Andy Murray practices at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
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Michael Butler (now) and Luke McLaughlin (for a bit earlier)
Tue 23 Jul 2024 07.48 EDT
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07.48 EDT
An email from Clive Rodgers, responding to my request yesterday of what would be the most British-scented scratch-and-sniff stamp. For context, the French post office have launched a baguette-fragranced scratch-and-sniff stamp.
While working within central government in the 90s I once commissioned scratch and sniff posters for use overseas on behalf of the FCO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office]. They included cups of tea, English Roses, tarred rope and fish and chips!
Tarred rope?!
Updated at 07.48 EDT
07.29 EDT
Dave Haggerty, International Tennis Federation chief, on Murray’s announcement:
Sir Andy has lived and breathed the values of tennis throughout his long career, championing equality and helping to send the message that our sport is for everyone. We will of course remember his two Olympic golds; his grand slam wins and his never-say-die attitude on the court. We will also remember his Davis Cup victory with Great Britain in 2015, helping his team to the title for the first time since 1936.
While this wonderful chapter of his career is now drawing to a close, we know that Sir Andy’s love of tennis will see him continue to be involved in helping to grow and develop our sport globally.
Updated at 07.29 EDT
07.26 EDT
Are you familiar with Pass notes, the Guardian’s daily irreverent explainer on all subjects, weird and wonderful?
Then you might enjoy this, by Alexandra Topping.
Paris 2024 explained: all you need to know about the Olympics but were afraid to ask
Updated at 07.26 EDT
07.12 EDT
WHO statement on Covid in France: ‘an uptick in recent weeks’
A reminder that this has come to the fore today because an unnamed Australian water polo player has been isolated at the Paris Games after testing positive for Covid.
Close contacts of the athlete were being monitored and tested, but the whole team would train as planned. There was no obligation to wear a mask because the number of cases was still low.
WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris has told reporters in Geneva: “France has seen an uptick in recent weeks and they are seeing a moderate impact on their health care system.”
The advice, she said, was: “Be responsible, especially when you have these athletes who are working. It’s just a very big moment in their career, and it would be a horrible thing if you gave that to an athlete. So anybody with symptoms is asked to stay at home or stay in their hotel.”
Updated at 07.12 EDT
07.04 EDT
Regarding Murray’s announcement, Elsie Grover-Jones has been in touch:
Murray truly is a national treasure – not only did he become Britain’s first men’s Wimbledon champion in 77 years in 2013, but has become a figurehead for British tennis and an inspiration to many. Tim Henman said ahead of this year’s Wimbledon: “Andy has been an absolutely phenomenal role model in British tennis and raised the bar”.
Interesting that Emma Raducanu highlighted his Olympic triumph as his career highlight earlier this month: “The biggest stand-out for me was when he lost in the final here of Wimbledon then came back a month later and won the Olympics”.
After unfortunate injury struggles, Murray will look to add another Olympic medal to his collection in Paris. Regardless, he will be remembered as one of the best British tennis players.
Updated at 07.05 EDT
06.52 EDT
1 – In his final tournament, Andy Murray will become the first British male or female player to appear in four Singles draws at the Olympic Games. Icon.#OlympicGames #Olympics | @Olympics @ITFTennis https://t.co/K3T4fNmV4e
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) July 23, 2024
Updated at 06.52 EDT
06.33 EDT
The Olympic Games is regarded as the pinnacle of sport in so many fields, but it’s safe to say that for a few events, there are competitions elsewhere which take precedence. That is obviously the case in men’s football, where the Olympics plays second fiddle to other international tournaments, but also the case in golf, tennis, and cycling.
Tadej Pogacar, fresh from his Giro d’Italia and Tour de France double, has announced he will not be competing in Paris, due to fatigue. A real shame, because the winner of the Olympic male road race will always have an asterisk over his gold medal.
Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar ruled out of Olympics due to fatigue
It would be interesting to see where Andy Murray ranks his two Olympic gold medals alongside his three grand slam titles. Surely his two Wimbledon triumphs are top of the pile, although it is worth remembering that his 2012 victory took place in SW19, and it is not insignificant that Murray has chosen the Olympics as the final tournament of his career. I wonder if it would have been the case if Murray was able to compete at Wimbledon a few weeks back.
Updated at 06.34 EDT
06.12 EDT
A useful explainer for our readers in the UK …
Explainer: how to watch Olympics in UK and why BBC only has two channels
… and for those in Australia …
Paris 2024 Olympics: what you need to know if following from Australia
… while our full Olympic schedule is here, with previews, standings and filters on medals and sports. Definitely one to bookmark for the next few weeks.
