The 2024 Summer Olympics might be taking place in the City of Light, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t come with their fair share of darkness.
Following a flashy opening ceremony on Friday, July 26 that continues to draw outrage from some celebrities and religious figures, the Games have been plagued by allegations of sexism and racism, controversial calls on the tennis court and even tragedy inside the Olympic Village.
But it hasn’t all been bad news.
The Olympics have also seen the triumphant return of Celine Dion, the emergence of a new gymnastics folk hero and, in perhaps the most heroic moment of the Games, the introduction of Bob the Cap Catcher.
For all of the highs and lows from the 2024 Summer Olympics thus far, keep scrolling.
HIGH – Celine Dion is Back!
A year-and-a-half after announcing she had been diagnosed with a rare condition called stiff-person syndrome — putting her future singing career severely at risk — Celine Dion rose to the top of the Eiffel Tower like a phoenix.
Dressed in a sliver, glittery gown that took 1,000 hours to make, Dion, 56, performed a triumphant version of Édith Piaf’s “Hymne à l’amour” to close out the opening ceremony.
The rendition left nary a dry eye amongst the millions of viewers watching back at home and kicked the Games off on an emotional high.
“I’m honored to have performed tonight for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony,” Dion shared on social media, “and so full of joy to be back in one of my very favorite cities.”
LOW – The Rest of the Opening Ceremony Turns Some Into a Tizzy
The opening ceremony was nothing if not audacious and dramatic, but there was one particular moment that set off a certain sector of the celebrity universe.
During the show, a tableau featuring drag performers and other artists bared an alleged resemblance to “The Last Supper,” which some critics called a rebuke of religion. The French Catholic Church even said the festivities “included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity.”
Despite opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly saying the imagery was meant to honor Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, the damage had already been done.
“To watch such an incredible event that’s going to take place over the next two weeks and see the opening ceremonies complexly blasphemed and mock the Christian faith with their interpretation of the Last Supper was disgusting,” actress Candace Cameron Bure said in a video posted via Instagram.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker also chimed in, quoting a Bible verse that said “God is not mocked.”
French DJ Barbara Butch, who was at the center of the tableau in a gold headpiece, has been “the target of an extremely violent campaign of cyber-harassment and defamation,” Butch’s lawyer Audrey Msellati claimed in a statement via Instagram on Monday, July 29.
The statement continued, “She has been threatened with death, torture and rape and has also been the target of numerous anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and anti-grossophobic insults.”
According to Msellati, Butch, 43, is planning to file several complaints and “intends to prosecute anyone who tries to intimidate her in the future.”
HIGH – Stephen Nedoroscik is a Bespectacled Gymnastics Icon
It only took Stephen Nedoroscik 45 seconds to become a legend.
The 25-year-old Team USA gymnast, who excels at pommel horse, needed to execute his routine perfectly on Monday, July 29, to earn the American men their first team medal since 2008.
Nedoroscik did not let his team down. The Worcester, Massachusetts, native was brilliant on the pommel horse, embraced by his coaches and teammates after leaving the mat. The squad took home bronze.
But it wasn’t just the athletic achievement that made Stephen Nedoroscik into a national icon — it was also the memes.
Nedoroscik, who his coach Syque Caesar calls “quirky, funny, goofy” and someone who “dances to his own tune,” was seen on camera before his routine wearing glasses, often with his eyes shut getting into the zone.
“Obsessed with this one guy on the US men’s gymnastics team who looks like he’s getting his phd in anthropology and his only job is pommel horse,” one viewer wrote via X.
Nedoroscik was noticeably spectacle-less when he took the floor for his now-iconic routine. There’s a simple reason for that.
“I don’t need to see when I do pommel horse,” he explained. “It’s all by feel.”
LOW: Coco Gauff Is Brought to Tears
During her match against Donna Vekic on Tuesday, July 30, American tennis star Coco Gauff was overcome with emotion when a controversial call went against her.
After a deep serve return from Vekic, 28, was initially called out by a line judge, chair umpire Jaume Campistol ruled the ball was in, rewarding the point and a crucial service break to Vekic. Gauff argued the point should have been replayed.
“I never argue these calls. But [the line judge] called it out before I hit the ball,” Gauff said to Campistol. “It’s not even a perception; it’s the rules.”
After wiping tears from her face, Gauff was not able to recover and lost the match in straight sets 7-6, 6-2.
“There’s been multiple times this year where that happened to me, where I feel like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” Gauff told reporters.
