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Olympic Countdown: What to Read If You’re Impatient for the Games to Begin

The highly anticipated debut of breaking, the veterans and newcomers we can’t wait to watch, and a fascinating visual history of iconic Olympic moments.

Pocket Editors

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

Olympic buzz is building and we’re eagerly counting down the days to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. It’s sure to be an exciting few weeks as four new events take center stage and the world’s elite athletes prep to compete and keep us on the edge of our seats.

Dive into the stories holding us over until Opening Ceremony on July 26—an exploration of Paris’ bold, new venues, a close look at the rewards bestowed upon winning athletes by their home countries, an investigation into the controversial AI technology monitoring the games, and lighter fare like the movies we’re watching to get into the Olympic spirit.

Reminder: Some matches and events begin as early as July 24!

Image by Maja Hitij / Staff / Getty Images

LATEST ADDITIONS: 4 Olympic Sports Are Ready to Break in at 2024 Paris Games

There are some thrilling new sports at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

EVERYONE’S WONDERING: Will the Seine Be Clean Enough to Swim in? Not Even the Experts Know

Triathlon and marathon swimming are to take place in the Seine, where it has been illegal to swim for more than a century. The water has tested unsafe in recent weeks, and cleaner on other days.

SWIMMING, SOCCER, AND SURVEILLANCE: Paris Preps for an AI-Monitored Olympics

The technology ‘risks permanently transforming France.’

MUST READ: For Kenya’s Women Runners, the Road to Greatness Can Be Deadly

This summer, the world will watch East African women dominate track and field at the Paris Olympics. What you won’t see are all the dangerous roadblocks and many hurdles they navigate in order to chase their dreams.

THROW DOWN: Breaking, the New Olympic Sport for 2024, Explained

Here’s everything you need to know about the newest sport at the Olympics, from the history of breakdancing to the format, and how it will work at the Paris Games.

FROM LEBRON TO LEDECKY: 10 Biggest Athletes to Watch at Paris 2024 Olympics

From sporting legends to Gen Z prodigies, Al Jazeera picks out 10 ‘must watch’ athletes at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

HISTORY: Nine Things You Didn’t Know About the Ancient Olympic Games

With an intensive athletes’ boot camp and the threat of execution for unwelcome spectators, the Greek sporting event was a serious affair.

ICONIC: 10 Images of the Most Historic Moments at the Olympic Games

Here are stunning images from new book The Last Heroes that capture the most tense and historic Olympic moments.

BONUS WATCH: See Jesse Owens Win Four Golds at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany via Mental Floss.

PLASTIC-BOTTLE SEATS AND WOODEN POOLS: Can Paris Deliver the Leanest, Greenest Olympics Yet?

The Paris Olympics vowed to build as little as possible, using the city’s landmarks as a backdrop instead. Has it worked? We check out the bold new venues, upgraded old ones – and the athletes’ candy-coloured village.

GASTRONOMY: How to Feed the Olympics

Step one: Get 3 million bananas.

MONUMENTAL: The Paris Olympics Medals Are Made With Pieces of the Eiffel Tower

When they make history at the Paris Games, Olympic medalists will take a bit of France and its history home, too.

PERSPECTIVES: Paris Promised to Make the Olympics Accessible. What Do Disabled Fans Think?

With the Paris Summer Olympics just weeks away, athletes and fans alike are buzzing with excitement, anticipation, and — for the estimated 350,000 attendees with disabilities — concern.

BEYOND THE GOLD: The Different Prizes Olympic Champs Can Win—Depending on Their Country and Sport

The Olympics doesn’t award cash to its champions, but many countries do—sometimes with cars, houses, and even cows, too.

SIDE HUSTLE: Meet the Engineer, Doctors and Other Clock Punchers Competing for Team USA in the Olympics

For all the hype and glamour of the games, scores of world-class performers still work normal jobs and train at night and on weekends.

BONUS READ: These Olympians Are Moonlighting as Influencers to Pay the Bills via Rolling Stone.

HORSES, GUNS, AND SWORDS: How Cumbersome Equipment Gets to the Olympics

Athletes are responsible for getting their stuff to the Paris Games. That’s more complicated for some sports than for others.

HIGH DRAMA: 10 Great Olympics Movies

From ice skating comedies to wrestling tragedies, Tinseltown skillfully draws upon the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.

READY THE POPCORN: How to Watch, When It Starts, Key Dates in Paris

The action begins on July 24 with eight men’s soccer matches and the preliminary phase for rugby sevens, and the opening ceremony is scheduled for July 26.