(NEXSTAR) — The US Olympic athletics, aka track and field, team has racked up 5 gold and 16 total medals so far with several events yet to go, including the men’s 200-meter sprint.
Among the competitors is a pair of Floridians: current “fastest man in the world” Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton. Both are looking to secure their Thursday spot in the final of the men’s 200m during today’s prelims.
Knighton’s high school coach, Joe Sipp, is looking ahead to his crucial performance in Paris these next two days, while also reflecting on his years of training. Sipp will join J.B. Biunno, of Nexstar’s WFLA, and Olympic champion Brooke Bennett to discuss Knighton’s journey on today’s What’s Hot in Paris.
The show will livestream within this story beginning at approximately 11 a.m. ET in the video player above.
Biunno and Bennett will also discuss the U.S. figure skating team getting their gold medals in Paris, years after the Russian-doping scandal in Beijing’s Winter Olympics in 2022, along with recapping gymnast Steven Nedoroscik’s return home to Sarasota, FL on Tuesday.
A bit more about the figure skating medals
Canadian figure skaters will not join the United States and Japan on the podium at the Paris Olympics next week when team event medals finally are awarded from the 2022 Beijing Winter Games marred by a Russian doping case.
Nor will there be Russian skaters on the bronze-medal step on Wednesday, despite a new ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that was a defeat for Canada.
CAS said Friday its judges dismissed the Canadian appeal to be upgraded from fourth place to third in the Beijing Olympics standings that had to be amended by the International Skating Union because of doping by Russian star Kamila Valieva.
No medals were awarded 2 1/2 years ago in Beijing because Valieva’s positive test for a banned heart medication emerged shortly after the then-15-year-old helped her team win the competition.
The U.S. skaters were upgraded to Olympic champions and Japan to silver medalist by a CAS ruling in January that disqualified Valieva’s scores and banned her for four years.
The medal ceremony plan remained on hold until this week because of Russian appeals to a separate CAS judging panel about being dropped to third place. Those appeals were decided on Monday.
That let the IOC confirm a ceremony for American and Japanese skaters to get their medals at Champions Park, next to the Eiffel Tower, on Aug. 7 at 5 p.m.
After CAS published its verdict, the IOC confirmed Friday it will award only gold and silver medals in Paris.
The Associated Press contributed to this report