OLYMPIC GAMES
Coco Gauff adds Snoop Dog Olympic pin to her collection
The American is out of the women’s singles after being eliminated by Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the third round but she’s still in with a shot of the medals.
Bad day at the office for Coco Gauff who found herself out of the women’s singles, losing today’s third round match 7-6 (7) 6-2 to Croatia’s Donna Vekic at Roland-Garros. And just to add to what had been a frustrating game, she was involved in a heated moment with umpire Jaume Campistol.
“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me, where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” she explained afterwards. “I felt that he called it before I hit, and I don’t think the ref disagreed. I think he just thought it didn’t affect my swing, which I felt like it did.”
All in all, a disappointing day her Olympics aren’t over - she is in the women’s doubles second round with Jessica Pegula and into the Round of 16 of the mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz.
Coco Gauff: Olympic pin contest winner
So Coco still has a decent chance of winning a medal and even if she doesn’t, she will be a winner at Paris 2024 - first for being one of Team USA’s flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony and secondly for winning the Olympic pin contest. The tennis star picked up Snoop Dogg’s Paris 2024 pin, which shows him blowing five smoke rings in the Olympic colors. A cool memento of the Games whatever happens from now on.
Gauff thanked the rapper in a video: “Hey Mister Snoop, thank you for this pin. This pin is the best pin that I’ve ever gotten. And I hope to see you at US Open, or maybe I hear you may come Wednesday, to come watch us play again. So, thank you for the pin, and I’ll see you at the next one”.
When did athletes start exchanging pins at the Olympic Games?
Athletes have been trading pins at the Olympics since it became a trend in the 1920s. Small metal pins were exchanged as a sign of international friendship and the activity continues to this day. The pins are swapped with competitors in the Olympic village and some even bring their own specially-designed ones.
For example Simone Biles has been dishing out her heart-shaped pins since she arrive in the French capital - New Zealand rugby sevens player Tysha Ikenasio and tennis star Andy Murray being lucky recipients.
USA Basketball’s Steph Curry has built up quite a collection. He was captured with a big bag of pins, handing them out during a boat ride on the Seine.
Four-time gold medal winner Serena Williams was also a self-confessed “first class pin collector, amassing hundreds at four different editions. She explained, “It all started in Sydney. Shockingly I didn’t qualify but I took that opportunity to trade pins. I’ve still got them - a full collection. There’s even countries that don’t exists anymore that did exist during Sydney”.