Celine Dion and Lady Gaga – 2024 Paris Olympics – With 8 Panama Athletes

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games start Friday with Lady Gaga and Céline Dion to entertain and possibily duet an iconic French song at the end of the opening ceremony.  The ceremony will take place on the Seine River instead of in a traditional stadium. Céline Dion is also set to perform for the first time since getting diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome in December 2022. Rumors started swirling about the artists’ involvement earlier this week after Gaga and Dion were spotted in the city of love ahead of the Summer Games. Social media videos showed the A Star Is Born actress waving to fans from her car. On July 23, Variety reported that Dion arrived in Paris on Monday at the Royal Monceau Hotel near the Champs-Élysées, where Gaga is also staying.  French journalist Thierry Moreau shared on X that Dion and Gaga rehearsed a duet of “La Vie en Rose” by Édith Piaf. TMZ also confirmed the news.  “La Vie en Rose,” which translates to “Life in Pink,” was performed by the acclaimed French singer Édith Piaf. Written in 1945 and released as a single in 1947, the song gained international acclaim in the U.S. and around the world. It has been covered by many artists, including Andrea Bocelli, Audrey Hepburn, Bing Crosby, Carla Bruni, Dalida, Dean Martin, and Diana Krall, among others.

Panamanian boxer Atheyna Bylon has already learned that she will face Kazakhstan’s Valentina Khalzova in the round of 16 of the 75 kg category at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.  The fight is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31, at the Paris Nord Arena, starting at 2:36 pm (Panama time).  If she wins, the Isthmus native would have to fight the winner of the fight between the Polish Elzbieta Wójcik and the Irish Aoife O’Rourke. This quarter-final fight is scheduled for August 4.  These will be Bylon’s third Olympic Games, following Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.  Bylon is coming off a successful Olympic cycle, having won a gold medal at the Bolivarian Games in Valledupar 2022, the South American Games in Asunción 2022, and the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023.  Her only silver medal was at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

Panamanian judoka Kristine Jiménez will face Muna Dahouk Monday July 29 in the 57 kilogram category, at the 2024 Olympic Games.  According to the Panama Olympic Committee (COP), Dahouk is a representative of the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT).  The athlete of Syrian origin competed in Tokyo 2020 in the 63kg category.  “I am very happy to be here in the Olympic Village. We are acclimatizing ourselves for what the competition is going to be like. I am very happy, it is a super good experience,” said Jiménez, who was the flag bearer at the San Salvador 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.  “Physically I feel very good. I have been working for a long time to adapt to this new category,” she added.

From Panama here are the eight athletes who will represent Panama at the 2024 Olympic Games:  Gianna Woodruff (athletics), Hillary Heron (gymnastics), Franklin Archibold (cycling), Emily Santos (swimming), Tyler Christianson (swimming), Atheyna Bylon (boxing), Kristine Jiménez (judo) and Arturo Deliser (athletics)