Bell bound for Notre Dame
Who could ever have imagined that ringing a bell – which has literally become an instant hit at the track and field in Stade de France – would be as much a measure of success as the precious gold medals?
Only gold medallists are allowed ring the bell, which will post-Olympics find a new life in the famed Notre Dame Cathedral, which is due to reopen in December following work conducted after it was destroyed by fire five years ago.
The bell in use at the Stade de France will be used as a time capsule in the cathedral when it is reopened.
The new tradition of ringing the bell started with the winning teams in the Rugby 7s and has continued with track and field winners.
The Fonderie Cornille Havard in Villedieu-les-Poeles-Rouffigny in Normandy was commissioned to forge replacement bells for the renovated cathedral and, quite cleverly, the idea to use one during the Olympics came to be.
Never too old to skateboard
When you hear skateboarding, you think Generation X and Millennials and all kinds of teenage kicks.
Yet, American-born Andy McDonald – who is making his debut for Great Britain in the park skateboarding event – is bucking that trend. He’s 51!
McDonald, though, is no latecomer to the sport. He was a doubles partner to the greatest skateboarder of them all, Tony Hawk, and competed in those breakout X Games which featured a myriad of urban sports that found a niche market back in the ‘90s.
“When I see my teenager team-mates trying a new trick, chances are I know where that trick came from . . . or I invented it myself,” claimed McDonald, who came out of retirement after watching the skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics. He qualified for Britain thanks to his English-born father.
Allman’s curious route to the top
Double gold medallist Valarie Allman’s route into the world of discus throwing could well witness a change in prospective recruitment to the sport . . . from hip-hop dance studios!
Allman’s first love was dancing – ballet to tap to hip-hop – and she even featured on a television reality show as a teenager, which may explain her quick feet and elegant twists in the circle.
They have led to her claiming back-to-back Olympic gold medals, adding Paris to Tokyo. Her winning throw was almost two metres better than silver medallist, Bin Feng of China.
Urban myth or not, the story of how Allman discovered discus and a way to fame and glory is worth recalling: encouraged by her brother to find a sport away from her dancing obsession, Allman tried sprinting, long jump and high jump at school in Colorado without an great enthusiasm until trying discus throwing, apparently because she got to throw the plate after finishing her initiation bowl of spaghetti. The rest, as they say, is history.
Atherton set to mark Hodgkinson’s golden feat
Keely Hodgkinson’s face is splashed all over her hometown of Atherton in the north of England.
After she won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics and followed up with a European Championship gold, her local council commissioned street artists Kelzo and Entise to paint a mural on the gable end of a house which was unveiled in 2022.
Hodgkinson’s brilliant win in the women’s 800 metres the other night will make for an interesting follow-up. Perhaps a road named in her honour?
In numbers: 22
NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 22 points to Greece’s total in their men’s basketball quarter-final against Germany. But it wasn’t enough. Germany secured a 76-63 win to move on to the medal round for the first time in their history.
In words
“I had a great connection with the ocean since the beginning of the contest” – French-Polynesian surfer Kauli Vaast, representing France, after defeating Australia’s Jack Robinson in the final of the men’s surfing event in Tahiti.
