A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
In Paris, tens of thousands of police and military personnel have been called in to protect the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics. Officials say they are investigating coordinated attacks on France's high-speed rail lines that have paralyzed travel just as the crowds try to reach the River Seine for the opening ceremony all on boats. NPR's Becky Sullivan is there.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: I got to say, the Olympic fever here is in full force. I've been able to catch some glimpses of little rehearsals happening, like dancers on rooftops and such. It's been a little gloomy and rainy today. So we're all hoping that it's going to clear up in time because it really should be a spectacle, this whole thing with the backdrop of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, all right at sunset, should things work out.
MARTÍNEZ: Celine Dion and Lady Gaga singing at tonight's opening ceremony...
SULLIVAN: Exactly.
MARTÍNEZ: ...Cannot not happen. All right, now, it wouldn't be an Olympic Games without some controversy, including a war of words between the U.S. and the International Olympic Committee on the issue of doping. What's going on with that?
SULLIVAN: So this dates back to this spring when revelations came out that 23 Chinese swimmers had failed doping tests in the months before the Tokyo Olympics back in 2021. And at the time, the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is deeply tied to the IOC, knew about it but allowed them to compete anyway. And so three of those swimmers won gold medals, and several of them will compete here in Paris. U.S. officials have accused WADA essentially of just deference to China. The United States Department of Justice has opened an investigation into this.
And in response, this week, the IOC officials attacked U.S. officials during a session about the Salt Lake City bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics. The IOC has attached a rider to the contract to host those Olympics basically allowing them to yank it back if this whole thing escalates, which just yesterday, the leaders of three congressional committees and subcommittee sent a letter putting WADA on notice. And so it's a mess. Not sure exactly where this is going to go yet.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, now, we mentioned how the Olympic ceremony is tonight, the opening ceremony. Games, though, those are underway.
SULLIVAN: That's right.
MARTÍNEZ: Team USA women's soccer opened up with a 3-0 win over Zambia. So, Becky, what are you looking most forward to see when you're there in Paris?
SULLIVAN: Well, let me answer this question, actually, in the eyes of Team USA basketball star Steph Curry, who, as you know, A, is a huge megastar in the U.S. He's a four-time NBA champion for the Golden State Warriors. But here in Paris, he is actually making his very first Olympic appearance.
STEPHEN CURRY: When you get around the other athletes, it's like we're all representing our country. And the NBA stuff doesn't make us any different, you know, than the next guy or girl to our left or our right. We all got the same colors, the same outfits, same letters across your chest.
SULLIVAN: So he went on to say that he's looking forward to seeing some events in between his busy basketball schedule. He's looking forward to swimming. He's looking forward to gymnastics. I share that anticipation. Swimming in particular kicks off tomorrow with a huge race, which is the women's 400-meter freestyle, which is this, like, clash of giants between the U.S. star Katie Ledecky, Australia's Ariarne Titmus, Canada's Summer McIntosh. That's just, like, a massive headliner event. And then gymnastics, the big women's team final, led by Simone Biles and the rest of Team USA, that's going to be Tuesday. So overall - like Steph, I should say - it's my first Olympics, too.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
SULLIVAN: And so I'm going to be trying to take his advice. He said be where your feet are. I'm going to try to be taking it all in and enjoying it.
MARTÍNEZ: I can't wait to see if Noah Lyles can complete the 100-meter, 200-meter sprint Olympic gold. That'll be what I'm looking forward to seeing.
SULLIVAN: Absolutely.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Becky Sullivan in Paris. Becky, thank you.
SULLIVAN: You're so welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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