Paris Olympics 2024: live schedule
Updated at 06.12 EDT
05.52 EDT
Snoop Dogg to be a torchbearer for the Olympic flame
Don’t drop it. Because it’s hot, etc.
American rapper Snoop Dogg will be among the torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame in the final stretch before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on Friday.
Snoop Dogg, 52, will carry the torch through the streets of Saint-Denis, the underprivileged northern Paris suburb that is home to the Stade de France Olympic Stadium, the town’s mayor Mathieu Hanotin said on social media platform X.
“Saint Denis: last step before the Eiffel Tower. An international cast @SnoopDogg for the last stretch of the Olympic Flame,” Hanotin wrote.
Snoop’s ready. Photograph: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOPC
The rapper, who is also contributing to NBC Primetime’s coverage of Games, is better known in the sports world for his Snoop Youth Football League. The championship game is called the “Snooper Bowl”.
Other carriers of the torch in Saint-Denis on Friday include French actress Laetitia Casta and French rapper MC Solaar. Reuters
Updated at 06.21 EDT
05.45 EDT
While we’re on the rowing, you may have missed this excellent interview last week with Georgie Brayshaw.
‘I just love proving people wrong’: Georgie Brayshaw, the rower who came out of a coma
Updated at 05.45 EDT
05.42 EDT
Team GB had a bit of a shocker in the rowing last time out at Tokyo, we failed to claim a rowing gold for the first time since 1980, winning just one silver and one bronze to finish 14th on the rowing table in a sport we have previously dominated.
Sir Steve Redgrave has brighter hopes for Team GB in Paris.
“I think we’ll be the top rowing nation in Paris”, said the five-time Olympic rowing champion. “At the World Championships last year we got six gold medals and finished second on the medal table to the Netherlands (who also had six golds but more medals overall).
“We’re quite a predictable sport as the tradition is that 80 per cent of world champions go on to become Olympic champions. I expect that to be a bit less in Paris, but we’ve got to knock the Netherlands off their perch’
Explaining the Tokyo 2020 disappointment, Redgrave added: “Losing Jurgen Grobler, who had been men’s chief coach for a long period of time, and Paul Thompson, the best women’s coach, before the Tokyo Games was huge. As an administration we got ourselves a little bit lost. We got so caught up with the politics of change and bringing that change in, which did need to happen”.
Team GB are sending a 42-strong rowing squad to Paris 2024 with medal prospects littered throughout both male and female categories. Mum of three Helen Glover will grab most of the headlines in her pursuit of a third Olympic title after winning women’s pair gold with Heather Stanning in 2012 and 2016.
Updated at 05.42 EDT
05.28 EDT
Enjoyed this on France’s 7ft4in basketball superstar.
Victor Wembanyama: can France’s ‘exquisite linguine’ unite a nation at the Olympics?
Updated at 05.28 EDT
05.18 EDT
Esteemed! Ha. Thanks Luke. Hello all. We are just one day away from the first events starting (men’s football and rugby sevens) before the opening ceremony on Friday. But Andy Murray’s announcement is the big news this morning. Let’s remind ourselves of his match point against Juan Martín del Potro to clinch the gold medal in 2016, to defend his 2012 triumph in London.
The last dance! 🥹
Two-time Olympic #gold medallist @andy_murray announces #Paris2024 will be his last-ever tournament.pic.twitter.com/jrRCmAuOHs
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 23, 2024
Andy Murray beats Juan Martín del Potro to win second Olympic gold
Updated at 05.22 EDT
05.02 EDT
I’ll be back later for more – now handing over to my esteemed colleague Michael Butler for the next bit.
Updated at 05.02 EDT
04.56 EDT
The spectacle of the Olympic Games opening ceremony could be overshadowed by the human drama in the White House after it was confirmed that Jill Biden will attend the event on the Seine.
It will be a first appearance on the world stage for the president’s wife since her husband withdrew from his re-election campaign over concerns about his deteriorating health.
Jill Biden to lead US delegation to opening ceremony of Paris Olympics
Updated at 04.56 EDT
04.54 EDT
Attention was focused on the inspirational Antoine Dupont at last year’s Rugby World Cup, when the hosts were knocked out by South Africa in the last eight.
