Everything You Need To Know About Team USA & The 2024 Olympics (No, Men's Basketball Isn't Doomed)
Did you know the Olympics actually start TODAY?
No, you didn't miss the Opening Ceremony. But for a slew of reasons in terms of venues, locations, etc. two sports are starting before the cauldron is lit for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris. It's not unusual for Soccer (Football) to start prior to the opening of the games, but almost the entire Men's side of Rugby Sevens (a must-watch newer sport in the Olympic Games) will be complete before the athletes even walk.
So, as I will do daily, here is your viewing schedule for Day 1 (Thursday, June 24th) of the Paris 2024 Olympics:
Check back here every day (and on social) for the schedule of what to watch each day.
As the Olympics freak that I am (and a former member of the USOC & Team USA delegation at the London 2012 Olympics (I did not compete; worked communications)), I figured I would hammer out a few things to look for in these Games from Team USA. I am leaving out a ton of people, teams, and events (including swimming), but will highlight them as the days go on in Paris. For now, here are some thoughts…
MEN'S BASKETBALL
My favorite team in all of sports is Team USA basketball. There is nothing I enjoy more than the once-every-four-year opportunity to see our greatest players (usually) link up and take on the world. It also means that watching people toss out hot takes about the team, especially in situations that do not matter, drives me up a fucking wall.
I will say this very clearly: NOTHING TEAM USA BASKETBALL DID THE LAST FEW WEEKS MATTERS.
They were essentially playing a preseason slate with hockey style line shifts, test lineups, and limited minutes as they figured out how to play together. This team doesn't have the luxury of say the 2008 Redeem Team, which had mostly played together for much longer on the international circuit than just once month. In these games they were also going up against opponents treating it like a Gold Medal Game, who have also played together for years. Because of all of this, the last few days have been filled with lazy, casual, and hot takes tossed around about the impending "doom" for this team.
Yes, it would've been nice to see them smash South Sudan, or handle Germany (reigning FIBA World Cup Champions) with relative ease, but if you actually watched the games, you know you saw a team focusing much more on getting into a groove than going for a kill shot. In the last few games, whenever Team USA really ramped things up during the showcase, they beat the shit out of teams:
Did you know that USA Men's Basketball won Gold in the previous Tokyo 2020 Olympics? I bet you did.
Did you know that they lost two games in the lead up to the Olympics? I bet you didn't, or forgot, because it didn't fucking matter.
Expect them to do that from the jump when they take on Sebria on Sunday. There won't be any toying around or playing loose. They will lock in and show the world why they are the best… because those games matter. Sure, they might get tested, as the world is no joke, and teams such as France, Canada, and Serbia are pretty stacked. But nothing that happened these last five games will have much bearing on what you see happen in Paris.
If this team does not win Gold, I will eat part of this shirt:
Okay, rant over. Let's all relax. Go Team USA.
TEAM USA MAY FINALLY BE THE FASTEST AGAIN
We might see a changing of the guard for the 100m spring by both the Men and the Women, and it might red, white, & blue. The last time the Team USA Men held the title of "fastest man" in the world was at Athens 2004 when Justin Gatlin won. For the women, it was back at Sydney 2000 when Marion Jones won, who, technically, had the medal stripped due to doping.
Things might change this year for the men due to Noah Lyles, Kung-Fu Kenny Bednarek, and Fred Kerley:
Noah Lyles is the reigning World Champion, and has a shot to finally break through and take the title. It's also not worth ignoring Kung-Fu Kenny or Kerley either, as both pose a real threat, and the latter won the Silver Medal at Tokyo 2020.
None of them will be the favorite though, as Jamaica's Kishane Thompson comes into Paris on a roll, and the likes of
Oblique Seville, Thompson fellow countryman, and Botswana's Letsile Tebogo will also challenge the Americans. This is one of the most exciting 100m fields we've ever seen.
I was blessed with the chance to see Usain Bolt win Gold at London 2012 in the 100m, and I will forever say that it is the single greatest sporting moment you can witness in the world. It goes from dead silence to an explosion of energy and sound. It's exhilarating and the highlight of every Games for me.