The incident happened on the exact same court where Gauff ran into a similar issue during her semifinal match against Iga Swiatek at the French Open in June.
After a disputed call on one of Swiatek’s serves led to Gauff losing a point, Gauff called for a universal video review system.
“Tennis is the only sport where not only we don’t have the VR system, but a lot of times the decisions are made by one person. In other sports there are usually multiple refs making a decision,” Gauff said post-match.
HIGH: “Bob the Cap Catcher”
Not all heroes wear capes, and sometimes they’re not wearing much of anything at all.
Before a women’s 100m breaststroke heat on Sunday, July 28, American swimmer Emma Weber dropped her swim cap in the pool, which floated all the way down to the bottom.
In a moment’s notice, a Speedo-clad man leapt into action to retrieve the cap from the depths of the water at Paris La Defense Arena, who the NBC Sports broadcast affectionately named “Bob the Cap Catcher.”
According to an Olympics spokesperson, Bob was a lifeguard on duty who was dutifully called into action.
“As the lifeguards are the only people wearing swimwear, apart from the athletes, a request may be made to fetch an item at the bottom of the pool prior to the next race,” the statement explained. “In this case, the request was made to the lifeguard closest to the item.”
The spokesperson also said Bob — whose real name remains a mystery — was refusing all media requests, hoping to keep the focus on the swimmers themselves.
A true Olympic hero.
LOW: Commentator Fired Over Sexist Remarks
Veteran TV broadcaster Bob Ballard was dropped by Eurosport after controversial comments he made Saturday, July 27, during the conclusion of the women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay.
After the Australian team won gold, Ballard, 82, made a remark about their delay in exiting the pool deck at the Paris Aquatic Center.
“Well, the women just finishing off,” Ballard said. You know what women are like, hanging around, doing their makeup.”
Ballard’s Eurosport cohost and former Olympian Lizzie Simmonds immediately criticized his comment on air.
“Outrageous, Bob,” Simmons said. “Some of the men are doing that as well.”
In a statement posted via social media on Monday, July 29, Ballard said, “The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offense. It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologize. I am a massive advocate of women’s sport.”
HIGH: Jason Kelce Is Living the Olympic Dream
For the first time since 2011, Jason Kelce doesn’t have NFL training camp to attend — and he’s certainly been making the most of it.
The former Philadelphia Eagles player, 36, and wife Kylie Kelce have been all over Paris supporting Team USA.
The Kelces attended USA’s field hockey game against Argentina on Saturday, July 27, where Jason donned a beret that he found at “a souvenir shop.”
The next day, Jason said he was “officially a fan” of women’s rugby after meeting the American team and even competed against breakout star Ilona Maher in an arm wrestling contest.
Jason’s presence rubbed off on the Team USA squad, who took home the bronze medal in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, July 30.
While that was happening, though, Jason and Kylie were seen taking in Simone Biles and Team USA earning gold in the women’s gymnastics team event.
Not a bad Parisian getaway.
LOW: Tragic Deaths Strike the Olympic Village
Before the official start of the Games on Tuesday, July 23, the sister-in-law of U.S. women’s water polo player Maggie Steffens died in the Olympic Village.
Lulu Conner had traveled to Paris to see her husband’s sister compete, but died after “a medical emergency,” according to the Associated Press. She was 26.
In an interview published by People on Monday, July 29, Steffens, 31, called Conner “a light.” Steffens added, “She was somebody that brought joy to everybody she was with and to everything she did.”
On Friday, July 26, Samoan boxing coach Lionel Elika Fatupaito died inside the Olympic Village. He was 60.
The Samoa Association of Sport and National Olympic Committee confirmed the tragedy, saying he died due to “natural causes.”
“Lionel was one of Samoa’s top boxing coaches and a great believer in the Olympic ideal,” SASNOC President Pauga Talalelei Pauga shared in the statement. “Our thoughts and those of the entire Samoan sporting community are with Lionel’s family, his boxers, and friends. He will be greatly missed.”
Elika Fatupaito was at the game supporting Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali, who fought in his coach’s absence on Sunday, July 28, ultimately falling to Belgian Victor Schelstraete in the round of 16.
HIGH: Ryan Murphy’s Big Baby Reveal
Ryan Murphy — the Team USA Olympic swimmer, not the TV producer — was surprised with a celebratory sex reveal by his wife after taking home his seventh medal all-time.
After Murphy, 29, earned bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke on Monday, July 29, his wife, Bridget Konttinin, held up a sign that read, “Ryan, it’s a girl!”
