August 2, 2024

REMINDER: YOUR SUBMISSIONS ARE ENCOURAGED AND WELCOMED

SUMMER OLYMPICS WEEK ONE

Paris 2024 Olympics

July 26th 2024 — August 11th, 2024

Paris 2024 Paralympics

August 28th, 2024 -– September 8th, 2024

Overview for this week.

1. This week I'm starting with the Paris 2024 Paralympic and Olympic mascots, the Phryges. They are based on Phrygian caps, a historic French symbol of liberty, and are meant to represent inclusion, free-spirited joy, and national pride.

2. While the Olympics is an amateur event, the medaling athletes may still receive compensation for their achievements from both private entities and their home country. These awards can range from cash payouts, cars, real estate, and even livestock.

3. Aside from what the medalists may get compensated by their home country for performing well in the Olympics, have you ever wondered what the monetary value of a gold medal is? Since they're not really made out of solid gold, this year their mostly silver with a little iron from the Eiffel Tower added in, the medal itself is not nearly worth what it is to the athletes. 

4. Next I have a rundown of the highlights from the first week of the Paris 2024 Olympics with a special shoutout to the U.S. men's and women's gymnastics teams, who really put it all out there this week. I'd also like to congratulate swimmers Katie Ledecky and Kate Douglas who brought home the gold. How about our women fencers, who earned the USA’s first gold medal in women's team foil.

5. An old friend and Flock contributor, Annharriet has compiled some inspirational quotes from Olympic athletes for this week. 

6. You May have seen the viral photo of Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina seemingly standing on a cloud after his near perfect ride at Teahupo'o this week. I have the back story of how photographer Jérôme Brouillet captured this surreal image.

7. To wrap up this week, I have the current medal count for the 10 leading countries after the first week of competition.

Now, to this week's Flock.

Tap to view past issues.

Last week I started off with a picture of the Paris 2024 Olympic mascot, the Phryges. I wanted to make sure to include both the Olympic Phryge and the Paralympic Phyrge this week. The Paris Paralympics Phryge is significant because it is the first Paralympics mascot to include a prosthetic limb. The International Paralympic Committee has a gallery of past mascots going back to the first one from the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games.

From: Paris 2024, By: Olympics.com

Phryges (pronounced fri-jee-uhs) are small Phrygian caps, which represent a strong symbol of liberty, inclusivity and the ability of people to support great and meaningful causes. They are kitted out in a red, white and blue colourway, with the golden Paris 2024 logo emblazoned across their chests. They also have a mischievous and expressive eye made of a ‘cockade of France’, a knot of ribbons that is the French national ornament.

While Phryges are part of a large family, the main heroes of Paris 2024 will be Olympic Phryge and Paralympic Phryge.

"They are the two main characters in a large tribe, they're part of the family of Phryges," explained Paris 2024 Brand Director Julie Matikhine. "According to our narrative, they have existed for thousands of years and were present during several key events in French history.

What is a Phyrge?

The Olympic Phryge and Paralympic Phryge mascots are based on Phrygian caps, a type of hat that has become an enduring symbol of freedom throughout French history. They are a common reference for French people, including in the world of art (as a metaphor for freedom) and as a symbol of the Republic in French institutions. Phrygian caps can be seen sat atop the head of the iconic figure Marianne in every town hall and even feature on everyday objects in France such as coins and stamps. They are also an international symbol of liberty worn by freed slaves in Roman times and appearing on different emblems in North and South America. Also known as the liberty cap, the Phrygian cap has become one of the symbols of the French Republic.

Now the Phryges are back for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, ready to show the world they are courageous, determined and willing to do anything to succeed.

The Phryges - Paris 2024 Paralympic and Olympic Mascots

The Olympics is an amateur sports event and does not award direct cash prizes to medal winners, however the athletes may receive monetary rewards or other prizes from private sponsors and their home countries. These non-monetary awards can range in prizes from real estate and cars to livestock.

From: CBS News, By:Megan Cerullo, July 31, 2024

The International Olympic Committee doesn't award Olympians prize money for earning medals. Yet gold, silver and bronze medalists from different countries can still collect a range of rewards for outstanding performances. 

