Count down to the Olympics with DStv: 38 Days to go!

Tuesday 18 June marks 38 days until the start of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, which will be held in Paris, France, from 26 July (opening ceremony) to 11 August.

One of the major pieces of news this week is that African-born basketball star Joel Embiid has expressed confidence that he will feature for Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The 2022-23 NBA MVP was limited to 39 games in the 2023-24 regular season for the Philadelphia 76ers after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He hobbled through the playoffs after returning to action, but is confident that he will be fit to wear the red, white and blue in the French capital.

"I'm doing great. Just getting ready for the Olympics," Embiid said this past weekend ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics. "It's going to be big for me because I've been dreaming about it since I was a kid. I'm excited about it."

Embiid also was eligible to play in the Olympics for his native Cameroon or for France. However, in October, he chose to play for the United States due to his son being born in the country.

Elsewhere, two-time Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon has showered newly-crowned world 10,000m record holder Beatrice Chebet with praise following her season opener at the Kenyan Olympic trials at the Nyayo National Stadium this past weekend.

Kipyegon won the 5000m in style, clocking an impressive 14:46.28 to win the race ahead of Chebet, who clocked 14:52.55 for a second-place finish.

Kipyegon is happy to have Chebet join her one more time in the quest for glory at the Olympic Games. The pair also teamed up at the last World Championships, where the former won a gold medal while the latter claimed the bronze medal.

"It’s a really great team, working with this girl here, Beatrice. We were together in Budapest and I won gold and she won a bronze medal but this time around, we are going to do our best in Paris,” Kipyegon explained.

In addition, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has formally confirmed the qualification of Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi for the men's singles event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.

"As the countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games intensifies, ITTF is thrilled to announce significant progress in the qualification process for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," the organization stated.

"The Men’s Singles draw welcomes African powerhouse, Quadri Aruna from Nigeria, alongside the Americas’ rising talent Nicolas Burgos from Chile."

On the Women's side, Lynda Loghraibi from Algeria has secured her ticket, while Akram Ben Attia (Tunisia), Es-Sayed Elrawdy (Egypt) and Ronald Mugwanya (Uganda) will be among the umpires for the 2024 Olympic Games.

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