Paris Olympics churns on as Last Supper parody draws intense scrutiny

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

In those games, there 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.

Sport Climing made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, and like breaking took its first steps to becoming an Olympic sport at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games.

The sport was not only approved for Paris this year, but it has already been approved for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

There are two Olympic events in sports climbing: speed, boulder and lead.

The speed event is a one-on-one competition that shows the athletes trying to climb the 15-meter wall faster than their opponent. For the bouldering part of the event, athletes try and climb a 4.5-meter wall without any ropes. The lead part sees climbers try and scale a 15-meter wall in under six minutes with having seen the wall beforehand.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

Team USA men’s basketball had their best game this summer in its Paris Olympics opener against Serbia, as they won, 110-84, to start their tournament on the right foot. 

But, while there were lots of things to be happy about if you’re rooting for Team USA, Jayson Tatum not touching the floor during the 40-minute contest turns a lot of heads. 

Head coach Steve Kerr was asked about Tatum’s absence from the rotation in the opener after the win, and he was very blunt about his own mistake in not having him play. 

"I felt like an idiot not playing him," Kerr said, via ESPN.

Kerr sent out 10 total players on Sunday afternoon, including Tatum’s Boston Celtics teammates, starting shooting guard Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, who was a late addition to Team USA earlier this year. 

"40-minute game, you can’t play more than 10 [players]," Kerr said. "So, I think [Tatum’s] an amazing guy, great player and handled it beautifully. He’ll be back out there next game."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Scott Thompson.

The 2024 Paris Olympics saw its practice run for the triathlon canceled on Sunday due to water quality in the famed Seine River, where part of the competition is set to take place. 

Water quality in the Seine has been a problem for the swimming portion of the triathlon, but Paris officials are confident that will improve enough for them to compete. The men’s triathlon is set for Tuesday, while the women’s event is Wednesday. 

Poor water quality has been closely linked to the weather in Paris, which included heavy rains seen during opening ceremonies and several events on Saturday, including cycling that had several competitors falling off their bikes in the wet streets. 

However, there isn’t expected to be rain in the forecast this week, which is the main reason for the organizers’ optimism that the Seine can be used for one of the Olympics’ signature events. 

“We’ve seen what were the dynamics of the Seine over the past few weeks, and that’s what makes us confident,” Paris Deputy Mayor Antoine Guillou said, via the Associated Press, at a news conference on Sunday.

Guillou added that similar rain has led to safe water quality in the Seine after 24 to 48 hours in the past.

But water quality was a concern before the Games arrived in Paris, which is why a giant basin was constructed earlier this year to capture excess rainwater and keep wastewater from getting into the river. Still, daily water tests in early June showed unsafe water quality levels, which included E. coli.

To show the people of Paris, and around the world, that the water was safe, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river less than two weeks before the Olympics began.

As of this past Tuesday, Eau de Paris, which monitors water quality, said levels in the Seine were acceptable.

If water quality does not improve by the time the triathlon is set to begin on Tuesday, the backup plan for the Olympics is to, first, postpone the event a few days to wait it out. If the conditions still don’t improve, the swimming portion of the triathlon will be canceled, and only running and biking will be performed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The United States women’s soccer team is victorious once again in Paris, as they dominated Germany, 4-1, to win its second Olympic group stage match. 

Star forward Sophia Smith scored twice, both of which came in the first half as the U.S. put up three goals to Germany’s lone score in the first 45 minutes to take a commanding lead. 

Smith’s first goal came in the 10th minute, as Trinity Rodman’s cross into the box from the right side landed right at her foot and she delivered the perfect strike to put the U.S. up on the scoreboard first. 

Then, after Germany hit the equalizer, Mallory Swanson, who had two goals in the team’s opening Olympic match against Zambia, a 3-0 victory, found the back of the net yet again to give her team the lead once more. 

Smith would find the back of the net again in the 44th minute, where her shot deflected off a German defender, hit the right goal post, and redirected over the line to put the U.S. in the driver’s seat. 

The second half was a bit more defensive for the USWNT, but that changed when Swanson took off with the rest of her teammates on a transition run with a few minutes left to play. Lynn Williams took a perfectly placed assist from Swanson and buried it with her left foot to the right side of the net. 

This was the start the USWNT wanted to have in Paris, and they’ll look to keep things going on July 31 when they take on the tough Australia team at 1 p.m. ET.

Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes kicked off their 2024 Paris Olympics with a bang on Sunday night with a victory in Pool C over Czechia. 

With the Eiffel Tower in the background, Cheng and Hughes defeated Barbora Hermmanova and Marie-Sara Stochlova in straight sets, 21-16, 21-11, to begin the Games on the right foot. 

With match point in the second set, the duos were going back and forth, as Czechia was just trying to stay alive with desperation sprawls on the sand to keep the volleyball in the air. 

But Cheng punched one of those saves from Czechia to the back right of their opponent’s side and it was the dagger. The crowd roared as Cheng and Hughes celebrated their victory.

