SAINT-DENIS, France — The only man standing on the track was the one everybody had come to see. Victory had belonged to Armand “Mondo” Duplantis in every functional sense since he had remembered to lug his poles into Stade de France. He operates on a different plane than any other pole vaulter the sport has ever seen. He trains for the moments when the competition is over, when every eye is on him and his only rival is himself. Duplantis had broken the world record eight times before Monday night. One last jump would determine whether Duplantis could reduce the barrier between man and flight again, by one more centimeter. Duplantis failed on his first two tries to break his world record. Before his third, he spoke with his father and coach, Greg, and decided on a crucial adjustment. He sprinted down the runway, soared into the night and became one of the forever athletes of the Paris Olympics. A Louisiana-born pole-vaulting genius who matriculated at LSU and competes under the flag of his mother’s native Sweden, Duplantis cleared 6.25 meters (20 feet 6 inches) on his final attempt. The Stade de France stadium lights flickered. The best crowd he had ever seen outside of Tiger Stadium produced a delirious wall of sound. He sprinted off the mat to the corner of the stadium, where he hugged his girlfriend and slapped high-fives with his brothers. Duplantis pushes limits as much as any athlete at these Games. For one night, he would be content with a new barrier. Duplantis mingled afterward on the track with Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, the king of Sweden. (“Fam vad cool,” Duplantis said in Swedish — very cool.) He planned to party with family, and his brothers would drag him to karaoke, voice hoarse from interviews and all. “I’ll probably have some liquid courage and get up onstage,” Duplantis said. He had proved himself the ultimate performer well before Monday. Duplantis first broke the world record in February 2020, nudging it up one centimeter to 6.17 meters. He has since made it his lucrative plaything. Duplantis had broken it seven more times since, always by a centimeter, which maximizes the number of times he can trigger sponsorship bonuses for world records. Duplantis’s record at the start of the night stood at 6.24 meters (20 feet 5¾ inches). Only three other men in the field had surpassed a six-meter bar, and American Sam Kendricks had not done so in five years. The competitive portion of the night was about the silver medal. Kendricks won it with a 5.95-meter clearance three years after an experience that embittered him. He tested positive for the coronavirus and could not compete at the Tokyo Olympics. Kendricks, the Rio de Janeiro bronze medalist, was mad that a follow-up test he believed cleared him was not used. He was incensed at how he was put in isolation and, in his mind, discarded. “I don’t want to be bitter,” Kendricks said. “I want to love all the people that are involved in it. I know back in the day, there’s a lot of people that love me that were put between a rock and a hard place. They weren’t able to be next to me. And it hurts me that I have to be mad at somebody.” Kendricks takes pride in his two victories over Duplantis, including at the 2019 world championships. He understood that eventually the prodigy finding his way would surpass him. “I’m a very small boogeyman in Mondo’s life,” Kendricks said. The night at Stade de France slowly arced toward Duplantis. The mayhem of the women’s 5,000 meters passed. American Valarie Allman claimed her second consecutive discus gold medal. Duplantis’s vanquished competitors celebrated their silver and bronze. Only he remained. First, he set the bar at 6.10 meters, shattering the 6.03-meter Olympic record. Then he asked for the bar to put at 6.25 meters, higher than it had ever been set before. On his first attempt, he banged his right elbow on top of the bar. On his second, he achieved the requisite height but shortly after he began his fall to Earth, his chest hit the bar. He walked to the first row of the stands and spoke with his father. Pole vaulters are allowed to move the standards — the uprights that hold the bar in place — closer or further from their takeoff point. Duplantis had taken his first two cracks at the record with the standards 70 centimeters away from the plant box. Duplantis had jumped high enough on his second try, but he had not soared far enough. So Greg devised a solution. Duplantis would move the standards from 70 to 60 centimeters — 10 centimeters closer to his takeoff. When Duplantis walked to the official, an instinct overcame him. At many events, the standards only move in increments of five. With Olympic-level equipment, officials could be as precise as they wanted. Duplantis asked not for the 60 that Greg prescribed but 62. “It would be dope and a nice jab at my father if 62 was the perfect number,” Duplantis said. Once the standards had been reset, Duplantis carried his pole to the back of the runway and leaned it on his shoulder. When Duplantis was a child, Greg, who was a pole vaulter at LSU, built a runway in his backyard out of an abandoned track he bought for pennies on the dollar. Each time his youngest son ran down it, he imagined a bar set beyond the world record at the Olympic final. “I felt like I had already been in this moment 1,000 times,” Duplantis said. Now, Duplantis raised his arms over his head and clapped once. The crowd responded with thunder. Another clap, then another. Faster: Clap. Clap. Clap clap. Clap clap clap clapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclap. Duplantis bolted. His extraordinary ability begins with his speed. Many pole vaulters take up the sport once they realize they will never possess the world-class speed of a sprinter. Duplantis might have it.
