News digest: The Slovak Olympic team may be small, but it hopes to win big
Hockey star in advertisement scandal, 90s Bratislava is reborn in a video game, and Bojnice Zoo greets newborn red pandas.
Good evening. Here is the Friday, July 26 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Small team, big hopes
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will officially open in Paris tonight, Friday, July 26, and continue through Sunday, August 11. The opening events will take place on the River Seine.
Slovak athletes are already preparing for their first competitions tomorrow.
Even though Slovakia has sent its smallest Olympic team since independence in 1993 – featuring just 28 athletes – it has high hopes for a strong performance. In the canoe slalom, Matej Beňuš, a silver medallist in Rio and Tokyo, is a leading medal hope on the water alongside Jakub Grigar, Eliška Mintálová and Zuzana Paňková, injury challenges notwithstanding.
Trap shooter Zuzana Rehák Štefečeková, a gold medallist in Tokyo and current world record-holder, aims to excel once more. Skeet shooter Danka Barteková, the 2023 Athlete of the Year, and Olympic debutante Vanesa Hocková are hopefuls.
In shooting, Patrik Jány is targeting a spot in the finals. Wrestler Tajmuraz Salkazanov, a multiple European champion, aims to continue Slovakia’s wrestling success. Track and field athletes Gabriela Gajanová, Viktoria Forster and Lukáš Kubiš also have strong prospects, with Gajanová and Forster in particular tipped for success.
Watch how Slovak athletes will perform from tomorrow, July 27. Richard Tury competes in the skateboarding heats from noon, followed by Nora Jenčušová in the road cycling time trial at 14:30. Eliška Mintálová and Matej Beňuš will the demonstrate their strength in canoe slalom at 15:00, at the same time as Anna Karolína Schmiedlová competes in the first round of the tennis singles.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE
- Education: The Slovak Education Ministry's new website, part of the EU’s €6.4-billion Recovery Plan, offers detailed university data to help students find the best fit for their higher education.
- Business: The launch of the Mochovce nuclear power plant's third unit, along with Slovakia's booming automotive industry, are key factors strengthening the country's industrial production trends, despite a slight overall decline.
- Public art: Another of eight monumental wall paintings that originally adorned paneláks in Bratislava's Petržalka borough but were covered up during insulation work in the early 2000s has been restored thanks to the work of artists, supported by the local council, the regional government and the Slovak National Gallery.
- Good news: After setting out to hunt for mushrooms, an amateur discovered Slovakia's largest-ever sapphire, a parklet from a Norwegian architect will decorate Trenčin, and Bojinice Zoo welcomes newborn red pandas. A fresh selection of feel-good stories has arrived.
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FEATURE STORY
1990s video game flashback: Compare landmarks with their "Slovak GTA" depiction
Are you into games like Grand Theft Auto (GTA), or maybe curious what Bratislava looked like in the 1990s? Then "Vivat Slovakia", a digital game also referred to as "the Slovak GTA", may be for you. Explore eight Bratislava landmarks that are featured in the game, and see how they compare to their real-life counterparts today.
EVENT FOR THE WEEKEND
Theatre can be different
Join the Nitra Community Festival for six days of vibrant amateur theatre, featuring local and international performers, and explore innovative dramaturgy and youth engagement.
IN OTHER NEWS
- Last week, Slovakia’s Health Ministry announced plans to repatriate patients from China and the USA, including Alexandra, who is being cared for in Philadelphia after a moped accident in Nicaragua. The ministry has yet to clarify who will cover the repatriation costs, though discussions are ongoing with the Interior Ministry. Despite a public fundraising campaign that has raised over €42,000, the government has committed to covering the costs for a similar case involving a Slovak student in Hong Kong.
- Zoologists from the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) have discovered three new spider species in Slovakia that were previously unknown in the region. Found in the Burda and Slovenský Kras hils, these Mediterranean species include the Mimetus laevigatus, which preys exclusively on other spiders. The finding highlights Slovakia's role as a gateway for species from the Mediterranean, and brings the total number of recorded spider species in the country to over 1,000. (TASR)
- The Slovak Financial Administration’s Criminal Office has seized nearly 520,000 illegal cigarettes in eastern Slovakia, whose sale would have resulted in tax losses estimated at €84,515. During a routine check, authorities intercepted an Opel Vivaro that was transporting a large quantity of tobacco products. One individual was arrested. Subsequent searches uncovered over half a million cigarettes, including brands such as Marlboro Gold and L&M, as well as additional evidence including mobile phones and a delivery vehicle. (TASR)
WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND
It's expected to be mostly clear to partly cloudy, with possible thunderstorms on Sunday. Daytime highs will range from 31°C to 36°C. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) has issued a Level 1 heat warning for high temperatures on Saturday in Banská Bystrica, Trenčín, Košice and Prešov Regions, and a Level 2 warning for Bratislava, Nitra and Trnava Regions. Additionally, a Level 2 warning is in place for southern Slovakia on Sunday. (SHMÚ)
JULY 27, 28, 29 NAME DAYS IN SLOVAKIA: Saturday - Božena, Sunday - Krištof, Monday - Marta
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