Paris Olympics: More queer athletes, more medals, more Pride, less Grindr
The first days of the Olympic Summer Games in Paris have been a mélange of powerful LGBTQ representation, queer controversy, hookup hiccups and unwelcome weather that started all wet and has turned scorchingly hot. Weather Woes The opening ceremony on the Seine was spectacular but soaked athletes, performers and spectators to the bone.
And when the rain finally moved on, it left the famed river that was supposed to serve as one leg of the men’s triathlon too polluted for competition, for now.
That event is now postponed, in spite of the cleanup efforts that cost Paris $1.5 billion. But now the athletes have gone from riders on the storm to a different kind of soaking: Sweating in the 95-degree heat on Tuesday, about 11-degrees above average for this time of year in France’s capital city.
Much has been reported about the lack of air conditioning in the Olympic Village, just outside Paris. It was built with a cooling system that runs cold water through the floors, which officials said can reduce the ambient temperature by 10 to 20 degrees and achieve a target range of 73 to 79.