Japan’s share benchmark soars nearly 11% a day after massive sell-offs that shook Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index soared nearly 11% early Tuesday, a day after it set markets tumbling in Europe and on Wall Street. The Japanese index advanced more than 3,300 points, not quite making up for the huge loss of more than 4,400 points the day before, when it plunged 12.4% in its worst single-day decline since 1987. The scary Monday started with a plunge abroad reminiscent of 1987 ’s crash swept around the world and pummeled Wall Street with more steep losses, as fears worsened about a slowing U.S. economy. The S&P 500 dropped 3% for its worst day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reeled by 1,033 points, or 2.6%, while the Nasdaq composite slid 3.4% as Apple, Nvidia and other Big Tech companies that used to be the stars of the stock market continued to wilt. The drops were the latest in a global sell-off that began last week, and it was the first chance for traders in Tokyo to react to Friday’s report showing U.S. employers slowed their hiring last month by much more than economists expected. That was the latest piece of data on the U.S. economy to come in weaker than expected, and it’s all raised fear the Federal Reserve has pressed the brakes on the U.S. economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation. Professional investors cautioned that some technical factors could be amplifying the action in markets, and that the drops may be overdone, but the losses were still neck-snapping. South Korea’s Kospi index careened 8.8% lower, and bitcoin dropped below $54,000 from more than $61,000 on Friday. Related Stories
Artistic swimming due to kick off in Paris – without any men
The artistic swimming competition begins today at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with one major change compared with previous games: Men are allowed to compete for the first time. Under rule changes announced by the International Olympic Committee in December 2022, a maximum of two men can form part of the eight-athlete team event, but not the two-athlete duet event. However, not even the most eagle-eyed observer would spot this change, as not a single man has been selected among the 96 athletes from 18 countries set to battle it out in the pool. Artistic swimming, known as synchronized swimming before a name change in 2017, has a long and complicated history when it comes to male participation. The sport was popularized in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, and in its early years, men played an established role. Related videoTeam USA’s ‘Clark Kent’ pommel horse hero on how he prepares for routines However, male competitors were later seen to be at odds with the sport due to certain physical characteristics: They were heavier, less flexible – finding leg extensions more difficult – and less buoyant than their female counterparts. When artistic swimming was first added to the Olympics in 1984, only women were allowed to compete. And this is how it remained for 40 years – until now. One American swimmer, 45-year-old Bill May, had hoped his Olympic dream would finally be realized in Paris, but he was not ultimately selected for the Team USA squad announced in June. The eight women who were selected will also be taking part in a new event – an acrobatic routine – which has been added to this year’s program alongside technical and free routines. Another change is an updated scoring system, which assigns scores based on execution and artistic impression. Related articleThese vision-impaired Olympic stars rely on a ‘sixth sense’ when they compete Coaches must hand over a card with details of the routine, in order for judges to assign a difficulty score. If the routine doesn’t match the card, or includes an error, the athletes will be marked down. There are a total six medals up for grabs, with China among the favorites to take gold in both duet and team events after emerging as a “dominant force” in recent years, according to the Olympics website. Japan, the US, Spain and Ukraine are also named as teams to watch, while Mexico will make its artistic swimming Olympic debut. The competition will run from August 5 to August 10, with medal days on August 7 for the team competition and August 10 for the duets.
Leon Marchand, the 22-year-old French swimming sensation！
Leon Marchand, the 22-year-old French swimming sensation, brought immense pride to his nation by winning gold in the men’s 400-meter individual medley at the Paris Olympics. With the crowd cheering him on, Marchand’s victory in the 400 IM not only showcased his incredible talent but also cemented his status as a rising star in the world of swimming. From the moment he hit the water, Marchand took the lead and maintained his dominance throughout the race, finishing with an Olympic record time of 4 minutes, 2.95 seconds. His performance brought back memories of Michael Phelps, and with coach Bob Bowman by his side, Marchand is poised for even greater achievements. France celebrates as Marchand delivers on the hopes of his nation, proving that he is a force to be reckoned with in the swimming world. NANTERRE, France (AP) — Leon Marchand, the rising star in swimming, carried the comparisons to Michael Phelps and the hopes of a nation with ease. The 22-year-old French swimmer set himself up to be a standout at the Paris Olympics. With a supportive crowd cheering his every stroke, Marchand won a gold medal for France with a dominating performance in the men’s 400-meter individual medley on Sunday night. From the start, Marchand took the lead and steadily increased his advantage, turning the race into two competitions: Marchand against the clock and the others competing for silver and bronze. “I started very, very fast,” Marchand said. “I didn’t look at the other lanes. I was focused on myself.” Marchand was on world-record pace at the final turn but slowed slightly, finishing in 4 minutes, 2.95 seconds — an Olympic record, though just shy of his world mark of 4:02.50. He set the world record at last year’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, breaking the 15-year-old record held by Phelps. Marchand is frequently compared to Phelps, especially since he is coached by American Bob Bowman, who guided Phelps throughout his legendary career.
