What’s it like to play beach volleyball in the Eiffel Tower’s shadow? ‘Iconic’

Netherlands' Raisa Schoon and Spain's Daniela Alvarez Mendoza in beach volleyball during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. AFP
Netherlands' Raisa Schoon and Spain's Daniela Alvarez Mendoza in beach volleyball during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. AFP
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Updated 05 August 2024
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What’s it like to play beach volleyball in the Eiffel Tower’s shadow? ‘Iconic’

Netherlands' Raisa Schoon and Spain's Daniela Alvarez Mendoza in beach volleyball during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. AFP
  • Beach volleyball’s Olympic history dates back to 1996 and a simple artificial beach stadium in Clayton County Park outside Atlanta

PARIS: There were Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, trying to wrap their heads around the moment.
These are not some starry-eyed young athletes on a world stage for the first time. Hughes is 29. Cheng is 28. They’re the defending FIVB world champions and one of the greatest duos in college volleyball history. They once rattled off 103 straight wins at the University of Southern California and finished their NCAA career with a 147-4 record and two national titles. They’ve seen some things.
But this was Sunday night in Paris. Cheng and Hughes walked onto the sand for their first match of the 2024 Olympics, waving to a packed house of 12,000 fans, and went through some quick prematch warmups. They tried to treat it like any other night. Then they sat and waited.
The sun had set about an hour earlier in Paris, leaving behind an orange glow blending with a blue-black sky. And in that sky, directly above this beach volleyball stadium, loomed the Eiffel Tower. Right there. Perhaps the single-most known structure in the world — 1,083 feet of iron and trusses and rivets and pillars — staring down at them.
The lights snapped off in the stadium. Out came the phones. All of them. All 12,000. The crowd vibrated with anticipation. Over the speakers, the tick-tock of a clock counted down faster and faster as low lights turned the stadium pink, then purple, then red. The clock struck 10 p.m. Then the Eiffel Tower, as it does every night at the same time, lit up in a glimmer of sparkling lights as fans clapped along.
If there’s a stadium anywhere that can match that view, we’ve yet to see it.
"That was iconic," Cheng said later.
In what rapidly evolved into a Summer Olympic arms race of beach volleyball venues being placed in the boldest locations possible, Paris 2024 organizers walked in and flipped the table over. They decided to place their sandpit directly in the middle of the Champ de Mars, the public green space at the foot of the tower. This prime real estate is typically filled with families, groups of friends, street artists, and young lovers. Of all 32 sports being played in these Olympics, none has a location that rivals beach volleyball. Tickets are hard to come by and will only get harder as the matches advance and fans’ pictures land on Instagram.
You have to feel sorry for Los Angeles organizers. The plan is for 2028 to be played on the beach in Santa Monica. That sounds great, except when you see what Paris has done. Perhaps atop an O on the Hollywood sign might have been better.
Beach volleyball’s Olympic history dates back to 1996 and a simple artificial beach stadium in Clayton County Park outside Atlanta. Things stepped up around 2012, when London placed a 15,000-seat beach volleyball court in the Horse Guards Parade, the ceremonial parade ground in St. Jamess Park in central London. In 2016, Rio organizers went further, building a stadium directly on Copacabana beach, marrying nature and competition, as L.A. will do. Tokyo placed its stadium in Shiokaze Park.
Then came Paris.
“That’s a memory that will be imprinted on my brain forever,” said Kristen Nuss, a member of the other American women duo in the field, winner of a Saturday night match over Canada. “This will be a hard one to top. I am not sure how anyone else would do it.”
Cheng is the lone US beach volleyball player, male or female, competing in these Games to compete in a previous Olympics. She saw clips of the pre-match show before Nuss and teammate Taryn Kloth’s match on Saturday. She knew what was coming on Sunday. Still, when stadium lights went down and the Eiffel Tower lit up, the moment took over.
“So surreal, so special,” she said.
“The best feeling in the world,” Hughes said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
Cheng and Hughes got over the jitters, knocking off the Czech Republic in two sets.
Those jitters, though, are very real. As if competing in the Olympics isn’t enough. The enormity of it all can be overwhelming. It’s easy to feel impossibly small in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. As you know you look like an ant from the top.
“It is mixed feelings because we are so focused on not getting influenced by that, not having a lot of emotions, doing our job,” said Brazilian Andr Loyola Stien.
No one feels that more than the French. On Sunday, Aline Chamereau and Clmence Vieira were hit by waves of emotion when the crowd broke out singing the French national anthem.
“(The fans) are far from us, but we are so warm, so close to each other,” Chamereau said after a loss to Germany.
The feeling will only grow. There are seven more sunsets over the Eiffel Tower Stadium for beach volleyball. Then the venue will host blind football in the Paralympic Games.
Then it will be gone.
Back to Champ de Mars.


