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French sports minister swims in Seine, beats Paris mayor

By Inside The Games

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera swam in the Seine on Saturday, raising hopes that the river will be clean enough for competitors at the Paris Olympics, which start in less than two weeks. The 46-year-old was joined by para-triathlete Alexis Hanquinquant, who will be France's flag-bearer at the Paralympics opening ceremony on 28 August.

Olympic opening rehearsal on fast-flowing Seine set for 16 July

By Inside The Games

The postponed rehearsal for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on the River Seine has been rescheduled for 16 July, France's Ministry of Sport and the Olympic Games said on Friday. When Paris 2024 begins with a waterborne parade down the river on 26 July, it will be the first Olympics in history to take the opening ceremony out of its traditional setting of the main stadium.

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Fact of the day

When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act". He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

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The Big Read

Pierre de Coubertin once said cricket has "practically no appeal for those who are not British". While he expressed doubts about the Olympic viability of cricket, lacrosse and baseball, Philip Barker wonders how the man who helped revive the modern Games would have reacted to new sports at Los Angeles 2028.