Katie Ledecky Gets Emotional in Post-400 Free Press Conference
Katie Ledecky reflected on her bronze medal performance in the 400 free during a press conference after the final in Paris. “It was such a good field that there was a chance that I could have not have gotten a medal, so I’m grateful for that, grateful for the effort that I put in, happy with the medal and looking forward to my next races,” Ledecky said. “I don’t feel like necessarily I’ve put together the 400 that I’m capable of recently but I know it’s in there.” Ledecky went on to talk about training with people like Bobby Finke and Kieran Smith, getting emotional as she described the impact the people around her in this sport have had on her. “It’s just a really special group and it’s why I love the sport so much because I get to spend everyday with people Bobby and Kieran and my coaches and everyone that believes in me and pushes me, and I think just the confidence I was able to have today is a testament to them.” You can watch the full clip from her interview below. Katie Ledecky‘s Post-Race Interview
‘Transformers One’ Stars Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Keegan-Michael Key Bring Charm to Comic-Con
Paramount kicked off the big studio presentations at San Diego Comic-Con in high-style, showing off the cast and scenes from its upcoming animated feature, Transformers One. The studio has been hyping up the feature for a couple of months. It showed a work-in-progress version at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, while a fan screening hit Los Angeles earlier this week – so the panel was light on news. It did, however, more than make up for that with the charm of its crowd-pleasing voice cast: Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax, who will evolve into Optimus Prime; Brian Tyree Henry as D-16, who will turn into villainous Megatron; and Keegan-Michael Key, whose B-127 will become Bumblebee. The trio were on stage with director Josh Cooley and longtime Transformers franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Key had the crowd laughing by making Transformers sound effects and singing the classic theme song. And later, during the Q&A, a female guest directed her question to Key and Henry, throwing a casual “And Chris, I guess,” which generated much ribbing of the Australian superstar and became a running joke. “Oh this is historic!” howled Key. And even after the last question was posed, moderator Anthony Breznican called on one more audience member, a little boy. When told he could ask one question, the boy said “I have seven.” Earlier, the actors noted how they played with the toys as children and shared their connections to the franchise. “The nostalgia around it is something I hold dear to my heart,” said Hemworth. “The stories represented justice, injustice, right and wrong, the subtle lessons.” Henry noted that his parents always seemed to get him villain characters, Transformers or otherwise. “I would always make them the hero,” he said of the toy characters. “Villains don’t always start (as villains). Something happens when they follow their righteousness to its final place. So being able to actually be Megatron is a lifelong dream come true.” That is fitting as the movie acts as an origin story to how Optimus Prime and Megatron become archenemies, with the movie, set three billion years before the stories audiences know, showing how the two best buds slowly grew apart. It was the first time that Hemsorth has worked in animation, and he said it required a bit of trust in process. “The way animation works is different from a film set where you’re interacting, and doing things in the moment,” he said. “We would individually shoot our scenes. Luckily, we would see what each other had done and that would influence my performance … You sort of hand it off and hope it gets to the right place.” Henry, meanwhile, said the movie’s story about the loss of a friendships would be relatable to broad audiences. Calling it one of the worst heartbreaks, he noted, “The loss of a friend is something all of us can understand.”
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Crash Comic-Con’s Hall H with All the Cameo Stars from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
“Deadpool & Wolverine” may have finally been released in theaters, but stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman saved their biggest press tour stop for last. The pair rolled into San Diego Comic-Con, alongside co-star Emma Corrin, director Shawn Levy and Marvel chief Kevin Feige to present the Hall H audience with a surprise screening of the film on the same day that it hits the big screen around the world. Warning: spoiler-talk below. The special event, dubbed “The Ultimate Deadpool & Wolverine Celebration of Life,” came at the end of a particularly busy day for Reynolds, Jackman and Levy, who jetted to San Diego from Los Angeles following Feige’s Walk of Fame Ceremony earlier in the day.
