As breaking debuts at Olympics, meet the New York DJ behind the Paris party
PARIS — All eyes are on the round boxing ring, where dancers trade air flares instead of jabs under a bright spotlight. But the most influential person in the room stands in the shadows behind a turntable.
It’s where Stephen Fleg does his work.
More than neutral referees but less than a dancer at center stage, DJs like him are the backbone of breaking competitions. The New York-based DJ, producer and B-boy is one of two DJs who will be at the controls of breaking’s Olympic debut at Place de la Concorde. DJ Fleg will split duties with Poland’s DJ Plash for the women’s competition Friday and the men’s event Saturday.
In an art form redefining Olympic sport, it’s no surprise that breaking is built on a unique relationship that doesn’t exist in other events.
Allyson Felix wins athlete election at Paris Olympics to join IOC as a member
PARIS — Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix won an election Thursday to represent athletes at the IOC for the next eight years.
Felix, the retired United States sprinting great, got the most votes — 2,880 of the 6,576 ballots cast by athletes at the Paris Olympics — of four athletes elected by their peers, the International Olympic Committee said.
The other winners from a slate of 32 candidates were Germany gymnast Kim Bui, Australia canoeist Jessica Fox — who is a double gold medalist in Paris — and New Zealand tennis player Marcus Daniell.
One of the four athlete IOC members they will replace, who all were elected at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, is Yelena Isinbayeva, the Russian holder of the world record in women’s pole vault.
The IOC has a maximum of 115 members, which include members of royal families in Europe and Asia, a head of state — the Emir of Qatar — former heads of government, sports officials, former Olympic athletes and an Oscar-winning actor, Michelle Yeoh.
Member duties at annual IOC meetings include approving recommended candidates as future Olympic hosts.
Speed climber Sam Watson secures bronze with another world record time
LE BOURGET, France — Sam Watson leaves the Paris Games with another world record but without the Olympic gold medal.
The American broke the sport climbing speed world record on Thursday for the second time at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the feat came in the fight for the bronze after he was eliminated in the semifinals.
The 18-year-old Watson, the heavy favorite for the gold, lost to Wu Peng of China in the semifinals before setting the record time of 4.74 seconds in the third-place heat.
Watson first broke the record with a time of 4.75 in an elimination heat two days ago. He had held the previous world record of 4.79 since April.
Leonardo Veddriq of Indonesia won the gold with a time of 4.75 in the final. Peng ended with 4.77.
China calls for more intensive testing of U.S. track and field athletes
BEIJING — China is trying to fight fire with fire in the face of persistent doping allegations that have dogged its swimmers at the Paris Olympics.
The China Anti-Doping Agency called Thursday for more intensive testing of American track and field competitors, citing in a news release past doping scandals and questioning how the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency handled them.
Repeated blasts from the Chinese agency have been echoed by reports in the government-controlled state media complaining about double standards applied to Chinese competitors. The reports have highlighted the more than 600 tests undergone by Chinese swimmers at the Paris Games with no violations found.
Dismissed positive drug tests for Chinese swimmers and the IOC’s push to stop a potential FBI investigation into the matter has angered many U.S. swimmers.
The World Anti-Doping Agency and World Aquatics have acknowledged that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The results were not made public until revealed by media reports earlier this year, with both bodies accepting the Chinese explanation that the positive tests were caused by tainted food.
After the details emerged, the U.S. launched an investigation under a law passed in 2020 giving federal authorities power to investigate sports doping and cover-ups.
China’s anti-doping agency and its state media have zeroed in on an American sprinter, Erriyon Knighton, who was competing Thursday in the 200-meter finals. Knighton tested positive for a banned substance in March but the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said an arbitration panel determined it came from contaminated meat, allowing him to compete.
The Chinese agency issued a release Tuesday accusing the U.S. agency of double standards. It followed up Thursday with the release calling for more testing of U.S. track and field competitors.
Raven Saunders qualifies for shot put final in Paris
SAINT-DENIS, France — Who was that masked person?
It was Raven Saunders, of course — the theatrical American shot put standout who uses the pronouns they and them and brings their own distinctive style to every meet they attend.
