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### Top Story: Watching Track and Field at the 2024 Paris Olympics
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will spotlight track and field events from August 1-11. Here’s everything you need to know:
1. **Biggest Sport**
– Track and field will feature 1,800 athletes in 48 events, making it the largest of the 32 sports at the Games. It includes traditional events like sprints, long jump, and javelin, as well as unique ones such as the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 20K racewalk. Winning Olympic gold is the highest honor in this sport.
2. **Gender Equality**
– The 2024 Paris Olympics aims for gender parity, with 157 events for men and 152 for women, and 20 mixed-gender events. Track and field will feature gender-equal events for the first time. However, disparities persist, such as women competing in the heptathlon versus the decathlon for men.
3. **Olympic Prize Money**
– Track and field will offer prize money, with gold medalists winning $50,000. Relay teams will split the pot four ways. This initiative underscores the shift from amateurism to commercialization in the Olympics.
4. **Greenest Olympics**
– Paris is committed to sustainability, using existing infrastructure and iconic city landmarks as venues. The Olympic Village features eco-friendly designs, and the city has invested in bike lanes, Metro expansion, and urban greenery.
5. **France’s Biggest Stage**
– Track and field events will be held in Stade de France, which seats over 80,000. The track has been resurfaced to a lavender shade, paying homage to the ash-colored track of the 1924 Games.
6. **Second Chances with Repechage**
– New “repechage” rounds in track events from 200 meters to 1500 meters will allow athletes a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals. This system replaces the previous format of advancing based on heat performance and time.
7. **Historic Marathon Route**
– The marathon will follow the historic Women’s March on Versailles route, starting at Hôtel de Ville and passing Paris’s iconic landmarks. The course will be challenging with over 1,430 feet of elevation gain.
8. **Race Walking**
– Race walking will feature gender-equal events for the first time, including a mixed-gender marathon relay. This sport requires athletes to maintain contact with the ground at all times, judged by officials without technology.
9. **How to Watch**
– NBC Universal will broadcast over 7,000 hours of coverage. Track and field events will be shown on NBC, USA, and E! networks, and streamed on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, and related apps. Coverage begins with the 20K race walk on August 1 and concludes with the women’s marathon on August 11.
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