Olympics diary: LeBron & Coco Gauff, the long and short of US flagbearers

Coco Gauff, the young grand slam winner and first tennis player of the US who has been named as their flagbearer at the opening ceremony of Paris Olympics, is elated at the honours – but has only has one point of concern. It’s about the disparity of her height with Le Bron James, the NBA giant, who will be the country’s male flagbearer along with the tennis star.

While Coco stands at an impressive 1.75 metres (5 feet 9 inches), James towers at 2.06 metres (6 feet 9 inches) – and it may be quite a task for the former to maintain poise in carrying a single Stars and Stripes together. ‘’I am a little bit concerned about the height difference. I thought it was two flags but I saw pictures (of previous Olympics) and they’re holding it together,’’ a humorous Gauff was quoted by news agencies.

While the 20-year-old has watched numerous NBA games of the four-time MVP and one of the alltime greats of the game, she was yet to meet him personally and admitted to feeling awestruck about him. She wanted to swap Olympic pins with him but was afraid to do so – though she felt there was an opportunity at hand now.   

‘’My team is really nagging me about getting pins from him, so I will try and ask him,’’ Gauff said. ‘’I need six. But I dont know. I’m kind of scared. I’ve watched so many (Miami) Heat games on TV, in person. I’ve seen him in person a couple of times. I never met him, but I would like to say I've met him.’’

Trains offline

 A disturbing piece of news ahead of the opening ceremony was that of France’s high-speed train lines faced with several ‘malicious’ acts, including arson, on Friday. According to reports, authorities described these acts as “coordinated sabotage” aimed at disrupting travel ahead of the gala opening on the banks of the River Seine.

The state railways company, SNCF, reported that the Atlantic, Northern, and Eastern high-speed lines were affected. Several facilities were damaged, though one act was successfully stopped. 

The disruption has created havoc on these lines with many trains been cancelled or diverted, and SNCF expects the issue to last the entire weekend. Repair teams are working on-site to fix the damage.

SNCF released a statement asking travellers to postpone their trips and avoid going to the station. In addition, the Rémi Train Centre Val de Loire announced that their train lines would also face disruptions until at least Monday. A fire near the tracks in Courtalain, northern France, has caused further problems for travel to Paris.