The Paris Games’ Olympics have featured controversy and drama – and the TV ratings, which are up 79 percent over the Tokyo Games four years ago, reflect the high level of interest. In some cases, Mother Nature has not cooperated, causing delays in street skateboarding due to rain and in surfing due to unfavorable conditions – i.e., small waves.

Here’s what you need to know

Men’s surfing moving forward without any Team USA surfers

Hope for U.S. medals turns to women’s surfers

Street skateboarding completed with two American medalists

Bicycling will feature highly regarded cyclist and San Diego native

Men’s surfing moves forward without any Team USA surfers

Bad news for USA: John Florence and Griffin Colapinto, the World Surf Leagues’ top 1- and 2-ranked surfers, respectively, were eliminated Monday, July 29^th, as were Alan Cleland Jr. from Mexico and Brazil’s Felipe Toledo.

Preview

What does this mean? Medals will go to surfers representing France, Brazil or Australia.

On Thursday afternoon, beginning at 2:48 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, the men’s quarterfinals will be held.

Hope for U.S. medals turns to women’s surfers

On Thursday, they held both round 3 and the quarterfinals for the women, and Team USA fared very well:

• In round 3, Carissa Moore defeated South Africa’s Sarah Baum.
• Oceanside’s pride and joy, Caitlin Simmers, was eliminated by Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb.
• San Clemente’s Caroline Marks, who won the World Surf League championship title in 2023, won her round 3 heat against Siqi Yang, China’s first-ever Olympic surfer.

Preview

Moore and Marks will proceed to the women’s quarterfinals, which will start this evening at 5:12 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.

There will be no surfing on Friday; the semi-finals and finals will be held Saturday, Aug. 3 assuming the waves cooperate.

Street skateboarding completed with two American medalists

Encinitas resident Jagger Eaton brought home a silver medal and Laguna Beach’s Nyjah Huston the bronze in the men’s street final held Monday, July 31^st. Eaton, named after Mick Jagger, improved upon the bronze medal he took home at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

So close: Eaton was one-tenth of a point behind Japan’s Yuto Horigome, who earned the gold medal as he did in 2020.

Preview: The women ‘s park skateboarding final is scheduled for Tuesday, August 6th, assuming it doesn’t rain, and the men’s on Aug. 7^th.

Cycling will feature highly regarded cyclist and San Diego native

America is well positioned to take home at least three or four medals in cycling in the Paris Olympics.

Preview

Aug 7: Women’s Team Pursuit * Aug 9 Women’s Madison * Aug 11th Women’s Omnium

Keep an eye out for Jennifer Valente.

Now a resident of Colorado Springs, CO, Valente, a 4X world champion who took home a gold and bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, was born and raised in San Diego. She spent her youth riding mountain and BMX bikes with her brothers. Racing is in her blood, as her father raced bikes in the 1980s and shared stories with his daughter about his competitions. Growing up, there wasn’t hardly a sport that she didn’t excel at, including baseball, soccer, and swimming.

According to Valente’s website, “When she was 14, she attended youth classes at the San Diego Velodrome” and was “drawn in by the uniquely contained environment in which she could push herself.” She played varsity water polo for Cathedral Catholic High School, in Carmel Valley, and competed in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association’s mountain bike series in the off season, in addition to practicing at the velodrome.

Her greatest accomplishment occurred at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games, where she became the Olympic Champion in the Women’s Omnium.