In the Village: “Dropping in” around Paris

Tom Schaar of the U.S. competes during the men

Tom Schaar of the U.S. competes during the men’s skateboarding park final at the Olympic Qualifier Series on June 23, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. – Credit: Photo by David Balogh/Getty Images

Day 7: Baguettes and Boardslides

Three years ago, American skateboarder Tom Schaar just missed out on the Tokyo Olympics, placing fourth. Only the top three Americans can qualify.

The men’s park competition in Paris doesn’t start until August 7. So, while he waits for his Olympic debut, the 24-year-old is thinking about one thing: baguettes.

“Right in front of the U.S. building, there’s this [place], it’s called The Bakery, where they make baguettes all day long,” Schaar said. “I’ve just been going in there, and I’ve probably eaten a couple pounds of bread already. It’s not bad. It’s a good life.”

From exploring local skate parks, to trading pins with other Olympians, to perfecting his competition playlist, the rookie is taking it all in. On the latest daily edition of In the Village: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast, titled “Day 7: Baguettes and Boardslides,” Schaar reveals all the ways in which he’s keeping himself occupied ahead of his biggest competition yet.

“The whole qualifying series, the past 18 months, has pretty much consumed my life,” Schaar said. “Competition, it’s very stressful, but at the same time, it’s very fun. Especially within skateboarding, it’s kind of just one big family. We’ve all grown up skating with each other since we were 9, 10 years old, so the fact that now we’re all here at the Olympics it’s pretty crazy. It’s hard to put into words.” 

Hear all of that and more on the seventh episode of In the Village.

New episodes of In the Village will be released every day during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

Follow the show on on the iHeart App, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast platform. 

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