The five great duels of the Paris Games

Beyond the clash between two historic tennis generations, here are five other great rivalries that the Paris Games will offer:

Bekele-Kipchoge

Athletics (marathon)

Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, Olympic champion of 10,000 m in 2004 and 2008, runner-up in 5,000 m in 2004 and champion in 2008, returned to the Games at the age of 42 and twelve after the last time (London 2012, 4th in 10,000 m ), now in the marathon. He starred in a great race in the final 42.195 km of London on April 21, when he was second and stopped the clock in 2:04:15. That time, similar to the 2h04:19 recorded in Valencia on December 3, 2023, when he was fourth, was enough to secure his Olympic place.
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Waiting for him on the asphalt of Paris was Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, 39, the only athlete to sub two hours in a marathon, although his record was not approved. It was on October 12, 2019 in Vienna, with a time of 1h59:40, in a race tailored to his needs, the “Ineos 1.59”, where he had external assistance not permitted by the International Athletics Federation . Her goal in the French city, after finishing tenth this year in Tokyo, is to win her third straight Olympic gold in the marathon, a streak that has never been done before.

2

Titmus-Ledecky-McInstosh

swimming

Few finals have captured the imagination of swimming fans like the women’s 400 freestyle where Australian Ariarne Titmus, American Katie Ledecky and young Canadian Summer McIntosh will not only battle for gold, but also for title. queen of pool at the Paris Olympic Games.
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It will be a reissue of the final that Titmus, Ledecky and McInstosh, the last three universal distance record holders, starred in the Fukuoka 2023 World Championships, where the oceanic swimmer won with a new world record (3: 55.38) included. McIntosh paid in the final meters for the effort he made to follow the devilish pace set by Títmus from the start of the test, while Ledecky, who was unmatched over the longer distances, was unable to overcome his first loss despite his last reaction.
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These are the lessons that both McInstosh and Ledecky must learn if they want to stop Titmus from re-validating the Olympic title won three years ago in Tokyo. The Australian will once again bet on dynamiting the test from the start.

3

Marchand and Milak

Swimming (200 butterfly)

Responsible for getting Michael Phelps the last two world records still held by the legendary American swimmer, Frenchman Leon Marchand and Hungarian Kristof Milak will decide at the Paris Olympic Games who is the new ‘king’ of the butterfly in the final of 200 meters like exciting.
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Both Marchand and Milak came into the event branded world champions, after the Frenchman took advantage of the absence of Magyar, the universal distance record holder, from the Fukuoka 2023 World Championships to win the gold that Milak took in the same edition. before.
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But if Leon Marchand, trained by Bob Bowman, the coach who directed Phelps’ career, has not stopped growing since then, Kristof Milak needs to show in the French capital that he is still the incomparable swimmer as used to spend about eight months away from saturated swimming pools.
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It is a challenge for Magyar, who returned to competition in April, but no less demanding than that set by Marchand, who on the same day as the 200 butterfly final will also seek gold in the 200 breaststroke, an unprecedented doublet until now.

4

Biles-Andrade

Artistic gymnastics

Simone Biles returns to the Olympic stage three years after the sad episode she starred in Tokyo, where she had to leave the competition suffering from mental health problems. Her compatriot Sunisa Lee seized the opportunity to win gold, but was closely followed by Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, reborn for elite gymnastics after a long series of injuries.
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​Andrade and Biles met for the first time on equal terms at the 2023 world championships, with the American winning by more than a point. But Andrade got ahead of one of his rival’s star devices, the jump.
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Biles was first at the American selection trials with strong performances on vault and floor. Andrade has worked further away from the spotlight, saying that she prefers to focus on her own workouts, without comparing herself to the North American. The comparison is worth it, starting July 28 in Bercy.

5

Spain-United States

Soccer

From the four-time Olympic champion to a debutant is considered one of the favorites for gold. The United States and Spain will be one of the great duels in the women’s category at Paris 2024. The last match between the two was on October 11, 2022 with a historic victory for La Roja (2-0) and, in the case of Spain is second in group C and the United States is first in B, they will meet at the Parc des Princes in Paris in the quarterfinals.
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Spain, which surpassed the United States as the best team in the world according to the FIFA rankings, grew to unimaginable levels last year by winning the World Cup and the Nations League while the American team, was eliminated in the second round of the World Cup, entering a new cycle without Megan Rapinoe or Alex Morgan and with coach Emma Hayes, who even said at the end of the press conference after winning the League with Chelsea that he had to beat the “damn” Spanish at the same time and discussed a possible confrontation in the Olympic final.