PARIS — Shaking my notebook up and down and seeing what falls out as the Olympics reach the halfway point …
▪ After winning a gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around on Thursday, Simone Biles took a moment to strut when she walked into her post-meet press conference wearing a diamond-studded goat pendant, a nod to being considered by many as the “greatest of all-time.”
“It’s a little ode,” Biles said. “I mean, a lot of people love it. They always call me the GOAT, so I thought it would be really special if I got one made. The haters hate it, but I like that even more. It’s just a special part of me that I have here.”
Biles said she also has a goat stuffed animal in her room in the Olympic Village.
“Just to get a reminder,” she said. “Like, ‘You can go out there, you can do it, you’ve done it before. So, let’s go.”
Members of the US men’s basketball team were among the celebrities who filed into Bercy Arena on Thursday to watch Biles compete.
“Seeing the guys out there is amazing,” Biles said. “You don’t see crossovers in sports that much unless it’s the Olympics, so hopefully—I know we have a lot of competition days, but we’ll try to see what [basketball games] we can go to for how long we’re here. But it is amazing that we have that support from them and that gymnastics is on such a big stage during the Olympics.”
there are chiseled, powerful, fast, and elegant athletes, and then there is the Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec, who has developed an unlikely cult following here in Paris.
Dikec, 51, went viral for his chill approach that helped Turkey win silver in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event. He did not have any special lenses or visors or ear protectors; he was just wearing his regular glasses, with one hand casually in his pocket and the other holding his pistol.
“I’m very happy,” Dikec said. “An Olympic medal is an Olympic medal, and in Los Angeles [at the 2028 Olympics], hopefully it’s a gold medal.”
▪ I’m told at least one member of the Celtics’ front office is expected to arrive in Paris next week to support Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White as they chase gold.
The crowds at the group-play basketball games in Lille have been tremendous. When the US women’s team’s 102-76 romp against Japan ended Monday both teams received a standing ovation even though the game was not close.
When the US men’s team threw down some dunks during pregame layup lines this week, fans stood and roared as if it was the actual dunk contest at NBA All-Star weekend.
But one of the coolest moments had nothing to do with basketball. During the fourth quarter of the US men’s team’s win over South Sudan on Wednesday, word spread that the French swimming sensation Leon Marchand had just won gold in the 200 meter breaststroke, his third of these Olympics and his second of the day.
Suddenly, large pockets of fans throughout the arena rose nearly in unison and began chanting “Le-on! Le-on!”
US coach Steve Kerr heard the commotion but said he did not know what it was about.
“Fantastic,” Kerr said after the chant was explained to him. “What a great moment for France, and for him.”
▪ Aside from Biles, Marchand has become the star of these Olympics in his home country. He said the crowd during his 400 IM final was so revved up that it made his skin tingle while he was swimming.
“That atmosphere was amazing,” Marchand said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I had goosebumps before, and during the race, too. On the breaststroke section I could hear everyone just cheering for me. That was special.”
▪ White, who was a late addition to the US men’s team following Kawhi Leonard’s departure, said he is soaking up his first Olympic experience. While he was on the US team’s boat during the opening ceremonies on the River Seine, he was particularly intrigued by members of the US climbing team. One even showed him a video of a competition.
“He was like Spider-Man,” White said, his eyes wide. “He goes up 50 meters in like 4.7 seconds. It was unbelievable. I don’t know how they do it.”
White has yet to have his day with the Larry O’Brien trophy, but he’s hoping to get the chance to parade it around his home state of Colorado this summer. He is surprised that coach Joe Mazzulla hasn’t started bugging the team about next season just yet.
“I was trying to tell him to focus on rehab for his [torn meniscus in] his knee,” White said, smiling. “Just worry about that first.”
▪ Worcester native Stephen Nedoroscik, who helped the US men’s gymnastics team to a bronze medal at the team competition with his sparkling performance on the pommel horse, will compete in the pommel horse final Saturday. He is the only American man in an individual event final.
As of Friday morning the Nedoroscik family was still on the hunt for some extra tickets so they could all sit together. But Nedoroscik’s mother, Cheryl, said in a text message Friday evening that, with some help from a friend, they secured four lower-level seats together.
▪ There must be a good reason why our plastic water bottles don’t have caps that stay attached to the lids the way European bottles do, but I haven’t found it just yet.
▪ I crossed paths with former Celtics assistant Charles Lee as I was walking through Old Lille late Sunday night looking for some dinner following the US team’s win over Serbia. Lee said it has been an unforgettable year.