Olympia compact: Penalty order requested against show jumper Kühner

France in Olympic fever: The Summer Games in Paris begin on Friday with a gigantic opening ceremony. Athletes from all over the world will be competing for gold, silver and bronze until August 11. German athletes can also hope for medals. The competitions are subject to massive security measures: 250,000 security personnel are deployed in total, and more than 40,000 security personnel will be deployed for the opening ceremony alone.

All news about the Olympics can be found here at star:

July 25: German women’s handball players lose opening match against South Korea

Germany’s handball players have made a disappointing comeback 16 years after their last appearance at the Olympic Games. After a partly desolate performance in attack, the selection of national coach Markus Gaugisch lost their opening match against South Korea 22:23 (10:11) and missed a big step towards the quarter-finals. In front of around 5,000 spectators in Paris, Antje Döll was the best scorer with six goals for the DHB team, which is already under a lot of pressure in the upcoming group matches.

July 25: Man arrested in France on suspicion of terrorism

One day before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, a man was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. The 18-year-old had been in contact with another man who had already been taken into custody on Tuesday, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said. The two are suspected of having prepared “violent actions”. According to media reports, the plan was to carry out attacks during the Olympic Games, but the prosecutor’s office did not comment on this. It is currently investigating how far advanced the plans were, it said.

25 July: Penalty order filed against Austrian show jumper Max Kühner

Criminal proceedings are underway against the German show jumper Max Kühner, who competes for Austria, for violating the Animal Welfare Act. According to a statement from the Starnberg District Court, the Munich II public prosecutor’s office applied in March for the issuance of penal orders against the rider, who denies the allegations, and another person working as a trainer. Kühner is accused of so-called “active barring” in May 2023. In this method, which is banned in Germany, a horse is hit on the legs with a bar when it overcomes an obstacle so that it pulls them higher.

July 25: Argentina rages after equaliser denied

After the turbulent Olympic opening with the equalizer being disallowed after a long wait, Argentinian football coach Javier Mascherano has voiced harsh criticism. “What happened on the pitch was a scandal,” said the 40-year-old after the 1:2 defeat against Morocco in Saint-Étienne. “They spent an hour and a half reviewing a move.” Argentina’s superstar Lionel Messi also reacted, posting a wide-eyed emoji on Instagram and writing: “Unusual.”

The match at the start of the Olympic football tournament in France ended chaotically. Argentina had scored what appeared to be a 2-2 equaliser in the 16th minute of stoppage time. The game could not continue because Moroccan fans stormed the pitch in outrage at the long stoppage time. For a long time it was unclear whether the match had finished or had just been interrupted. In addition, the goal that made it 2-2 was checked for a possible offside position using video evidence.

July 24: Macron would love Dion’s performance at the opening ceremony

French President Emmanuel Macron wants singer Céline Dion to be the star guest at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday in Paris. It would be “great news” if the Canadian were to appear at the big ceremony in the heart of the French capital, said Macron (46) in an interview with the TV channel France 2, “because she is a great artist.” Speculation about an appearance by the singer, who suffers from a rare autoimmune disease, has been rife for days. The 56-year-old is said to be currently in the Olympic city. “Apparently she has arrived in Paris,” said Macron. However, he did not want to reveal any further details about the opening ceremony because of the surprise effect.

July 24: Canadian tried to spy on New Zealand women’s soccer players with a drone

New Zealand has complained to the International Olympic Committee about Canada because of a drone incident during training of the national women’s soccer team. During the training session on Monday before the opening match of both teams in the Olympic tournament on Thursday in St. Étienne, a drone was observed flying over the field and reported to the police, the New Zealand National Olympic Committee said. An unaccredited member of the Canadian support staff was arrested by the French authorities, the Canadian Olympic Committee said, expressing “shock and disappointment” about the incident. “We express our sincere apologies to New Zealand soccer, all players affected and the New Zealand Olympic Committee.” The incident and further steps will be discussed with the IOC, the organizers and the world association FIFA.