Cheng and Hughes are not the only Americans in Paris for beach volleyball, as Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss took down the Canadian duo of Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec on Saturday in Pool B play.  

American Lee Kiefer won her second consecutive gold medal with a 15-6 victory over Lauren Scruggs in the individual foil fencing competition at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Kiefer had topped Canada’s Eleanor Harvey to get to the final and now has two gold medals to show for it.Scruggs had topped Italy’s Alice Volpi in her semifinal and was hoping to upset Kiefer in the final for her first gold. But she’ll have to settle for a silver medal.

Two more medals for the United States made it 12 for the Americans overall in Paris. It’s the third gold medal for the team as Kiefer joined the men’s swimming 4x100-meter freestyle team and swimmer Torri Huske with top prizes in France.Harvey picked up the bronze medal over Volpi, 15-12.

She lost to Kiefer in the round of 16 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and lost to Kiefer in the semifinals of this year’s event before eventually making the podium.

This is an excerpt from Fox News' Ryan Gaydos' article.

The men’s 100-meter breaststroke came down to the wire at the Paris Olympics and it was Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi who topped Team USA’s Nick Fink and Great Britain’s Adam Peaty by 0.02 seconds to take home the gold.

Fink and Peaty tied with 59.05 seconds and will both get the silver medal for their respective countries.

Peaty was the defending champion in the 100-meter breaststroke after he won during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He was the favorite going into the breaststroke final but just came up short.

Fink was also a favorite to take home the gold. He won the gold in the 2024 World Championships and silver medal at the 2023 World Championships.

For Martinenghi, it was the third Olympics medal of his career. He won bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke and was a part of the Italian team that won bronze in the 4x100-meter medley in the Tokyo Olympics.

USWNT star Sophia Smith put in work during the first half of their group stage match against Germany on Sunday. 

After defeating Zambia, 3-0, to kick off their Paris Olympics journey, the USWNT got off to another hot start after Smith buried a goal in the 10th minute on a Trinity Rodman assist. 

U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made a crucial save a few minutes earlier, as Germany got behind the defense, to keep the game scoreless. 

Germany ended up scoring a goal of its own, though, as Giiulia Gwinn buried a low ball past Naeher. But the USWNT answered just four minutes later, with Mallory Swanson scoring in the 26th minute. 

Smith would add another goal to further the U.S. lead in the 44th minute, as her shot deflected off a Germany defender, hit the top of the right post and redirected into the net.  

Torri Huske captured the first Olympic gold medal of her career with a narrow victory over Gretchen Walsh as the Americans went 1-2 in the event. Walsh had to settle for the second silver medal of her Olympic career.

Huske touched the wall at 55.59 seconds and Walsh touched at 55.63 seconds. China’s Zhang Yufei took home the bronze medal.

Huske and Walsh were the favorites going into the event but USA hadn’t won a medal in the event since the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when Dana Vollmer won bronze. Vollmer was also the last American to win gold in the event, having won in 2012 in London.

Huske had the third quickest heat with a 56.72 and finished in second place in the semifinals in 56 seconds flat.Walsh set an Olympics record in the semifinals, clocking in at 55.38. Walsh also owns the world record in the event, which was set in June at U.S. Olympic trials.

This is an excerpt from Ryan Gaydos’ Fox News article.

Team USA swimmer Carson Foster needed just a fingertip to win silver in the 400-meter individual medley final at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday. 

As Foster came flying down the final 50 meters in the race, swimming freestyle, the entire pack was competing for silver as France star Leon Marchand was well ahead of his competition as she chased his own world record. Marchand won his first gold medal of his career. 

Foster and Japan’s Matsushita Tomoyuki were jousting for silver and bronze coming down the stretch, and it was looking to be who had the longer arms in the end. 

As both swimmers reached out, it was Tomoyuki who touched the wall first, finishing with a final time of 4:08.62. 

Foster came in with a time of 4:08.66 – four one-hundredths of a second was the difference between silver and bronze. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Scott Thompson.

The USA women’s rugby team destroyed Brazil in its second match on Sunday, 24-5, to start their 2024 Paris Olympics on the right note.

USA owned a 12-5 first-half lead, and one of their stars Ilona Maher try scored to make it 17-5. 

Later, Alex Sedrick ran away with the match by crossing the try-line to make it 22-5 just as the seven minutes past in the second half. 

Earlier Sunday, USA Rugby dominated Japan as well for its first win in Paris. They won 36-7 after Japan initially scored the first seven points on a conversion kick. 

Team USA will be back on the field Monday.

American Coco Gauff, the No. 2-ranked women’s tennis player for these Olympic Games, made quick work of his first-round opponent at Roland Garros to begin her journey in Paris.

Gauff defeated Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-3, 6-0, to advance to the second round on Sunday. The match was much closer in the first set when Tomljanovic owned a 4-3 lead.