Saunders qualified for the Olympic final Thursday, wearing a full-faced black mask and gold-hued sunglasses. Their hair was dyed neon green on one side and purple on the other. Saunders had gold grills covering their upper and lower teeth, along with long fingernails on their left hand that were bedazzled and in Team USA colors and the letters H-U-L-K.
This is Saunders’ alter ego once the shot put starts flying. Turning into “The Hulk” helps them feel like a superhero getting ready to hurl that 8.8-pound hunk of metal.
“I’m in full form,” Saunders said of their costume. “I had to remind the people, I am who I am.”
And that’s a threat to add another medal to the silver they took in Tokyo. And a mental-health advocate. And a role model. And a reminder to the world that the Olympics are a bridge that can reach well beyond sports.
“It is one way to make me stand out and encourage other women,” Saunders said of their shot-put persona. “A lot of younger athletes are coming through and they really push their own styles.”
After scratching on their first throw, they recorded 17.93 meters on their second and 18.62 on their final to ensure their spot in the final. As usual, it will be as interesting to see what Saunders wears as how far they throw.
“I have something even better,” they said of what’s in store.
Sharon van Rouwendaal takes gold in 10-kilometer open water swimming
PARIS — Casting aside concerns about the safety of swimming in the Seine River, Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands used a late pass to win the women’s 10-kilometer open water swimming at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
After Moesha Johnson of Australia led most of the way, Van Rouwendaal cut into the strong current of the Seine as the lead pack came around the final bridge support. Johnson stayed closer to shore, allowing the 30-year-old Dutch swimmer to claim the gold.
Van Rouwendaal reached up to slap the finishing pad in 2 hours, 3:34 seconds, while Johnson settled for silver in 2:03:39.7. The bronze went to Ginevra Taddeucci of Italy, the only other swimmer who had a shot at the end, in 2:03:42.8.
With a picturesque backdrop that no other city can provide — the Eiffel Tower looming over the course, the gold-domed Invalides a couple of blocks away, the statue-lined Pont Alexander III overlooking the starting buoy and finishing chute — Van Rouwendaal added to her legacy as perhaps the greatest female open water swimmer in history.
She won gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and a silver in Tokyo three years ago.
Despite massive, expensive efforts to clean up a river where swimming has been largely banned for more than a century, there were still doubts just 48 hours earlier that the event would go off as planned because of illness-causing bacteria lingering in the Seine.
Triathlon events had already been held in the river, though the schedule was upended by fluctuating bacteria levels in the water.
Paris Olympics TV schedule: Thursday’s listings
Thursday’s live TV broadcasts unless noted (subject to change). All events stream live on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com with a streaming or cable login. Paris 1 Extra and Paris 2 Extra are temporary channels available on most cable and satellite packages.
All times Pacific.
MULTIPLE SPORTS
11 a.m.-12:55 p.m. — Weightlifting, taekwondo | Paris Extra 1
2 p.m.-3 p.m. — Men’s field hockey, women’s sailing (delay) | E!
8 p.m.-11 p.m. — “Primetime in Paris”: Track and field, beach volleyball, basketball and more (delay) | NBC
BASKETBALL
Men’s semifinals
8:30 a.m. — France vs. Germany | USA
Noon — United States vs. Serbia | USA, Universo
WNBA synergy shines during U.S. Olympic basketball team’s 59th straight win
Flag football has yet to make its Olympic debut, but the United States showed it has plenty of quarterback options for 2028 on its women’s basketball team.
Chemistry between WNBA teammates shined as Kelsey Plum launched a three-quarters court pass to A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray equaled the feat with a pass to Jackie Young that had the Bercy Arena announcer shouting “touchdown” during the United States’ 88-74 victory over Nigeria in the basketball quarterfinals on Wednesday.
U.S. exits beach volleyball at Paris Olympics without a medal after men’s quarterfinal loss
PARIS — Miles Partain and Andy Benesh could not stop the slide and the United States is leaving beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics without a medal.
Their 21-14, 21-16 defeat to Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan on Wednesday made it the first American medal shutout since the sport joined the Summer Games in Atlanta in 1996. They carried American hopes with both the women’s teams and the other men’s team out of the tournament.