Emma Hayes Names 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team
Eight Players from 2020 Olympics Named to 2024 Olympic Roster; 10 Players from 2023 Women’s World Cup Will Travel to France; Four Players Named to Their First World Championship Roster; USA Will Play Last Two Matches Before Olympics on July 13 and 16 Against Mexico and Costa Rica in Harrison, N.J. and Washington, D.C. CHICAGO (June 26, 2024) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Emma Hayes has named the 18-player roster plus four alternates for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Just eight players who were on the USA’s roster for the 2020 Olympics (which was played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) make a return this summer while 10 players who were members of the USA’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team were named to the final roster for Paris. 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team Roster by Position (Caps/Goals): GOALKEEPERS (2): Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 19), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 104) DEFENDERS (6): Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 58/3), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 49/1), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 32/0), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit; 49/0), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 9/2), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 91/2) MIDFIELDERS (5): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; 11/0), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 17/1), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 148/35), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 100/24), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 19/8) FORWARDS (5):Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 147/25), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 38/7), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 14/7), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 48/19), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars; 92/34) Alternates: Goalkeeper JaneCampbell, midfielder Hal Hershfelt, midfielder Croix Bethune and forward Lynn Williams. “Making an Olympic roster is a huge privilege and an honor and there is no denying that it was an extremely competitive process among the players and that there were difficult choices, especially considering how hard everyone has worked over the past 10 months,” said Hayes. “Choosing an 18-player roster plus alternates involved many considerations, but I am excited for the group we have selected and I’m looking forward to building on the work from last camp as we head into the Send-Off matches and then onto France. These are great opportunities for us to continue to show the progress we are making.” The 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team will come together for the first time on July 8 in New Jersey in preparation to face Mexico on July 13 (3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, Telemundo, Universo, Max and Peacock) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J in the Impact 99 Legacy Match, presented by New York Life. The USA will then head to the nation’s capital for the 2024 Send-Off Match, presented by Coca-Cola, on July 16 against Costa Rica at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, Universo, Max and Peacock). At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the eighth Olympic Games to feature women’s soccer, the U.S. will open Group B play on July 25 – one day before the Opening Ceremonies – against Zambia (9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET) at Stade de Nice in Nice. The Americans will then play Germany on July 28 (9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET) at Marseille’s Stade de Marseille in their second match and finish group play against Australia on July 31 (7 p.m. local / 1 p.m. ET), also in Marseille. Located in the south of France, Nice is nearly 600 miles from Paris near France’s border with Monaco and Italy. Marseille, located 125 miles west of Nice, is the second-largest city in France. Prior to the naming of this roster, 19 USWNT players had previously made three or more Olympic Teams. Add to that list three-time Olympians Alyssa Naeher, Crystal Dunn and Lindsey Horan. Defenders Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett and Casey Krueger, midfielders Rose Lavelle and Catarina Macario and forward Mallory Swanson make their second Olympic Teams. Krueger and Macario were initially named as alternates for the 2020 Olympics, but when rosters were expanded from 18 to 22 due to the pandemic, they were officially added to the team. Each played a few minutes in one match. Swanson was not named to the Olympic roster in 2021 but did play in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil at the age of 18. The first-time Olympians are goalkeeper Casey Murphy, defenders Emily Fox, Naomi Girma and Jenna Nighswonger, midfielders Korbin Albert and Sam Coffey and forwards Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Jaedyn Shaw. For Nighswonger, Albert, Coffey and Shaw, the 2024 Paris Olympics will be their first senior level world championship. Hayes also named four alternate players who will travel to France and train with the team for the duration of the Olympics in goalkeeper Jane Campbell, uncapped midfielders Hal Hershfelt and Croix Bethune and forward Lynn Williams. Campbell was also the alternate goalkeeper for the 2020 Olympics in Japan before being moved to the active roster due to the Covid-19 roster expansion. Both Hershfelt and Bethune came into their first USWNT camp in June – which was also the first camp for Hayes – Bethune as a training player and Hershfelt as a member of the full roster, though she did not see action in either match against Korea Republic. Williams was a member of the USA’s 2020 Olympic Team and 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team. She is by far the most experienced alternate with 63 caps and 18 career goals. Williams, the all-time leading scorer in the National Women’s Soccer League, scored in the 2020 Olympic quarterfinal against the Netherlands. The USA won the inaugural Olympic gold medal for women’s soccer in 1996 in Atlanta, won silver in 2000 in Sydney and then won three straight golds, standing atop the podium in Athens, Greece in 2004, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. The USA fell in the quarterfinals in penalty kicks in 2016 and earned a bronze medal in 2021. The USWNT is 24W-4L-7D all-time in Olympic competition. 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team Roster Notes: The Olympic roster is broken down by position
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Biden on decision to exit 2024 race: ‘I revere this office. But I love this country more.’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, in a rare Oval Office address to the nation, spoke extensively for the first time on his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race and his plans for what will now be the final few months of his long political career. Biden is making his remarks three days after his bombshell announcement in a letter addressed to “my fellow Americans” that he was stepping away from the campaign trail. “I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation,” Biden said. “I revere this office. But I love this country more,” he said. He discussed how he will “finish the job” — the phrase that became his reelection motto as he campaigned for a second term against his 2020 rival Donald Trump. That election battle came to an end on Sunday as Biden acquiesced to a month of intense pressure from Democrats to change course after his poor debate performance reignited questions about his age and whether he could successfully take on Trump to win another four years in office. “Over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as President,” Biden said. “That means I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote – to the right to choose.”
