Paris Olympics: From Drake to Alicia Keys and blues rock, athletes share their music taste

août 3, 2024

2703

RnB, rap, rock and even gospel. Different athletes seek different vibes when preparing for a competition. We take a look at what gets them going during the Paris Olympics showdown.

Some of the world’s top athletes from the Olympics and Paralympics have shared their favourite warmup tracks, revealing what gets them pumped before a crucial game, meet or match.

The selections range from The O’Jays and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Drake, covering a variety of genres and eras.

Guapo vibes to Alicia Keys to set basketball court ‘on fire’

Laëtitia Guapo was key in securing France’s victory against Azerbaijan in the Olympics 3×3 basketball pool round, and celebrated the win by sharing an Instagram reel featuring Alicia Keys’ « Girl On Fire » hit.

Will she play the tune on Friday evening too before she takes on Germany?

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Panic At the Disco pump up Team GB’s McGowan

Team Great Britain’s taekwondo master Rebecca McGowan has two songs on deck before launching her roundhouse kick. The Scotland native warms up to Panic! At The Disco’s « High Hopes » and walks out to « Can’t Stop » by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“It kind of gets me going and into my headspace to compete,” McGowan, 24, said about “High Hopes.”

“Don’t give up and keep going,” she continued. “When things get tough, that’s the song I listen to. … I just put it on and grind out the rest of the session and grind out whatever I’m doing.”

As for “Can’t Stop,” McGowan said, “it’s just a really good beat. It gets me pumped up.”

Refugee squad’s Fernando Dayán rocks it away with Welshly Arms

When he steps into his red-and-white canoe, the two-time Cuban Olympian plays « Legendary » by the blues rock band Welshly Arms.

“I connect with this song,” Jorge said of the 2016 track, which was also featured in the 2018 film Den of Thieves.

Jorge, who as a Cuban rower won gold in Tokyo for the 1,000-canoe sprint, is competing this time as a refugee. He joins a growing number of Cuban athletes who have defected.

100m gold holder Marcel Jacobs sticks to Italian rap scene

Marcell Jacobs jumps from one playlist to another almost better than he can long jump.

He definitely has an infatuation with Italian rap music.

“It depends on the moods,” he said. “It’s more exciting songs, more like gang songs. Every week, I change my playlist for new music, so I like that change.”

Jacobs, 29, doesn’t have a particular song. But there are some artists he regularly taps into including Italian rapper Baby Gang along with Travis Scott, King Von and the late Pop Smoke.

Logan Edra gets into breakdancing mood with old-school hip-hop

The 21-year-old American-Filipino athlete might be competing in the newest Olympic discipline, breakdancing, but her motivation is built on old-school hip-hop.

Edra said she regularly presses play on Malcolm McLaren’s “World’s Famous” from 1983.

“I felt like I was brought back to when breaking first started,” said Edra, known as B-Girl Logistx. She first found “World’s Famous” while listening to an old mixtape.

Daniel Roberts seeks groove into R&B before hurdling

Although Daniel Roberts isn’t an ’80s baby, his musical springs from tunes dating back two decades before his birth. The hurdler often goes the old-school R&B route, selecting the 1979 classic “She Used to Be My Girl” by The O’Jays.

“I don’t listen to music that’s going to get me hype, but music I enjoy,” the 26-year-old American athlete said. “You got to be able to get into that rhythm ».

Julien Alfred finds Olympic peace in modern gospel

Saint-Lucia sprinter Julien Alfred listens to several types of Caribbean music, from dancehall to soca and calypso.

However, there’s a particular genre the 23-year-old athlete leans on to get into the right Olympic spirit: gospel.

She finds her peace through Cody Carnes’ “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” with Maverick City Music with Chandler Moore, “You Will Win” by Jekalyn Carr and Josh Baldwin’s “Evidence.”

“I need something that’s going to keep me calm,” she said. “When I’m getting ready, I get super nervous. I’m like ‘This is it. I have to get ready now.’ The gospel is really helpful for me.”

Andre De Grasse ‘unapologetically’ Canadian in musical choices

When it comes to music, track star Andre De Grasse mostly chooses songs by Canadian artists like The Weeknd and Drake.

Following them, De Grasse’s next favourites are Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.

“It keeps me calm and in the moment,” De Grasse, 29, said. “Definitely motivational factors behind some of the songs making sure I’m getting ready for the biggest races of my life. All those things put me in that mood to get ready.”