Doncic releases emotional farewell message to Dallas after trade sends him to Lakers

Doncic releases emotional farewell message to Dallas after trade sends him to Lakers
Updated 03 February 2025
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Doncic releases emotional farewell message to Dallas after trade sends him to Lakers

Doncic releases emotional farewell message to Dallas after trade sends him to Lakers
  • A native of Slovenia, Doncic had built deep ties to Dallas off the floor, including through many charitable organizations
  • Doncic: As I start the next part of my basketball journey, I am leaving a city that will always feel like a home away from home

NEW YORK: Luka Doncic released an emotional farewell to Dallas on Sunday, the same day a trade sending him from the Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in a swap for fellow All-NBA player Anthony Davis was finalized.

Doncic said in a letter to the city that he “wanted so badly to bring you a championship” and that he thought he’d spend his career in Dallas.

“For a young kid from Slovenia coming to the US for the first time, you made North Texas fell like home,” Doncic wrote. “In good times and bad, from injuries to the NBA Finals, your support never changed. Thank you not only for sharing my joy in our best moments, but also for lifting me up when I needed it most.”

Doncic was enormously popular in Dallas — and everywhere else. His No. 77 Mavericks jersey ranked eighth among best-sellers through NBAStore.com over the first half of the season. On Sunday night, some Doncic items remained for sale on the Mavs’ shopping site.

His jersey sales will likely skyrocket again now, when the Lakers make his new ones available.

“Grateful for this amazing opportunity,” Doncic wrote in another social media post, linking it to one from the Lakers’ accounts welcoming him to Los Angeles. “Basketball means everything to me, and no matter where I play the game, I’ll do so with the same joy, passion and goal — to win championships.”

Doncic had built deep ties to Dallas off the floor, including through many charitable organizations. He had given large sums of money to various entities in North Texas and arranged for Jordan Brand sneakers — he represents the brand — to be given to frontline workers in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The appreciation was mutual. When Doncic led Slovenia to a berth into the Tokyo Olympics that were held in 2021, Dallas County Commissioners declared July 6 of that year as “Luka Doncic Day” in celebration of both his on- and off-court accomplishments.

In only 422 games, he ranks sixth on Dallas’ all-time scoring list, is second in 3-pointers in Mavs history behind only Dirk Nowitzki, is third on the club list in rebounds and fifth in assists.

“To all the organizations I’ve worked with throughout the Dallas community, thank you for letting me contribute to your important work and join you in bringing light to those who need it,” Doncic wrote. “As I start the next part of my basketball journey, I am leaving a city that will always feel like a home away from home. Dallas is a special place, and Mavs fans are special fans.”


Rory McIlroy overpowers Pebble Beach and wins in a runaway

Rory McIlroy overpowers Pebble Beach and wins in a runaway
Updated 03 February 2025
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Rory McIlroy overpowers Pebble Beach and wins in a runaway

Rory McIlroy overpowers Pebble Beach and wins in a runaway
  • McIlroy won for the 27th time on the tour and is 21st on the career victory list