However, Tomljanovic wouldn’t win a single game after that, as Gauff simply overpowered her and unforced errors threw off the Aussie’s game completely. 

Gauff matched her compatriot Jessica Pegula, the No. 5-ranked player in Paris, who defeated Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic in straight sets in the first round as well.

Team USA was guaranteed a gold medal in the women’s individual foil competition at the Paris Olympics on Sunday as both competitors won their semifinal matchup.

Lauren Scruggs started with a victory over Canada’s Eleanor Harvey. She defeated Harvey 15-9 to earn a place in the gold medal match. Scruggs’ teammate, Lee Kiefer, defeated Italy’s Alice Volpi in the other semifinal match, 15-10.

Kiefer is the defending gold medalist champion. She defeated Russian athlete Inna Deriglazova in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Scruggs didn’t make the Olympics then.

Kiefer is the veteran out of the two. She has three individual gold medals and three gold medals as part of the U.S. team in the Pan American Games.

Scruggs is a two-time Junior World Fencing champion, having won individual gold medals in 2019 and 2022. She also won an individual and a team gold at the Pan American Championships in 2024.The final takes place on Sunday evening.

The U.S. men’s basketball team started its goal of getting another gold medal on the right foot on Sunday with a dominant victory over Serbia, 110-84.

Kevin Durant had 21 of his 23 points in the first half as he came back to the floor following a calf issue he was dealing with during their tune-up games. He nailed each of his five 3-point attempts.

LeBron James led the way with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting with nine assists and seven rebounds. Jrue Holiday had 15 points and Anthony Edwards added 11.

The Americans will have a game against South Sudan next.

Team USA is the defending gold medalists in the sport. The Americans defeated France during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Americans have won four gold medal in a row since the “Redeem Team” helped get the U.S. back on the map globally following a bronze medal in 2004. 

A Dutch men’s beach volleyball competitor was booed as he took the sand for warm-ups ahead of his first Paris Olympics match against Italy on Sunday.

Steven van de Velde was convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in 2016. He didn’t speak to reporters after the three-set loss but team spokesman John van Vliet was asked if they were protecting a convicted child rapist.

“We are protecting a convicted child rapist to do his sport as best as possible and for a tournament which he qualified for,” Van Vliet said. “The general matter of sex conviction and sex-related crime is definitely a more important issue than sport. In his case, we’ve got a person who has been convicted, who did his sentence, who did everything afterwards which he can do to be able to compete again.”

Van de Velde served 13 months in prison over the conviction. He previously called the incident the “biggest mistake” of his life.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

The South Sudan Olympic men’s basketball team nearly upset Team USA before the Paris Olympics began and on Sunday the squad picked up its first ever victory at the Games.

South Sudan defeated Puerto Rico 90-79 in Group C play. Carlik Jones led South Sudan with 19 points as they put together a second-half rally to top Puerto Rico. Marial Shayok scored 15 points in the win.

“We’re not a secret anymore,” South Sudan head coach Royal Ivey said after the game.

South Sudan’s Nuni Omot scored 12 points in the win. He said the mix up with the national anthem helped fuel the team to a win.Officials played the wrong national anthem before tipoff.“It gave us fuel. It gave us fuel to the fire,” Omot said.

“Obviously, we felt disrespected when that happened. ... I feel like for us we’ve got to continue to show the world what we’re capable of.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Paris 2024 official defended the opening ceremony at the Olympics amid an uproar over the depiction of The Last Supper during the event.

The ceremony’s segment appeared to resemble a depiction of The Last Supper, famously painted by Leonardo da Vinci. The performance ensemble included drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer who was stylized to resemble the Greek god Dionysus.

Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps spoke about it on Sunday.

"Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. (The opening ceremony) tried to celebrate community tolerance," Descamps told reporters, via Reuters."We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry."

The ceremony sparked criticism from American and world leaders and figures in the sports world, including Super Bowl champion kicker Harrison Butker.

An LGBT leader in France also defended the ceremony.

"We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There’s much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It’s terrible that to legally change their identity they are forced to be on trial," Inter-LGBT president James Leperlier said."If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not. France tried to show what it should be and not what it is."

American mountain biker Haley Batten won the silver medal in the mountain bike women’s cross country on Sunday at the Paris Olympics, finishing behind France’s Pauline Ferrand Prevot and ahead of Sweden’s Jenny Rissveds.

It was the first medal for Batten in her cycling career and the first for Team USA on Sunday as they looked to maintain pace with South Korea and Australia for the most medals of the Games.

Batten had a time of 1:28:59 and was nearly three seconds behind Ferrand Prevot.

Batten qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the mountain bike women’s cross country. She finished in ninth place as Swiss riders Jolanda Neff, Sina Frei and Linder Indergand took home the first three places on the podium.

She won gold at the Pan American Championships in 2019 in the U23 cross-country competition and took home bronze in the 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in France.The United States now has six medals in total.