Nashvillians in the Olympics

This Friday, the City of Light will take center stage as opening ceremonies kick off the 2024 Summer Olympics. The occasion will mark the first time in 100 years that Paris has hosted the Olympics, having done so in 1900 and again in 1924. Much hype has surrounded the event given the last Summer games in 2020 in Tokyo were delayed and attendance was hampered by the pandemic. 

However, we’re back! And back in a big way. Many in the sports world are anticipating the greatest opening ceremony of all time this week, with national athletes being introduced by boat on the iconic Seine River that will be supplemented by an elegant backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. Now to be clear, these games will take place in Paris, France, not to be outdone by the beauty of our own 60-foot Eiffel Tower just west of us in Paris, Tennessee. But don’t be fooled; our state will be well represented over the next couple weeks as 34 athletes with Tennessee ties will compete at the Paris Olympics, representing over a dozen countries. 

Nashville native Alex Walsh will make her second appearance at the Olympics following her debut in Tokyo three years ago where she captured the Silver Medal in the 200-meter Individual Medley (IM). In the swimming trials in Indianapolis, Walsh finished in sixth place in the 100-meter breaststroke and third in the 200-meter breaststroke. Both events saw her achieve personal best times, according to SwimSwam. She is the 2022 World Champion for the 200-meter IM and some insiders consider her the favorite to win gold in Paris. 

The five-time UVA individual NCAA Champion will have some familial company this time as her younger sister, Gretchen, will make her first Olympic appearance after narrowly missing out in 2021. 

Gretchen Walsh also competes for the University of Virginia and is considered one of the best young swimmers in the world. Early this year at the NCAA championships, Walsh claimed seven gold medals and became the first woman in the world to swim a 100-meter Butterfly in under 48 seconds. 

Anything short of gold for these Nashvillian ladies would unequivocally be considered a disappointment for them personally. Quite funny when you think about it considering if they both accomplish their desired feat, they will make Olympic history. The Walsh sisters have an opportunity to become the first female siblings to win gold medals in swimming at the same Olympic Games. Not bad if you ask me. I have faith in these sisters to get it done. As a matter of fact, let’s go ahead and plan the Broadway ticker tape parade now for these locals. MILES HARRINGTON

✰   ✰   ✰

Be sure to tune in Friday at 12:30 p.m. CT on NBC or Peacock for live coverage of the historic opening ceremony.

An enhanced encore will air on a host of NBC Networks at 6:30 p.m. CT that evening.

🧉 If You Like Piña Kamalas Twenty-four hours ago, President Biden used X to announce his withdrawal from the presidential race and Kamala Harris, unburdened by what has been, became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee. Within hours of the announcement, all 77 of Tennessee’s Democratic delegates hopped on a Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee call and joined Biden in pledging their support for the Vice President. In case you fell out of a coconut tree, here’s what some Tennessee personalities had to say about the sudden switcharoo:

“Social experimentation is the worst possible reason to choose a presidential candidate. Many of us are embarrassed by DEI standard bearers who aren’t ready for prime time.” — Dr. Carol Swain on the possibility of Kamala Harris becoming the presidential nominee.

“We can have a fun campaign now. A big fun party that’s credibly about the future and everyone’s invited. Praise Biden if you are inclined but the wind is at our backs. Let’s go.” —Matt Anderson (running for the TNDP) in reply to a post about DC gay bars running a promo for $5 Piña Kamala coconut shots. 

“In all seriousness, we are in a precarious situation. America's adversaries have to be looking at what's going on and thinking now is the time to make their move. The Democrats' lust for power and this ridiculous game they've been playing has put the entire world at risk.”—Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs on Biden stepping down under Party pressure.

“Biden’s willingness to step down is an historic act of selflessness as we face the greatest threat to democracy since the civil war. Thanks to his bipartisan bill Tennessee is making huge strides in infrastructure improvements- he deftly avoided a recession- a great president!”—State Senator Heidi Campbell. (State Representative Jody Barrett quoted Campbell’s post and added: “This is so much better if you read it aloud with Scarlett Butler’s Gone With The Wind accent.”) MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

✰   ✰   ✰

🎉 Ch-ch-changes Here’s a good story from Stephen Elliott for the Nashville Banner on the changing culture on lower Broadway. The piece includes input from former mayor Bill Purcell, Ryman Hospitality CEO Colin Reed, and Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. President and CEO Deanna Ivey. A notable passage with comments from Purcell:

When asked whether the efforts to activate Lower Broad have been too successful, the former mayor says no, though he does note that it’s important to “not let issues of crowd size or behavior affect the perception of the visitor.”

“There is no donut city that is successful,” he says, recalling efforts in the last century to encourage suburbanization. “If the core dies, the city will not survive. All these efforts to bring people downtown supports and sustains the whole big city.”

And Purcell echoes an idea espoused by many in Nashville business and government.

“Now the concerns are more about the success of the place,” he says. “If I have to choose, I would rather have discussions about how to make sure the success is continued as opposed to how do we avoid dying.”

I don’t need to tell you that balancing the demands of Broadway with those of residents will determine the city's future, but to Purcell’s point, a dying tourism district would likely exacerbate negative migration trends into and Davidson County. As we point out often, Nashville is a donut city, buoyed only by international migration as domestic residents flee the city for surrounding counties. DAVIS HUNT

✰   ✰   ✰

🚨 A Shock To The System Two suspects in a Kia Forte sped away from a crime scene around 8 p.m. last Friday after shooting Trooper Adam Cothron during a routine traffic stop in Putnam County. Following the incident, both the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation sprang into action, launching a manhunt for “two black males with facial tattoos.” 

The TBI began their search for Tennessee’s Most Wanted by issuing an Emergency Alert to all Tennesseans around midnight, which gave most users a jump scare after the attached link failed to open. “Not me thinking that someone hacked the public alert system to hack our phones,” joked one commenter on the Nashville subreddit. Others thought the odd-looking PSA was a scam. “Freaked me out, too,” posted another. “The timeline we are in, we all have PTSD but was thinking, ‘Oh, what now.’” 

Following the debacle, both suspects remained at large until early yesterday morning when one of the criminals was captured by Kentucky State Police. Thankfully, Trooper Cothron remains in stable condition while the search continues for the second suspect. The reward for new information is set at $20,000. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

DEVELOPMENT

• Permit reveals details on JW Marriott Nashville's $8.5M restaurant (NBJ)
• Eighth Avenue Skyscraper Draws Neighborhood Opponents (Scene)
• Downtown hotel-esque building listed for sale (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🎸 Mates of State @ The Basement East, 8p, $32.87, Info

🪕 Wes Corbett and friends @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $5, Info

🪕 The Tennessee Warblers & The Big Lonesome @ Dee's Lounge, 8:30p, $5, Info

🎸 Open Mic Mondays @ Tennessee Brew Works, 6p, Free, Info

🪕 Val Storey, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & New Monday @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

💀 Grateful Monday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 8p, Free, Info

🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info