Comment: Allowing into the Olympics a Dutch athlete convicted of raping a child is a disgrace

Passports, in-flight meals and jet lag: How horses travel to the Olympics

Welcome aboard, hope you are standing comfortably. For the horses on the US eventing team, the journey to France for the Paris Olympics was — quite literally — a four-legged journey.

Their trek began on a farm in Pennsylvania. They were driven to JFK airport last Wednesday to board an eight-hour flight to Luxembourg. The following afternoon the horses went by lorry to their pre-Olympic base camp in Vittel, located about four hours outside of Paris.

Having rested, shaken off jet lag and done some gentle trotting, they are scheduled to reach the Palace of Versailles for their Olympic check-in on Wednesday.

Andy Murray has been training at Roland Garros today ahead of the start of the Olympic Games, with the tennis to be played July 27 to August 4, with the draw for the first round on Thursday July 25.

He announced this morning that this would be the last tournament in his career.

The rugby competition is among a handful of events beginning tomorrow, ahead of Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Associate Director David Luckes urged the sport to make the most of its early start.

“Tomorrow is the most important day, because competition begins,” Luckes added.

“It’s a very, very important moment, for the organising committee to switch from the planning mode to the delivery mode. That’s where we create the excitement and the buzz for the spectators.”

France’s Antoine Dupont has been in the headlines ahead of the Games, displaying his versatility by moving between the XVs and Sevens on a number of occasions in recent months.

The scrumhalf helped his club Toulouse win the European Champions Cup final in May and then drove France to victory in the season-ending Grand Final in Sevens a week later.

Former France player Vincent Clerc said the game owed much to his compatriot, adding: “Sevens rugby will take advantage of Antoine’s image.

“He has a desire to promote Sevens rugby and to show that an Olympic medal in rugby is as important as a World Cup or a European Cup.

“Antoine carries this message well.”

Rugby Sevens is hoping to finally seize the spotlight in Paris after making its Olympic debut in Rio in 2016 and having its sophomore showing at the COVID-19 affected Tokyo Games, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said on Tuesday.

The Olympic rugby Sevens competition will take place at the Stade de France, the venue of last year’s men’s Rugby World Cup final and France’s largest stadium.

“This is the coming of age moment really for Sevens and we’ve always known the Olympic platform can be incredible,” Gilpin told reporters.

“We know that Sevens is a form of the game that excites new audiences, it’s easier to understand, it brings people into the game and this next week is going to shine a light on it that we’ve never had before.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us... We’ve seen it in previous Games. In places where rugby is not watched traditionally, we’ll get some great audiences and we’ve got to work hard then as a sport to keep those people excited.”

Andy Murray – fiercely proud Scot who showed British players can be winners

Andy Murray poured blood, sweat and tears into a brilliant career that showed British tennis players could be winners.

Driven by a desire to triumph that at times appeared too strong, Murray held his own in arguably the greatest era of men’s tennis and achieved feats not seen from a British man for three quarters of a century.

Having doubted that a grand slam title would come after falling agonisingly short on a succession of occasions, Murray broke his duck at the US Open in 2012 and, the following year, achieved his career-defining feat by winning Wimbledon 77 years on from Fred Perry’s final victory.

When is Andy Murray playing at the Paris Olympics?

Andy Murray to retire after Olympics – 10 standout matches from his career

Andy Murray has announced he will retire at the age of 37 following the Paris Olympics.

The Scot can look back on a career full of highlights, including three grand slam titles and two Olympic gold medals so far.

Snoop Dogg among Olympics torchbearers at Paris 2024

American rapper Snoop Dogg will be one of the torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame before the opening ceremony of Paris 2024 on Friday.

The American rapper, who will also be a part of NBC’s Olympics coverage, will carry the torch through the streets of Paris.

French actress Laetitia Casta and French rapper MC Solaar will also carry the torch.