Simone Biles And Leon Marchand Headline Memorable Moments At The Halfway Point Of The Paris Olympics

PARIS  — Biles, The midway mark of the Paris Olympics has introduced the world to “The Pommel Horse Guy,” a rugby player and social media celebrity who wants to appear on reality shows “Love Island” and “The Real John Wick” in the shape of a 51-year-old Turkish shooter.

Since the dazzling opening ceremony, the Olympics have been full of memorable moments: the Seine River was too dirty for the triathlon swim to take place as planned, a gender controversy erupted in women’s boxing, Léon Marchand led France with four gold medals in four swimming events, and, of course, Simone Biles has dazzled while winning two gold medals, with more still up for grabs.

Biles | AP News Image

Simone Biles And Leon Marchand Headline Memorable Moments At The Halfway Point Of The Paris Olympics

Here are some of the most memorable moments from the 2024 Olympics thus far.

Simone Biles shone.
Biles dominated the first week of the Paris Games, winning gold medals in the women’s team final and all-around and attracting a star-studded crowd every time she participated. She now has nine Olympic medals, six of which are gold, more than any other American gymnast.

Biles still has three more events scheduled. The vault is on Saturday night, and she has the balancing beam and floor exercise on Monday.

Biles, who dropped out of most of her events at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago to address her mental health, has recovered to become only the third woman to win two all-around titles. She joined Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1960 and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia in 1964 and 1968.

At 27, she is the oldest person to finish on the all-around podium since 30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya of the Soviet Union won the first-ever Olympic all-around in Helsinki in 1952.

Ilona Maher, Yusuf Dikec, and other stars appear.
Stephen Nedoroscik, sometimes known as “The Pommel Horse Guy,” made his Olympic debut by assisting the United States men’s gymnastics team in winning its first medal in 16 years.

The bespectacled 25-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, sat almost motionless during the men’s team final, waiting his turn to compete on the pommel horse, his sole event in Paris. When it was time to go, he provided 45 seconds of greatness.

The party started before his feet touched the mat on his dismount, and Nedoroscik became an instant internet sensation.

Ilona Maher, who rose to prominence in Tokyo for her behind-the-scenes social media reports, guided the United States to its first-ever rugby sevens podium finish.

Maher has used her platform to promote body positivity and document life at the athletes’ village, which she nicknamed “The Villa” in honor of her favorite reality show, “Love Island”.

Yusuf Dikec, however, has proven to be the most unlikely star.

The 51-year-old Turkish pistol shooter became popular on social media for his seemingly calm demeanor after winning a silver medal in a mixed 10-meter air pistol. Commenters dubbed him “The Real John Wick,” after the Keanu Reeves character from The Matrix series.

Dikec was shooting in a T-shirt, with one hand in his pocket, an ordinary set of spectacles, and an unimpressed expression. He’s been compared to a regular guy competing in the Olympics or even a hitman.

Gender-related questions
An Algerian boxer faces a gender backlash after her Italian opponent pulled out seconds into their fight.

Former US President Donald Trump and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni have slammed Imane Khelif publicly. Khelif was excluded from the 2023 world championships for violating vague and opaque eligibility requirements for women’s competition administered by the now-banned International Boxing Association.

Khelif was assigned female at birth, as evidenced by her passport, which meets the International Olympic Committee’s boxing qualifying criteria.

Léon Marchand and Katie Ledecky rule the pool.
Marchand has owned the pool. He electrified a home crowd Friday night with his fourth gold medal in the 200-meter individual medley, setting an Olympic record. He also won gold medals in the 400 individual medley, 200 butterfly, and 200 backstroke.

Ledecky will attempt to join Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to win four gold medals in the same event.

Ledecky is aiming for a fourth consecutive title in the women’s 800 freestyle, which she won in the 2012 London Olympics. Another victory would give her the ninth Olympic gold medal of her career, tying her for second in the most gold medals in the Olympics, Summer or Winter, in any sport.

Phelps won the 200 individual medley four times and took home 23 gold medals.

Simone Biles And Leon Marchand Headline Memorable Moments At The Halfway Point Of The Paris Olympics

The opening ceremony dispute
The opening ceremony sparked uproar with a disputed scene involving drag queens and other artists.

Although creative director Thomas Jolly has frequently stated that he was not influenced by “The Last Supper,” critics viewed a portion of the production as a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s artwork depicting Jesus Christ and his apostles.

Following Jolly’s accusation of death threats, Paris police have initiated a hate speech inquiry.

Despite health concerns regarding the water quality, organizers have maintained that the triathlon and marathon swimming events can be held safely in the Seine River.

After many delays due to excessive germ levels, the triathlon swimming took place, and the vistas on television were spectacular as racers cycled and ran past Paris’ most famous landmarks.

It was all part of an ambitious plan to clean up the heavily polluted Seine, which would cost 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in infrastructural improvements. Due to water quality concerns, a few swim practice sessions had to be canceled, and the men’s race was pushed back a day.

SOURCE | AP