PEBBLE BEACH, California: Rory McIlroy played a game nearly as magnificent as the Pebble Beach scenery Sunday as he powered his way past a pack of contenders and closed with a 6-under 66 for a two-shot victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
McIlroy is one of the top attractions in golf, which only added to the appeal of the surprising sunshine and crashing surf at America’s most famous coastal golf course. And just like that, a sleepy start to the PGA Tour season had some life to it.
On a day when six players had at least a share of the lead, McIlroy took the top spot for good with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole into a stiff breeze along the Pacific. He effectively ended the drama with a towering drive and a 7-iron into the 571-yard 14th hole, setting up an eagle putt from just outside 25 feet.
“To win at one of the cathedrals of golf is really cool,” McIlroy said.
Shane Lowry fell out of a share for the lead when he sent his second shot over a cliff to the right of the par-5 sixth. But he shot 31 on the back nine, including a birdie on the final hole for a 68 that gave him second place alone.
Lucas Glover (67) and Justin Rose (68) were another shot behind. Sepp Straka, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, had a 72 and tied for seventh.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player whose season was delayed by minor hand surgery from punctured glass while making ravioli, closed with a 67 and tied for ninth.
McIlroy has talked about this being an important year for him, though his focus was more on April through September — an 11th chance to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters, a return home to Northern Ireland for the British Open, a road Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
This wasn’t a bad start.
“It’s a really cool way to start the season,” said McIlroy, who won for the second time in California. “To get this win this early means a great deal, and hopefully I’ll keep the momentum going into Torrey Pines in a couple weeks’ time.”
The sixth hole began to separate the pack a little. In consecutive groups, Rose went over the cliff with his tee shot and Tom Kim hit down the hill toward the ocean with his second shot. Lowry followed him in the final group, leading to bogey.
But really, McIlroy looked as though he was the player to beat from the second hole, when he hit a tough pitch from 50 yards away over a bunker to a back pin with enough height and spin to set up a 2-foot birdie putt.
But it was after his lone bogey on the tough eighth hole where he pulled away — the 18-foot birdie on the 10th, a tee shot into 8 feet for birdie on the par-3 12th and finally get his due on the 14th hole. McIlroy drilled his drive for the third straight day over a tree, over the bunker complex and into the fairway. The previous two days, he had to settle for par.
This time, he cashed in for an eagle, extending his lead to four shots. And when he hit wedge into 3 feet for birdie on the 15th, it led to one of the best stress-free and gorgeous walks on the PGA Tour.
Everyone else was left in a hopeless chase.
“When he’s good, he’s great. And when he’s not great, he’s good,” Glover said. “There’s a reason he’s got 20-something wins and a bunch of majors and the game he has. Impressive round out there today under the pressure and under the conditions.”
McIlroy won for the 27th time on the tour and is 21st on the career victory list. He’s been stuck on four majors since winning the PGA Championship 11 years ago, and that he is sure to be reminded of that as the Masters gets closers.
For now, this will do. It’s his second victory in a signature event that McIlroy and other top players helped to create.
“When he’s good, he’s great and when he’s not great, he’s good,” Glover said. “There’s a reason he’s got 20-something wins and a bunch of majors and the game he has. Impressive round out there today under the pressure and under the conditions.”
McIlroy won his second signature event — he won at Quail Hollow last year — to earn $3.6 million. He finished at 21-under 267, one shot to par away from the tournament record.
Lowry at least tried to make him sweat, staying within range until missing a 7-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole that would have narrowed the gap to two. His final birdie, however, gave him a tidy consolation of $2.16 million for second place.
“I always say I believe when players like Rory McIlroy turns up and they have their ‘A’ game, they’re pretty impossible to beat,” Lowry said.


Olympic champions Lyles, Holloway blast to victory in Boston

Olympic champions Lyles, Holloway blast to victory in Boston
Updated 03 February 2025
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Olympic champions Lyles, Holloway blast to victory in Boston

Olympic champions Lyles, Holloway blast to victory in Boston
  • Lyles said afterwards he has finally put victory in Paris last year behind him as he prepares to tackle a new season
  • Holloway has not lost an indoor hurdles race since 2014, and said afterwards that with world and Olympic golds in the bank, he is now running to cement his legacy
  • USA’s women’s Olympic 100m hurdles gold medallist Masai Russell was a comfortable winner of the 60m hurdles in 7.80sec

NEW YORK: Noah Lyles powered to victory in the men’s 60m while fellow Olympic champion Grant Holloway extended his 11-year unbeaten streak with victory in the 60m hurdles at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix meeting in Boston on Sunday.

