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Canadians are watching the Olympic medal count grow as our athletes reach the podium. Christa Deguchi made history by winning Canada's first-ever Olympic gold medal in judo — also the country's first gold medal of the Paris Games. Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh also won her first Olympic gold in the 400-metre individual medley, following her silver in the 400-metre freestyle.
Team Canada has sent 337 athletes to Paris. Cuba, on the other hand, has a noticeably smaller presence at the Games, with only 62 athletes competing under the Cuban flag — the smallest delegation in decades. However, 21 Cubans are competing under other flags, including the refugee Olympic team.
Today in The Conversation Canada, Robert Huish from Dalhousie University discusses what this reveals about the current state of sports in Cuba and its broader socioeconomic crisis.
He writes: "Sport is a reminder of Cuba’s impressive accomplishments, despite all its economic hardships and political strife. Now, Cuba’s top athletes are raising and competing under the flags of other nations, and seemingly abandoning national pride in sport."
Also today:
All the best.
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Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz Peraza and Idalys Ortiz travel on a boat with teammates along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, on July 26, 2024.
(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Robert Huish, Dalhousie University
Cuba’s historic decline in Olympic athletes highlights the country’s deepening socioeconomic crisis and the deteriorating state of its sports programs.
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Artist’s concept of Gliese 12 b and its central star.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)
Vigneshwaran Krishnamurthy, McGill University; Hiroyuki Tako Ishikawa, Western University
The groundbreaking discovery of a temperate Earth-size planet just 40 light-years away may hold the key to understanding stellar habitability.
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Changes to the policy could mean that fewer visitors with disabilities get the assistance they need.
(Shutterstock)
Susan Cape, McMaster University
Disney’s recent changes to its disability access service policy could leave people with disabilities unable to make use of this important service.
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Food service establishments have been struggling to hire enough employees while trying to return to business as usual after the pandemic. A server clears a table on a patio at a restaurant, in Vancouver, in April 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Andrew Stevens, University of Regina; Catherine E. Connelly, McMaster University
Hiring managers in the food service industry often emphasize the importance of finding the right “fit” when hiring new employees. But does everyone have the same chance to fit in?
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In the opening scenes of ‘Twisters,’ the fictional death of storm chasers sets the tone. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell in ‘Twisters.’
(Universal Pictures via AP)
Jack L. Rozdilsky, York University, Canada
‘Twisters’ selectively depicts aspects of reality by showcasing the raw, destructive power of tornadoes – but don’t look to it for safety advice.
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Le président chinois Xi Jinping applaudit lors d'une cérémonie de signature au Grand Hall du Peuple à Pékin, vendredi 28 juin 2024.
La Presse canadienne/Jade Gao
Zakaria Sorgho, Université Laval
La position économique de la Chine est telle qu’elle est désormais considérée comme la principale menace pour le dollar américain.
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Arts
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Edith Jennifer Hill, Flinders University
The model and mother of three makes meals entirely from scratch on TikTok – with some labelling her content as ‘rage bait’.
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Culture + Society
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Naomi Braithwaite, Nottingham Trent University
From school shorts to tiny Gucci boxers, how the short-short became a summer fashion staple.
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Environment + Energy
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Jamie Wilks, Loughborough University; Loïs Mougin, Loughborough University
The Seine river has been closed to bathers for a century. Is it ready for the Olympic Games?
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