(This crew I mentioned above, from all countries, will also mostly be suiting up for the 200m, with the same stakes and anticipation on the line! The USA are the heavy favorites with Lyles & Kung-Fu Kenny leading the pack, but the third member of the team Erriyon Knighton shouldn't be counted out, as well as Andre De Grasse of Canada.)
Now on to the women where Sha'Carri Richardson, who was booted from Tokyo 2020 due to a positive marijuana test, rides into Paris 2024 with her eyes on Gold:
Easily one of the faces of Team USA in France, Richardson is all flash, and has backed it up on the track the last few years. Unlike with the Men, the United States is favored here as Richardson is expected to take home Gold. With that said, as always, Jamaica looms large. Right behind here will be the electric Shericka Jackson, as well as the legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who has two Golds, a Silver, and a Bronze in this event over her Olympic career. Also, don't count out Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred, who is looking to win the nation's first ever Olympic medal.
TOPPLING A 36 YEAR OLD RECORD ON THE TRACK
The United States women, as well as the rest of the field, will also have their eyes set on breaking what has become one of the most unbreakable records in the history of the sport: Florence Griffith-Joyner's 100m & 200m World Records.
These records set by the late Flo-Jo have stood since 1988, when she set the 100m at the Olympic Trials, and then the 200m at Seoul 1988. While the 100m record has largely been disputed at wind-aided, with poor wind readings helping validate a record that shouldn't still be standing, she owns them both, as well as an impressive 200m time that hasn't been touched.
But… I actually thinks both records fall this year.
The likes of Sha'Carri Richardson, the Jamaican runners, and the USA's stacked 200m team including superstar Gabby Thomas, Brittany Brown, and McKenzie Long all have a legit chance to take down these records:
It will take a lot, but I just have this hunch someone, whether it is a Team USA runner, a Jamaican, or a surprise winner, is going to finally take down that record.
SIMONE BILES IS BACK; THE WORLD IS MAD
Three years ago, Simone Biles went through a tough time at Tokyo 2020 with the pressure of the world on her shoulder, getting the "twisties," and shockingly bowing out of the Games without the dominating run everyone expected.
Unfortunately for the world, she's back, and probably better than ever before:
It makes no sense whatsoever, that a human being can do the things she does. Then it makes even less sense when you think about the fact these will be her third Games. Gymnasts are lucky to compete at one Games, let alone two, and three is just fucking absurd.
There are skills named after her, potential scores that only she can even come close to obtaining, and because of that, some members of the world are … not happy.
Russia's gymnastics coach Valentina Rodionenko said this about Biles: "I want to express my regrets about Biles' victory. What is gymnastics? It's scary to watch it! Do you think there is at least some kind of aesthetic there - low? There is simply nothing to watch. She has no great performance, only difficulty. She only wins through difficulty." (via Sportskeeda)
Boo fucking hoo.
Excited to taste the tears of other nations as Simone Biles racks up more medals once again.
MOST DOMINANT ATHLETE IN THE WORLD: SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE
To me, the title of most dominant athlete in the world belongs to Team USA's Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
The Gold Medalist in the Women's 400m at Tokyo 2020 just recently set the World Record again at the U.S. Track & Field trials. She owns six of the ten fastest times in the world, and it is not out of the question that, given the perfect conditions, she might shock the world and become the first woman to ever go sub 50.00 seconds.
She will have stiff competition from the likes of the Dutch hurdler Femke Bol, making the Women's 400m Hurdles a must-watch event at Paris 2024.
(Also, the Men's 400m Hurdles is going to be fucking insane, as Team USA's Rai Benjamin squares off with Norway's Karsten Warholm, and Brazil's Alison dos Santos. The three fastest men ever (they own, combined, the 17 fastest times ever) will be putting on quite the show on the track)
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That's all for now. There are a ton of other people I could highlight, and I will do so in the next few days, especially in the pool where the likes of Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel, Simone Manuel, and many more look to return to the podium for the United States.
Until tomorrow, go Team USA. Let the games (sort of) begin.