American sprint king Lyles, the reigning Olympic and world 100m champion, scorched over the line to win in 6.52sec with the Bahamas’ Terrence Jones second in 6.57sec and P.J. Austin third in 6.60sec.

Italy’s Tokyo Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs was fourth in 6.63sec.

Lyles said afterwards he has finally put victory in Paris last year behind him as he prepares to tackle a new season.

“I’m not gonna act like it’s easy, it’s a little difficult,” Lyles said. “But I know there’s a job to be done and I’m trying to transcend my sport.

“My first job is to make sure that everybody knows that even though I won the (Olympic) medal, I’ll go everywhere and I’m gonna win because I’m the world’s fastest man.”

In other events on Sunday, reigning Olympic 110m hurdles champion and three-time world champion Holloway scorched to victory in the men’s 60m hurdles in a season-best time of 7.42sec. Fred Crittenden was second in 7.54sec with Cordell Tinch third in 7.54sec.

Holloway has not lost an indoor hurdles race since 2014, and said afterwards that with world and Olympic golds in the bank, he is now running to cement his legacy.

“It’s just about building legacy, man,” Holloway said. “I’ve been doing this for so long. I’ve accomplished all my goals. So now it’s just about motivating the youth and then continuing just to build whatever I got to do.”

Holloway joked though that he has not been thinking about being remembered as the greatest sprint hurdler in history.

“I don’t even want to be the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time),” he said. “Usually, when people start calling themselves the goat, that’s when they get worse.”

Elsewhere Sunday, the USA’s women’s Olympic 100m hurdles gold medallist Masai Russell was a comfortable winner of the 60m hurdles in 7.80sec, edging out second-placed Grace Stark (7.81sec) and the Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton, who was third in 7.85sec.

In the women’s 300m meanwhile, Olympic 100m gold medallist Julien Alfred impressed with a blistering victory in 36.16sec.

The 23-year-old Alfred — whose 100m gold in Paris last year was St. Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal— cruised home ahead of Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who took second in 36.87sec, with France’s Emma Montoya third in 38.37sec.

In the men’s 300m, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin secured a comfortable victory in 32.21sec, taking first ahead of compatriot Vernon Norwood (32.39sec) with Matthew Boling third in 32.82sec.


Marcus Rashford joins Aston Villa on loan after falling out of favor at Man United

Marcus Rashford joins Aston Villa on loan after falling out of favor at Man United
Updated 03 February 2025
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Marcus Rashford joins Aston Villa on loan after falling out of favor at Man United

Marcus Rashford joins Aston Villa on loan after falling out of favor at Man United
  • The move was completed late Sunday, with neither Premier League club disclosing any more terms surrounding the deal
  • There was speculation about a move to Italy or Saudi Arabia, but Rashford is staying in England and now needs to prove to Villa manager Unai Emery he deserves playing time

LONDON: Marcus Rashford will look to reignite his career at Aston Villa after joining on loan for the rest of the season from Manchester United, where he has fallen out with recently hired manager Ruben Amorim.

The move was completed late Sunday, with neither Premier League club disclosing any more terms surrounding the deal. The Press Association and other sections of the British media have reported Rashford was joining Villa with a view to a permanent transfer for £40 million ($50 million) and that Villa was paying a loan fee as well as covering the majority of Rashford’s salary, reportedly worth nearly $400,000 a week.

The 27-year-old forward, one of the most famous players in the Premier League, had not played for United, his hometown club, since Dec. 12 amid concerns from Amorim about Rashford’s commitment to training. He has also been overlooked for recent England squads and didn’t play at the European Championship last year, after a season when he was dropped by United on one occasion for disciplinary reasons.

There was speculation about a move to Italy or Saudi Arabia, but Rashford is staying in England and now needs to prove to Villa manager Unai Emery he deserves playing time.