The seemingly supernaturally talented France scrum-half missed this year’s Six Nations to focus on preparing for the Olympic rugby sevens. Can he lead his nation to glory this summer?
Antoine Dupont of France and Toulouse. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
Here is Raphaël Jucobin:
“Paris has waited a century for the Olympic Games to return; it may take that long for rugby to witness another player like Antoine Dupont too.
“France’s chief orchestrator has it all: vision, pin-point ambidextrous kicking, speed of execution, evasive runs and a destructive physique, all of which have helped him dictate matches at will for club and country.”
Dupont carries the burden as France aims for golden Olympic start
Updated at 05.09 EDT
04.46 EDT
Australian water polo player isolated with Covid
An Australian water polo player has been isolated at the Paris Games after testing positive for Covid, the country’s Olympic team chief Anna Meares has said.
Close contacts of the athlete, who Meares did not name, were being monitored and tested, but the whole team would train as planned, she added.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed by a year due to the pandemic and were held largely without spectators.
“We were due to have two players from water polo with us, however, currently we have had one athlete from their team isolating with Covid which was detected last night,” Meares told a news conference. “So as a precaution they’re not joining us this morning.
An unnamed Australian water polo player is isolating with Covid at the Paris Games. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
“I need to emphasise that we are treating Covid no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo. The athlete is not particularly unwell and they are still training but sleeping in a single room.”
Meares said the athlete’s teammates would wear masks and adhere to social distancing measures.
“It was late last night when she presented with symptoms and the good thing is that having our own testing equipment means that we can get that information really, really quickly and intervene both in diagnosis and treatment,” Meares added.
“In terms of competitions, we will wait until she gets the all clear and we get the information from our chief medical officer Carolyn Broderick.”
The French health minister, Frederic Valletoux, said there was no risk of a major Covid cluster in France.
“Of course Covid is here. We’ve seem a small peak” in cases, he said. “But we are far from what we saw in 2020, 2021, 2022.”
He added that there was no obligation to wear a mask because the number of cases was still low. “Some precautions are being taken but, because the level at which Covid is spreading is very low, they depend on the organisers.” (Reuters)
Updated at 04.49 EDT
04.43 EDT
In terms of an absolutely vintage Murray five-set tussle, this was a memorable live blog to write – a match that summed up Murray’s relentless fight, sense of theatre and remarkable skill:
Australian Open 2023: Murray beats Kokkinakis in five sets after late-night epic – as it happened
Updated at 04.43 EDT
04.40 EDT
Here’s a gallery of Murray’s two decades-plus competing at Wimbledon:
Andy Murray’s two decades at Wimbledon – in pictures
I can’t remember which year it was now, maybe 2004 when he was in the boys’ singles, but a friend suggested we watch the young British player (who neither of us had ever heard of) on a back court. As it turned out he had a pretty decent career …
Updated at 04.41 EDT
04.35 EDT
It was all the way back in 2019, at the Australian Open, that someone got the wrong end of the stick in a spectacular way, and produced a video in which Murray’s fellow professionals retired him. He was experiencing injury issues at the time, but still, had no intention of walking away from the sport. Awkward.
Andy Murray tribute.
Updated at 04.37 EDT
04.28 EDT
I’ll probably need another coffee before attempting to write something meaningful about Andy Murray – the impact he’s had on the sport, the way he’s conducted himself, and the entertainment he’s given us all. He’s been magnificent, hasn’t he?
Please send me an email with your thoughts on Murray’s career. (Which, of course, isn’t over quite yet.)
Andy Murray kisses the US Open trophy after defeating Novak Djokovic in the 2012 men’s singles final. Photograph: Elsa/Getty Images
Updated at 04.32 EDT
04.22 EDT
Andy Murray to retire from tennis after Paris Olympics
Andy Murray will retire from professional tennis after this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The 37-year-old posted on X: “Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament. Competing for Great Britain [has] been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get do it one final time!”
Andy Murray confirms he will retire from tennis after Olympics in Paris
Updated at 04.22 EDT
04.21 EDT
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our 2024 Olympics buildup blog. The opening ceremony falls on Friday, officially beginning the Paris 2024 Games, but there is sporting action on Wednesday and Thursday, and a ton of buildup content to feast our eyes on in the next couple of days.
Olympic Games highlights: your day-by-day guide to the best bits in Paris
Here we go then, for starters: any breaking news out there today?
Updated at 04.21 EDT
Topics
Paris Olympic Games 2024
Olympic GamesUS sportsAustralia sport
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