Individual governments and private sponsors often compensate athletes with cash, property and even more unusual prizes, like livestock. This year, for example, Olympic track and field gold medalists will win $50,000 from World Athletics, making it the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games, the organization announced in April.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a recent interview with CNBC that athletes deserve a share of the income they generate for the organization. 

"Athletes are, in essence, the bearers of the revenues that we get," he told CNBC. "Their performances at an Olympic Games, in our own World Championships, provide world athletics with broadcast revenue from the International Olympic Committee and at a world championship level."

CNBC has a good article outlining the compensation that athletes may receive from their home country including a chart of the highest medal payouts by country

From: CNBC, By: Lee Ying Shan, July 30, 2024

Highest payouts

Hong Kong and Singapore offer the highest payouts for their Olympic victors.

Cash incentives for Hong Kong athletes competing in Paris jumped 20% from the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Gold medalists will receive 6 million Hong Kong dollars ($768,000), Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration, Chan Kwok-ki, announced early July. Silver and bronze medalists stand to earn HK$3 million and HK$1.5 million, respectively.

Singapore gives Olympic medalists 1 million Singapore dollars ($745,300) for gold, SG$500,000 for silver and SG$250,000 for bronze. The city-state has only dispensed the top cash bonus to one athlete: Joseph Schooling. The now retired swimmer defeated the United States’ Michael Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly at the Rio Olympics in 2016 to win gold.

Now that the medal counts are starting to come in, I want to take a look at what those medals are actually worth. Of course, to the athletes they are priceless, and as we'll see in the two articles below, the actual medals do not have a great deal of monetary value in themselves. Their value is in the dedication and sacrifice the athletes put into earning them. and the satisfaction of competing and excelling at the highest level of their individual sports.

From: Sports Illustrated, By: Ty Bronicel, August 1, 2024

Olympians who've earned gold medals at the Summer Games likely couldn't care less about what we're going to tell you: They're not, technically, monetarily, worth that much.

But, to them, they're absolutely invaluable.

And that's fair and understandable.

However, if you had to put a price tag on the grandaddy of them all, a gold medal, it's not that impressive -- even though the effort to win one definitely is.

...According to International Olympic Committee regulations, the Olympic gold medals, which weigh 529 grams, must be made out of at least 95.4% silver (505 grams). Then, they're plated with six grams of pure gold and 18 grams of iron.

But not just any old iron. No sir. Iron from the Eiffel Tower. You read that right. You can read more about that here.

So, according to Oxford Economics which factored in the current prices (as of July 24) of gold, silver and iron, the top Paris Olympic prize is worth ... drumroll ... $1,027.

Hey, here are a couple of fun trivia facts for you and your friends.

1) If the gold medal was made of pure gold, it would be valued at approximately $41,161.50.

2) The last time pure gold medals were presented at the Olympics? 1912.

The U.S. men's artistic gymnastics team earned an Olympic medal for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games this week. I watched the competition and was thrilled to see the joy and enthusiasm the team displayed in earning a medal for the first time in 16 years. Congratulations Team USA!

From: USA Gymnastics, July 29, 2024

The U.S. men’s artistic gymnastics team put on a show Monday evening at Bercy Arena, hitting every routine to win team bronze at the Paris Olympic Games. Asher Hong (Tomball, Texas), Paul Juda (Deerfield, Ill.), Brody Malone (Aragon, Ga.), Stephen Nedoroscik (Worcester, Mass.) and Frederick Richard (Stoughton, Mass.) won the first U.S. men’s team Olympic medal since taking bronze in 2008.

Even as they excitedly celebrated their routines, the team remained cool under pressure after jumping out to the lead after two rotations on rings and vault. As powerhouses Japan and China rotated to their strongest apparatus and surged into the top two positions, the U.S. continued to hit set after set to score a 257.793 and earn their place on the medal podium. Japan collected the gold medal with a 259.594, just edging out China, who finished in the silver-medal position with a 259.062.