Villa sold Colombia striker Jhon Duran to Saudi club Al-Nassr for a reported fee of £64 million ($80 million) on Friday so needed an attacking player to provide competition for Ollie Watkins.

Rashford scored 30 goals in the 2022-23 season, the most prolific of his career after bursting onto the scene early in 2016 at the age of 18, but hasn’t approached that level since. He has seven goals in all competitions this season.

Amorim recently said he would rather put United’s 63-year-old goalkeeping coach in the squad ahead of someone who isn’t fully committed in training, as he perceives Rashford.

“The reason is the training, what I think a footballer should do in training, in life and every day. If things don’t change, I will not change,” he said. “It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum and the right things then we can use every player.”

At one point, Rashford even acknowledged he was “ready for a new challenge.”

Rashford has made 426 appearances for United, scoring 138 goals, and made a name for himself for his off-the-field work during the pandemic when his lobbying led to the British government agreeing to keep funding meals for poor students after initial resistance.


Lewandowski scores winner as Barcelona beat Alaves to move closer to the top in Spanish league

Lewandowski scores winner as Barcelona beat Alaves to move closer to the top in Spanish league
Updated 03 February 2025
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Lewandowski scores winner as Barcelona beat Alaves to move closer to the top in Spanish league

Lewandowski scores winner as Barcelona beat Alaves to move closer to the top in Spanish league
  • Third-placed Barcelona are three points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid
  • Lewandowski scored his fourth goal in as many matches across all competitions, and his seventh in the last eight games
  • Second-to-last Valencia rebounded from the embarrassing 7-1 loss at Barcelona with a 2-1 home victory over 13th-placed Celta Vigo

MADRID: There was no rout this time but Barcelona still prevailed Sunday with Robert Lewandowski scoring a second-half winner as the Catalan club beat Alaves 1-0 to move within four points of rival Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league.

“It’s not every time that we will be able to score three, four or five goals in a game,” Lewandowski said. “We had to be patient and in the end we did what we had to do, which was to score one more goal than our opponent.”

Madrid lost 1-0 at Espanyol on Saturday after a run of 10 victories in its last 11 matches in all competitions.

Third-placed Barcelona are three points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid, which ended a two-match winless streak in the league with a 2-0 victory against Mallorca on Saturday.

“We knew we had to win this match,” Lewandowski said. “We needed the victory. We had lost too many points in the league already.”

It was an unusually low-scoring game for Barcelona, which had claimed 14 goals in its last three matches — including a 7-1 rout of Valencia in the league.

Lewandowski scored his fourth goal in as many matches across all competitions, and his seventh in the last eight games.

The Poland striker scored from close range after a volley by Lamine Yamal from inside the area deflected off a defender.

Yamal had amazed the crowd only a few minutes into the game, using nifty moves to get past six defenders in a run that ended with Raphinha sending a shot wide of the net.

Alaves, which ended with no attempts on target, stayed inside the relegation zone with the loss. It has won only one of its last 11 matches in all competitions.

Head injuries for Gavi and Conechny

Barcelona midfielder Gavi and Alaves forward Tomas Conechny had to be substituted in the first half after a collision of heads while going for the ball about 10 minutes into the match at Montjuic stadium.

Gavi left the field on his own but Conechny was carried off on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital for further tests.

Alaves said Conechny sustained a head trauma and was expected to spend the night in the hospital.

Valencia rebound from embarrassing loss

Second-to-last Valencia rebounded from the embarrassing 7-1 loss at Barcelona with a 2-1 home victory over 13th-placed Celta Vigo, who are winless in its last five matches across all competitions. Valencia won two in a row at home in the league for the first time this season. It beat Real Sociedad 1-0 two rounds ago.

Ante Budimir scored a goal in each half as seventh-placed Osasuna defeated 11th-placed Sociedad 2-1 at home. It was the third straight league loss for Sociedad.

Osasuna won for the first time after nine consecutive league matches without a victory, with its last win in the competition coming against last-place Valladolid back in November.

Fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao missed a chance to move even closer to the top three after a 2-2 draw at ninth-placed Real Betis. Athletic twice came from behind to earn the draw in Seville.