By Joe Snyder
The 33rd Olympiad in Paris actually began on July 24 but the Opening Ceremonies was last Friday and it was a spectacular one.
It came with numerous celebrities from all around the world; actors, current and former athletes, musicians, and many more to name. With much of the opening ceremonies from outside the stadium, it gave spectators an opportunity to see it for free, viewing from bridges and along the Seine River. It could be a great idea for the Los Angeles Olympic committee; probably a parade, possibly from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, which is hosting its third Olympic games; just like Paris is doing. It also hosted the Games in 1900 and 1924 so this is its first Olympics in 100 years. L.A. hosted it in 1932 and 1984 with both Opening Ceremonies at the Coliseum.
Swimming has been probably the most successful for the United States but, so far, it has not done quite as well with traditional swimming power Australia and even host France wiping it all away. The Americans won just two gold medals and that was by their men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team of Chris Guliano, Jack Alemy, Hunter Armstrong and Caleb Dressel. Premier female swimmer Katie Ledecky had to settle for a bronze in the 400-meter free. The other gold was from Torrie Huske in the women’s 100 butterfly. Huske won over second place and race favorite teammate Gretchen Walsh in a very tight race.
Nic Fink also won the silver in the men’s 100 breaststroke.
The other U.S. gold medal came in fencing by Lee Kiefer in the women’s individual foil.
The Americans won 20 medals overall; three gold, eight silver and nine bronze for a total of 48 medal points, based on five for gold, three for silver and one for bronze. Host France has 16 medals; five gold, eight silver and three bronze but, if they did officially have medal points, leads with 52 points. China, with 12 medals including five gold, five silver and two bronze, is third with 42. This is as of about 7 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) last Monday.
There are more to come in swimming, gymnastics (led by star Simone Biles in the women’s division, although she is battling a leg injury, so stay tuned), men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s indoor and beach volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, surfing, track, and field and much more through this and next week.
Due to this year’s Olympics, several Association of Beach Volleyball Tournaments, including the Hermosa Beach Open, were cancelled. The next local tournament is in Manhattan Beach from Aug. 16-18. However, there was a junior AVP National Championships in Hermosa Beach last week. Highlighting the tournament were 18-year-old-and-under winners Summer Witherby (Huntington Beach) and Adelina Okazaki (San Diego) who defeated a duo from Tampa Bay, Fla. in Bailey Higgins and Thai Treuman, 15-21, 21-15, 15-12. For the 18-and-under boys, it was the Huntington Beach team of Jake Pazanti and Bennet Tchaikovky who also won a split set match over Ellison and Elijah Morgan, 19-21, 21-17, 15-12. Both Pazanti and Tchaikovky are recent graduates of Huntington Beach High where they played indoor volleyball; leading the Oilers into the CIF-Southern Section Division I (equivalent to the Open Division since it was the top) playoffs and the Southern California Regional Division I playoffs where it lost to eventual champion Los Angeles Loyola.
This weekend will be a busy one in summer sports that include the International Surf Festival at the South Bay beaches and the United States Open of Pro Surfing in Huntington Beach; a lot to see at the beach. Some surfers that recently competed in the Olympic surfing in the French Colony Island of Tahiti are expected to compete in the Huntington Beach event, which runs from Saturday through Aug. 11.
The Los Angeles Rams and Chargers are off and running, practicing for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Two weeks ago, the Chargers opened their new facility called “The Bolt” in El Segundo, while the Rams moved their practice to Loyola-Marymount University in Westchester. Sources are that costs for spectators to watch the practice is free but tickets and reservations are required.
The Rams begin preseason play at SoFi Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys, who train in Oxnard, on Aug. 11 at 4:05 p.m. L.A. begins regular season facing former Ram quarterback Jared Golf and the Lions in Detroit on Sept. 8. Their first regular season home game is against their rival San Francisco 49’ers on Sept. 22.
The Chargers begin preseason play also at SoFi Stadium against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 10 at 4:05 p.m. Their regular season opener is also at home against their rival Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 8 at 1:05 p.m. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, who guided the University of Michigan to the national championship last season, looks for big improvement for the Chargers.
The Rams face the Chargers in preseason on Aug. 17 at 4:05 p.m. at SoFi Stadium. They will not face each other during the regular season, so it will be more like a junior varsity game that features predominantly rookies trying out and reserves.
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Rosecrans Park teams enjoy victorious week
The Rosecrans Park Junior and Senior Los Angeles Dodger Dream teams each picked up a win last week at Gonzales Park in Compton.
On July 24, the junior (ages 13-14) squad topped host Gonzales Park 7-5. Last Saturday, the seniors (ages 14-16) outlasted Verbum Dei High from southeast L.A. 6-5.
In the senior game, the game was tied at five entering the bottom of the seventh inning before Bradley Esquival drove in the winning run on a sacrifice bunt, scoring Angel Sanchez.
Juan Castellanos and Max Garcia each drove in a run with a triple and Anthony Garcia had an RBI (run batted in) double. Garcia was the winning pitcher, going two innings, allowing one unearned run and one hit.
“It was a good game,” Rosecrans coach Tom Anderson, also Gardena High’s head baseball coach, said.
Rosecrans played Compton at Gonzales Park on Wednesday.
Castellanos and Sanchez also played on the junior team and each hit a home run. Matthew Hernandez each drove in a run with a double. Hernandez also had a strong defensive game, according to Anderson. Max Garcia was the winning pitcher.
“It’s fun getting the younger guys in,” Anderson said.
The junior squad takes on the Verbum Dei junior varsity team on Saturday at 1 p.m.