July 23: Basketball player Schröder and judoka Wagner carry the German flag

Basketball world champion Dennis Schröder and two-time judo world champion Anna-Maria Wagner will carry the German flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. The duo won the vote by fans and the German Olympic team and will take on the task at the ceremony on Friday (7.30 p.m.). This was confirmed by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). The “FAZ” was the first to report on Schröder’s election. In the men’s competition, both tennis pro Alexander Zverev (57.57) and sports shooter Christian Reitz (38.89) came in behind Wagner (80.01) and footballer Alexandra Popp (74.01) and rider Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (45.98). In total, more than 500,000 valid votes were cast in the public election, compared to around 189,000 votes three years ago in Tokyo.

July 23: Olympic hopeful Bauer receives lost bow

The archers are a German medal hope at the Olympic Games in Paris. Important luggage was lost on the journey. Now the wait is over: Archer Katharina Bauer has finally received her sports equipment after some delay a few days before her competition. “Wohooooo, look what arrived during the night… My bow,” the 28-year-old medal candidate wrote on Instagram after an anxious wait.

Bauer arrived in Paris on Monday without any luggage. The archer had flown in from Munich, where she said there were problems loading her luggage because there was a lack of staff. She therefore missed her first chance to get used to the bow at the Olympic competition venue in Paris.

Individual European champion Bauer from Raubling is one of the candidates for a medal with the German women’s team on Sunday. The team had already won the World Championship title.

July 23: Rapper Snoop Dogg carries torch at Olympics

“Drop it like it’s hot” is the name of one of Snoop Dogg’s hits. He now has a special role to play at the Olympics, but he shouldn’t take it too literally. The American rapper is to carry the Olympic flame through Paris before the opening ceremony. He will be one of the torchbearers on Friday in the suburb of Saint-Denis, where the Olympic Stadium is located, the mayor of the district, Mathieu Hanotin, told the French news agency AFP.

Other torchbearers are French actress Laetitia Casta, French rapper MC Solaar and former Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergei Bubka. Snoop Dogg will also commentate on the Olympic Games for the American broadcaster NBC. The games begin on Friday and last until August 11.

The Olympic flame travelled through France for almost two months. On Friday, the torch will be carried through the athletes’ village before being taken to the Olympic Stadium.

July 23: Olympic exit averted – Dauser only on two apparatus

Five weeks after his serious upper arm injury, parallel bars world champion Lukas Dauser will only be completing a reduced program. In the qualification on Saturday for the team finals and all individual decisions, the 31-year-old from Unterhaching will only compete on his special apparatus and on the floor. “I’m glad that everything went well and that I’m ready to compete on the floor and parallel bars. That’s the maximum, I can’t do more,” said Dauser.

Germany’s Sportsman of the Year sustained a muscle injury in his right upper arm during his rings exercise in the final Olympic qualification and had to fear for his third Olympic participation. A final endurance test with a clean parallel bars exercise last Wednesday in the Kienbaum training center brought final certainty. “The biceps are holding up,” said Dauser. Passing the stress test also freed national coach Valeri Belenki from the burden of nominating a replacement gymnast in Milan Hosseini.

July 22: Basketball spectacle in London – USA defeats Germany

Dunks, threes, blocks: The Olympic dress rehearsal turns into a basketball show. World champions Germany missed the surprise coup in a major basketball spectacle just before the Olympics. The team with captain Dennis Schröder lost narrowly 88:92 (41:48) to Olympic champions USA, including the excellent superstar LeBron James, in London. The 19,177 fans in the sold-out arena in London got to see everything that basketball has to offer just a few days before the opening of the Olympic Games. Schröder (13 points) and Co. held their own in the test in Abu Dhabi and at the World Cup, as they did last year, but this time the individual class of the team, including US flag bearer James (20 points), Stephen Curry (13) and Anthony Edwards, prevailed.

The USA is considered the clear favorite to win gold at the Summer Games. After winning bronze at the European Championships in 2022 and the surprising World Cup triumph in Manila last year, Germany wants to win its third medal in three years and give national coach Gordon Herbert the ideal farewell. The DBB team begins its preliminary round in Lille on Saturday (1:30 p.m.) against outsider Japan. The USA will face runner-up Serbia, including NBA star Nikola Jokic, in the opening match on Sunday (5:15 p.m.).