net, moves on with the hopes of capturing her first Olympic medal. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The cycling leg of the women's triathlon at the Paris Olympics descended into a flurry of bicycle crashes on Wednesday as competitors slipped across wet cobblestone. 

The conditions for the event featured rainstorms, heat and humidity. It resulted in several competitors being unable to control their bicycles around various turns on the cobblestone roads of Paris, as several athletes crashed and fell onto the ground. 

Guam's Manami Iijima was the first athlete to crash, and her tumble was soon followed by Brazil's Vittoria Lopes, Germany's Lisa Tertsch and Belgium's Jolien Vermeylen.

Some athletes even withdrew from the competition due to the constant crashing, including Norwegian athlete Lotte Miller, who withdrew from the event after crashing and falling off her bicycle twice.

This is an excerpt from a report by Jackson Thompson.

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Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics despite being disqualified in the 2023 World Championships over gender eligibility concerns raised questions at the start of the Summer Games.

The International Olympic Committee cleared Khelif to compete, but that did not stop Olympic viewers from expressing outrage on social media on Tuesday. A video of Khelif’s fight against Mexico’s Brianda Tamara Cruz Sandoval in December 2022 raised the temperature.

The video of the 66-kilogram fight in the WBT Golden Belt Series showed Khelif pummeling the Mexican fighter. Tamara told The Telegraph  she never felt the way she felt after the fight during her boxing career.

"When I fought her I felt very out of my depth," Tamara added. "Her blows hurt me a lot. Thank God that day I got out of the ring safely, and it’s good that they finally realized."

This is an excerpt from a report by Ryan Gaydos.

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Two-time Olympian Evy Leibfarth has earned her first Olympic medal with a third place finish in the women’s canoe single final on Wednesday. 

Leibfarth, 20, was holding on to gold medal position for the first half of the women’s final before Elena Lilik of Germany finished with an official time of 103.54. Leibfarth went first in the final after entering with the highest qualifying time, but she managed to hold on to medal position through all 12 finalists. 

Australia’s Jessica Fox has picked up her second gold medal of these Olympics, after winning the women’s kayak single on Sunday. 

Leibfarth has a chance to medal again when she competes in the women’s kayak cross event beginning on Friday. 

AP Photo/Dar Yasin

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are underway and will continue through August 11.

When will we see the Olympic Games next?

The summer Olympics are held every four years, and the next time we see the summer Olympics will be in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Tokyo Games actually took place in 2021.

The first Olympic Games started in 1896, and the winter Olympic Games began in 1924.

From 1924 to 1992 the summer and winter Games were held in the same year. The four years period is called an “Olympiad.”

1992 was the last year the games were played in the same year when Barcelona hosted the summer Olympics and Albertville hosted the winter Olympics.

Since 1992, the summer and winter Games are still played every four years, but not during the same year. The summer Games are held during the first year of the Olympiad, while the winter Games are held during the third year of the Olympiad.

The next winter Olympic Games will be in 2026, hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy.

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Over the next few weeks, the world will get to watch some of the best athletes in the world compete at their craft.

While the 2024 Paris Games have 33 different events, there are still some notable sports that have never been played in the Olympics.

American Football

American Football has never made an appearance in the Olympics. However, flag football has been approved by the IOC to be an Olympic event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.  

Some of the NFL’s best yearn for the opportunity to play flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Games to represent their country.

Cricket

Despite it being the second most-watched sport in the world, it only appeared in the 1896 Games before being withdrawn from the event due a lack of entrants.

However, cricket will be an event in the 2028 Olympic Games so the over century long wait will be over in four more years.

Darts

There was some discussion about darts potentially making it into the 2024 Paris Olympics, but to no avail.

The sport is gaining momentum around the world but not yet an Olympic sport.

Bowling

Bowling has appeared as a demonstration sport in the Games before, but never officially an Olympic sport.

Mixed Martial Arts

MMA is immensely popular across the world, but not an Olympic sport. Some believe the sport is too violent to ever be an Olympic sport. 

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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Team USA is looking to continue to build upon their Olympic dominance at the Paris 2024 Games.

Throughout the Olympic Games, the United States is the most prolific medal-winning nation in the history of the Olympics.

The United States collected a total of 2,968 medals throughout the history of the Games prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics. 1,179 gold medals, 956 silver medals, and 833 bronze medals.

Team USA has placed first in the Summer Olympic table in 18 of the 29 Games in 28 appearances. The United States boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Team USA won the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bringing home 113 total medals, with 39 of them gold. China finished in second place with 89 total medals with 38 of them gold.

However, in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics the United States finished in 5th place with 25 total medals.

Noray had the most with 37, the Russian Olympic Committee came in second with 32, Germany in third with 27, and Canada in fourth with 26.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

Katie Ledecky is the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle final and she’s making sure fans tune in to Wednesday night’s race. 

Ledecky took to social media to tease the final, which will take place at 3:13 p.m. ET. 

She looked effortless in the pool on Tuesday after cruising to the women’s the final with a more than 17 second lead over the second place finisher in the prelim.

Ledecky is searching for her eighth Olympic gold medal. She is a four-time Olympian with 11 medals. She is the most decorated female swimmer in history, which includes 21 world championship gold medals.

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Donna Kelce, the mother of Super Bowl champion brothers Travis and Jason, reposted a critical take of the controversy around the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Monday.

The opening ceremony was criticized for making a mockery of "The Last Supper" – one of the most revered moments in Christianity. Those defending the segment have claimed the ceremony was meant to resemble the feast of Dionysus.

Kelce’s repost called for better education and to limit "mindlessly sharing posts."

