SAINT-DENIS, France — So it turns out that amid all the tear-jerking medal ceremonies, with flags rising to rafters and the gold medalist’s national anthem blaring from the speakers, there are other ways to win the Olympics.
The old first-week Olympic reliables like gymnastics and swimming are already producing and reproducing their usual cast of celebrities. Characters like Simone Biles and the French swimmer Léon Marchand, the human dolphin coming soon to many a French magazine cover, are getting plenty of air time.
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Léon and Simone: We would like to introduce you to Ilona Maher, a 27-year-old from Vermont who attended Quinnipiac University in Connecticut before joining the U.S. rugby sevens
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