The Quickshift
- Tom Cruise closed out this year's Paris Olympics
- He rappelled into the Olympic Stadium and rode off on a LiveWire S2 Del Mar
- The segment was pre-recorded over the last few months
Look, there's a lot you can say about the actor Tom Cruise. A lot. But the one thing you can't is that he isn't a showman. This is a man who knows how to put on a spectacle and his latest was done at the closing ceremony of this year's Paris Olympics.
While the closing ceremony doesn't usually get the same pomp and circumstance as the opening ceremony, this year's event was an interesting affair with Cruise taking center stage. During the closing moments, when the Olympic Flag is set to be given to a representative of the next host city—in this case, for Los Angeles—Cruise rappelled into the Paris Olympic Stadium, detached, greeted fans, and then ran up to multiple Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, who was carrying the flag.
She then hands over the flag to Cruise who then shuttles off with it. But this is Tom Freakin' Cruise. Did you actually think his rappelling would be the only stunt he pulls? No, not on your life. Cruise grabs the flag, attaches it to a LiveWire S2 Del Mar, rides through Paris in a pre-recorded tapping, and then onto a runway where a cargo plane is waiting for him.
Why you ask? Why not?
The clip then ends with Cruise jumping out of the plane near the Hollywood sign and passing the Olympic flag to a series of athletes. They then ended up at the beach for a concert featuring Snoop Dogg, Billie Eilish, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
According to NBC New York, Cruise had taped much of this months prior to the Olympics event, with his LiveWire S2 Del Mar ride through Paris occurring in April, and his skydiving to the Hollywood sign happening this March.
As for how closing ceremonies go, it was certainly an interesting one. And I'll keep harping on how I think certain motorsports should be included in the Olympics until I'm blue in the face. I mean, if break-dancing is an Olympic sport (and after this year, I'm not sure it is), why shouldn't hard enduro be?