"This is what happens when you ban books and limit education," the Facebook post she shared read. "The Opening Ceremony of the Olympics wasn’t a mock of the Last Supper. If you have any knowledge of the Greek origin of the Olympics and the French’s rich history of theater you would have gotten this. However, because of your veiled homophobia, some of you can’t discern factual information. "This is was what went down last night, so do your own research into the Olympics."

This is an excerpt from a report by Ryan Gaydos.

AP Photo/Louise Delmotte

There are 195 internationally recognized countries in the world, so how are 207 teams competing in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games?

That is because, technically, there are no countries participating in the Olympic Games, but rather athletes from National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

The medal tallies and success are contributed to the countries where the athletes come from.

In a statement the International Olympic Committee said, “Athletes from the territories of 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) will take part at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”

Some of the teams competing for gold, silver and bronze medals include the United States of America, American Samoa, Egypt, Canada, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Ireland, Japan, Panama, Sweden, Virgin Island, U.S. and Virgin Islands, British, among many others.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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Two-time Olympian Perris Benegas has earned her first Olympic medal in the women’s BMX freestyle competition on Wednesday. 

Benegas, who finished fourth in the same event in Tokyo, picked up a silver medal after scoring 90.70 on her second run at the urban sports park built at Place de La Concorde. She placed second behind China’s Deng Yawen, who won China's first gold in the event. 

A big day for Benegas followed heartbreak for fellow American Hannah Roberts, a five-time world champion, who crashed out on both her runs and failed to medal. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Canada team celebrates their side's 2-1 win at the end of the women's Group A soccer match between Canada and France at Geoffroy-Guichard stadium during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Saint-Etienne, France. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Canada women’s soccer lost its appeal against FIFA’s penalty of a six-point docking amid the drone-spying scandal that plagued them at the start of the Paris Olympics.

Canada’s six-point penalty remains and will still have zero points in its Group A despite being the only team in the group that has two wins. The team is three points out of first place but has the largest goal differential of any team (+2).

Canada plays Colombia on Wednesday. If they win, the team could catapult into the knockout stage even with the scandal clouding up their time in Paris.

The team is the defending goal medal champions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

AP Photo/Christophe Ena

You want a pizza this?

Olympic fencing in Paris took a controversial turn on Monday after Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long defeated Italy’s Filippo Macchi 15-14 in the men’s foil.

The gold medal bout needed three stoppages for video reviews to determine the deciding point. The final point was awarded to the Hong Kong fencer while Italy’s side protestedItalian Fencing Federation president Paolo Azzi said a complaint would be filed with the International Olympic Committee.

“Never seen anything like this. Filippo Macchi is the real winner and he was denied a gold he deserved,” Azzi said in a statement.

Italian supporters took to Instagram to express their displeasure with Cheung’s win, even going to the fencer’s social media account to say Macchi had been robbed. However, Hong Kong supporters responded with mockery about their love for pineapple on pizza.

Pizza Hut in Hong Kong and Macao offered free pineapple toppings on any pizzas on Tuesday and Wednesday to celebrate Cheung’s fine.Cheung is the first Hong Kong fencer to win two gold medals.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Simone Biles of USA wins gold during the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final - Women's Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final on Day 4 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)

Simone Biles is running out of historic thresholds to cross off.

The 27-year-old American gymnast led the US to a team gold in the women's gymnastics final on Tuesday, clinching the medal with her floor routine. Italy took silver.

For Biles, Tuesday's gold medal marks her eighth Olympic medal overall. This makes her the most decorated Olympic gymnast in US history, as she surpassed "Magnificent Seven" star Shannon Miller for most career Olympic medals.

Biles is still 10 medals behind the all-time record set by Larisa Latynina, of the former Soviet Union. Latynina also has the record for most gold medals with nine.

Over the course of her illustrious Olympics career, Biles has won five gold medals, a silver and two bronze medals. Another medal at the 2024 Olympics would put her in a tie with Romania’s Nadia Comăneci and the former Soviet Union’s Ludmilla Tourischeva.With the way Biles has performed thus far, it doesn’t appear that she’s done yet.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

France's Cassandre Beaugrand, left, Julie Derron, of Switzerland, center, and Britain's Beth Potter right, compete during the women's individual triathlon competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

France’s Cassandre Beaugrand was finally able to compete in the women’s triathlon after days of concerns over the water quality of the River Seine. She brought home a gold medal to her home country to kick off a Wednesday filled with medal events.

Other sports will also have medals events in and around Paris.

Triathlon will be back on the docket along with diving, rowing, cycling BMX freestyle, shooting, judo, canoe slalom, gymnastics, fencing and swimming.

There are other sports in action as well as they move closer to determining gold, silver and bronze medals. Volleyball, beach volleyball, equestrian, hockey, table tennis, basketball, boxing, handball, archery, tennis, sailing, badminton, water polo, 3x3 basketball and soccer are on the menu as well.

Gold medalists of Team New Zealand celebrate after the Women's Rugby Sevens medal ceremony following the Women's Rugby Sevens matches on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)

Team USA added to their medal count on Tuesday with women’s gymnastics gold in the team final, silvers in the women’s 400-meter individual medley, women’s 100-meter backstroke, men’s 800-meter freestyle and the men’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay and bronze medals in the women’s rugby sevens match and women’s 100-meter backstroke.

As the Western Hemisphere began to wake up on Wednesday, the United States had 26 total medals, including four gold. It was the most total medals of any country participating in the Olympics. But the team is still lacking in gold medals.

Japan leads all countries with seven gold medals with France, China and Australia behind Japan with six. South Korea has five gold medals while the U.S. and Great Britain are tied with four.

There are several medal events still to come over the course of the day.