Murphy eventually made his way over to Konttinin and gave her a kiss in front of his crowd of supporters.
“A night we’ll never forget,” Konttinin wrote via her Instagram Stories. “I love you so much.”
LOW: British Rugby Player Pulled After Racism Investigation
British rugby player Amy Wilson-Hardy was pulled from competing in the Olympics after an investigation was launched into alleged racist behavior.
According to The Independent, Wilson-Hardy, 32, was the subject of the investigation after a WhatsApp message was discovered of the athlete in blackface.
In a statement, Team Great Britain announced Wilson-Hardy left the team “on medical grounds.” She was replaced on the team by Abi Burton.
“We heard about [it] this morning, but for us, [it’s about] focusing on the games, focusing on getting ourselves in the right place to be able to perform,” team captain Emma Uren told reporters on Tuesday, July 30. “Because we’re off our phones, we don’t know much about it. And we didn’t get told much about it because we know that we need to focus on the tournament. So our heads are 100 percent there.”
Wilson-Hardy has yet to comment on the investigation.
HIGH: Snoop Dogg and Team USA Gymnastics Have a Dance-Off
In the thick of qualifying on Sunday, July 28, the Team USA women’s gymnastics team still found time to drop it like it was hot.
After Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles spotted Snoop Dogg — dressed in a Team USA tracksuit — in the crowd, the gymnasts broke out some dance moves to share a celebratory moment with the rapper across the arena.
Thankfully, the moment was all caught on camera by NBC Sports. “Anybody have more fun than Snoop? I don’t think so,” commentator Terry Gannon said.
Snoop has been a mainstay in Paris throughout the Games, showing his love for Team USA at every turn. He’s hit the pool with Michael Phelps, practiced with the American fencing team and even hopped on NBC to offer his own commentary.
Not a bad hype man, if we do say so ourselves.
LOW – Tennis Commentator Criticized for ‘Sexist and Misogynistic’ Remarks
A radio commentator came under fire for his comments made during a doubles match between France’s Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry and Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini on Tuesday, July 30.
“On the left, there’s Sara Errani, who’s the boss,” the man said. “She does everything: the washing up, the cooking up, the mopping up.”
In a joint statement, the French association of women sports journalists and the union of sports journalists in France spoke about the remark, saying, “Sexist and misogynistic comments have no place in an international competition.”
While it’s unclear whether any action was taken against the broadcaster, Errani and Paolini had the last laugh. The Italian team won the doubles’ final on Sunday, August 4, earning their country its first-ever tennis gold.
HIGH – Ronald Biles Has His Eyes on the Prize
Simone Biles’ father, Ronald Biles, wanted to make sure he had the best view possible of his daughter’s triumphant return to the Olympics — so he brought a pair of binoculars.
Ronald brought the gear to watch Simone and her Team USA teammates compete in the women’s all-around finals, in which they earned gold on Tuesday, July 30.
Simone even took notice, sharing an image of her father to her Instagram Stories captioned, “My dad & his binoculars is soooo freaking cute 🥹.”
Ronald was joined in the crowd by his wife and Simone’s mom, Nellie Biles, and Simone’s husband, Jonathan Owens.
Not to be outdone, Jonathan had his own method of watching his wife compete. The Chicago Bears star was seen writing down scores during Simone’s competitions, just like he did at the Olympic Trials in June.
HIGH and LOW – Anthony Ammirati’s Bulge Goes Viral
A viral moment for viewers at home was a low point for French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati, whose bulge knocked over the crossbar during his semifinal pole vaulting heat.
The 21-year-old Frenchman called the incident, which spurred a bevy of social media discourse, “a big disappointment.”
However, it wasn’t all bad news for the Olympian, who later received a $250,000 offer from an adult entertainment company who took a very particular notice of Ammirati’s mishap.
HIGH – Team USA Shot Putter’s Picturesque Proposal
Payton Otterdahl made the most of his Parisian surroundings while at the Summer Games and proposed to his girlfriend in front of the Eiffel Tower.
“Meanwhile, in the City of Love…I love you forever, Maddy Nilles!” the Team USA shot putter wrote via Instagram on Sunday, August 4.
Otterdahl shared a few photos of the couple celebrating in front of the iconic landmark, including a snap of him dipping his new fiancée while sharing a kiss.
The day before the proposal, Otterdahl just missed medaling in the shot put competition, finishing fourth. But hey, at least he’s heading back stateside with a wedding to plan.