After placing fifth in qualifying on Saturday, the U.S. men scored higher on 14 of 18 routines Monday night and notched the second-highest team scores on vault (44.032) and still rings (42.732) and the third-highest score on horizontal bar (42.365). Top-scoring performers for the U.S. were Richard on floor (14.466), parallel bars (14.566) and horizontal bar (14.833) and Hong on rings (14.533) and vault (14.833). Nedoroscik sealed the bronze as the last athlete up on the final apparatus, posting a team-high 14.866 on pommel horse.

From: USA Gymnastics, July 30, 2024

The U.S. women cruised to their fourth artistic gymnastics team title in Olympic history Tuesday evening at Bercy Arena, thrilling the crowd even when the outcome was seemingly never in question. With the highest team scores on every apparatus, Simone Biles (Spring, Texas), Jade Carey (Phoenix, Ariz.), Jordan Chiles (Vancouver, Wash.), Suni Lee (St. Paul, Minn.) and Hezly Rivera (Oradell, N.J.) posted a 171.296 to clinch the gold, nearly six points points over second-place Italy with a 165.494. Brazil was third with a 164.497.

Wearing leotards inspired by the Olympic leo of 1996, when the U.S. won its first-ever women’s gold, the Americans were dominant in turning in the highest scores of the competition on vault (44.100), uneven bars (43.332), floor exercise (42.165) and balance beam (41.699). Olympic all-around champions Biles and Lee led the American charge, putting up the highest scores of the team on each apparatus. Biles had the top U.S. score on vault (14.900) and floor (14.666), while Lee was top scorer for the team on bars (14.566) and beam (14.600). With the team gold added to her trophy room, Biles became the most decorated U.S. gymnast in Olympic history by winning her eighth medal to surpass Shannon Miller’s seven.

silver medalist Rebecca Andrade (Brazil), gold medalist Simone Biles (USA),

and bronze medalist Suni Lee (USA)

Simone Biles returned to Olympic gymnastics after a four-year hiatus and showed the world that she is the GOAT, winning her second all-around title this week.

From: USA Gymnastics

Simone Biles (Spring, Texas) became the first woman since 1968 to win two Olympic all-around titles, while Tokyo Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee (St. Paul, Minn.) won her second consecutive all-around medal by securing bronze Thursday night at Bercy Arena.

It was an uncharacteristically nail-biting competition, with both Biles and Lee using nearly flawless floor routines to earn their medals. Biles won with a score of 59.131, with Rebecca Andrade of Brazil second with 57.932 and Lee third with 56.465.

Biles led after the first rotation, posting a competition-leading 15.766 with her Biles II on vault to take a .666 lead over Andrade, but a break on a connection while on uneven bars in the second rotation resulted in a score of 13.733, dropping her to third overall. Andrade took over the with a 29.766, with Kaylia Nemour of Algeria second with a 29.566 and Biles in third with a 29.499. After two rotations, Alice D’Amato of Italy ranked fourth with a 28.800 and Lee was on her heels with a 27.799, on the strength of a 13.933 on vault and 14.866 on uneven bars.

The third rotation on balance beam put both Americans on an apparatus where they often yield strong scores. Biles led off with a 14.566 to retake the lead with a 44.065, with Andrade trailing with a 43.899. Lee was tied for fourth with a 42.799 after posting a 14.000 on beam, just .034 behind D’Amato in third.

The medals were to be decided on floor exercise as Lee sought to leapfrog into third. Needing a 13.534 to overtake D’Amato for bronze, she posted a 13.666 that catapulted her into what would ultimately be bronze position. Biles then sealed the deal and thrilled the crowd with her best floor routine of the Paris games to date, scoring 15.066.

When Katie Ledecky swims the 1500- meter, it's a race for second. She has dominated the event for over a decade, earning gold in the last four Olympics.

From: NPR, By: Brian Mann, July 31, 2024

American swimmer Katie Ledecky has done it again, winning her 8th career gold medal Wednesday at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Ledecky, age 27, finished the women’s 1,500 meter freestyle final more than ten seconds ahead of the silver medal finisher.

"I'm happy with the time, happy with how it felt," Ledecky said after the race. "The happiness and the joy, it just comes out."

Ledecky also set a new Olympic record of 15:30.02. The 1,500 meter race is a grueling endurance event and Ledecky swam like a sprinter.

From: CBS Sports, By: Chris Bengel, August 1, 2024

United States swimmer Katie Ledecky has officially etched her name in the record books. On Thursday, Ledecky was part of the American women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay team that earned the silver medal. The United States finished with a final time of 7:40.86 to edge out China for second place. Australia set a new Olympic record in winning the gold.

With the medal, Ledecky passed Jenny Thompson, Natalie Coughlin, and Dara Torres for the most Olympic medals by a female at 13.

From: CBS Sports, By: Chris Bengel, August 1, 2024

Jacqueline Dubrovich, Maia Mei Weintraub, Lauren Scruggs and Lee Kiefer pose on the podium during the medal ceremony following the women's foil team gold medal bout between Italy and USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, on August 1, 2024.

From: CBS News, August 1, 2024

Lee Kiefer became the first American fencer to win three Olympic gold medals as the U.S. got its first-ever team fencing gold in women's foil at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

The team of two-time individual gold medalist Kiefer, silver medalist Lauren Scruggs, Jacqueline Dubrovich and Maia Weintraub held on for a 45-39 win over Italy in the final.

Scruggs faced a late rally from Italy's Arianna Errigo, who cut an eight-point U.S. lead to three, but the 21-year-old took the next three points to close out the win and celebrated with a shout of delight.

Lauren Scruggs celebrates after winning against Arianna Errigo of Team Italy in the final round during the Women's Foil Team Gold Medal Match Bout between Team Italy and Team United States on day six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Grand Palais on August 1, 2024, in Paris, France.

Scruggs' silver medal made her the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal. She said it was "an honor to have that title."

"It's an honor to be able to be someone that people can look up to and to inspire people like me," Scruggs said. "... I hope that my fencing can inspire little girls, not just even women of color, but just girls in general to be super fierce competitors and to fence."

Come along for the U.S. women's foil team's journey to historic gold medal

Annharriet is a friend, motivational speaker, mindfulness consultant, and life coach. she regularly sends me inspirational quotes that help me get through my week. This week she has sent me a selection of quotes from Olympic competitors that I would like to share with you here.

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does—that makes you a winner right there."

– Venus Williams, four-time Olympic gold medalist, tennis

"Never put an age limit on your dream." 

– Dara Torres, four-time Olympic medalist. At age 41, the oldest swimmer

to earn a place on the US Olympic swim team

"Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It's our goal in life to find it and keep it lit." 

– Mary Lou Retton, Olympic gold medalist, gymnastics

"I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match." 

– Mia Hamm, Double Olympic champion, soccer

"You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get." 

– Michael Phelps, most decorated Olympic medalist

of all time, swimming

Brazilian Olympic surfer Gabriel Medina pops up after riding a barrel wave at Teahupo'o during the Summer Games on Monday.

From: Smithsonian Magazine, By: Sarah Kuta, July 30, 2024

Since kicking off with a buzzy opening ceremony on the Seine River on Friday, the Summer Games in Paris have already delivered several viral moments—from “pommel horse geek” Stephen Nedoroscik leading the American men’s gymnastics team to a bronze medal to “Bob the cap catcher” making waves in the pool.

But one photograph in particular has captivated the internet’s attention this week. In it, Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina appears to be levitating above the ocean alongside his surfboard. With his right arm stretched high above his head, Medina raises his index finger toward the sky while seemingly floating through the air. His surfboard, which is still attached to his ankle by a leash, mirrors his body positioning above the waves. His feet are flat, and he appears to be standing on solid ground.

No, the image hasn’t been digitally altered. And it wasn’t generated by artificial intelligence, either. Jérôme Brouillet, an experienced photojournalist working for the Agence France-Presse (AFP), captured the iconic moment.

The above chart is the medal count at the time of publication. Tap below for the current official medal count from Olympics.com.

Snoop Dogg representing the USA

These Flock regulars are always here for you:

In coming weeks: we'll be sharing more investigative articles from our roving reporter William George, original writing from Flock favorite Dino DeConcini, and an update on the Marolt brothers' coming expedition to Argentina.

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