They led 12-11 in the first set but some sloppy shot-making allowed the Qataris to pull away with the Eiffel Tower glowing next to them. Younousse and Tijan drew roars from the nighttime crowd with some of their improvised moves.
The Qatar pair have a chance to do better than in Tokyo three years ago, when their bronze was the first Olympic medal in beach volleyball for any Middle Eastern country.
These U.S. figure skaters won gold in 2022. They finally got medals 2½ years later in Paris
Worth the wait? Absolutely affirmative for the nine U.S. athletes who received gold medals Wednesday at the Paris Olympics, 2½ years after their figure skating team event ended at the Beijing Olympics.
The five men and four women attended a special medal ceremony in front of 13,000 jubilant fans at Champions Park in Paris. The scene was a joyful departure from what would have been a medal ceremony in front of a handful of onlookers in an indoor Chinese arena during the 2022 Winter Games dampened by COVID-19 protocols.
“That was everything,” said U.S. figure skater Alexa Knierim, whose fingernails were painted gold. “It was liberating, it was exciting, it was invigorating, it was loud.”
Hampton Morris is first American men’s weightlifter to medal since 1984
Hampton Morris does not have a driver’s license. He does have an Olympic bronze medal.
The 20-year-old who trains in his garage at home in Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday became the first U.S. men’s weightlifter to take home a medal of any color at the Games in four decades. Narrowly missing out on a world record that would have gotten him silver, Morris followed Mario Martinez and Guy Carlton from Los Angeles in 1984 as the most recent American men to medal at the Olympics.
“It’s amazing that I’m able to leave that kind of mark in the sport,” Morris said after finishing third in the men’s 61-kilogram division. “I’m just in disbelief.”
Li Fabin of China defended his Olympic weightlifting title after going in as the overwhelming favorite to repeat. The 31-year-old set a Games snatch record by lifting 143 kilograms (315 pounds) on his third and final attempt, paving the way for gold when he got to 167 kilograms (368 pounds) in the clean and jerk for a score of 310.
Lin Yu-ting advances to gold-medal bout, winning amid gender misconceptions backlash
PARIS — Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s featherweight division, winning her third consecutive bout while dealing with widespread scrutiny regarding misconceptions about her gender at the Paris Olympics.
One day after welterweight Imane Khelif of Algeria reached her weight division’s final with a third straight victory in Paris, Lin defeated Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey 5:0 on Wednesday night. Lin will fight for gold on Saturday.
Lin and Khelif have dominated all of their Olympic bouts despite the massive distractions created by the fallout from the Olympic-banished International Boxing Association’s decision last year to disqualify both fighters from the world championships for allegedly failing an eligibility test.
Both fighters have responded to this unwelcome spotlight by making two of the best tournament runs of their lengthy amateur careers. Just like Khelif, Lin has never been a dominant champion in her sport, but that hasn’t stopped many observers from casting both as unstoppable boxing machines during the Olympics because the IBA disqualified them last year.
In fact, the 28-year-old Lin is a veteran amateur boxer who won world championships in 2018 and 2022 during a solid decade at the top level of the sport. She is usually taller and more slender than her opponents, winning her bouts through solid technique and savvy use of her reach rather than power.
That’s exactly how she beat Kahraman, who attempted to force a more physical fight while Lin patiently picked her apart mostly from distance for three rounds.
American Quincy Hall rallies to win gold in the men’s 400-meter final
American Quincy Hall pulled off a dramatic rally, surging from fourth place to win the 400-meter gold medal on Wednesday while favored U.S. teammate Michael Norman struggled.
Hall crossed the finish line with a time of 43.40 ahead of Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson Smith (43.44) and Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga (43.74).
Norman clocked a surprising time of 45.62 and crossed the finish line in eighth place.
STOP what you’re doing and watching this INSANE comeback by Quincy Hall to win GOLD! 🥇 #ParisOlympics
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 7, 2024
📺 NBC & Peacockpic.twitter.com/0ZD38go1dL
Hall is the first American since LaShawn Merritt in 2008 to capture gold in the one-lap race. His victory came an evening after American Cole Hocker came from far behind late to beat the favorites in the men’s 1500.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
American Freddie Crittenden uses track’s new repechage rule to earn place in hurdles final
SAINT-DENIS, France — Taking the easy road has never been the way for American hurdler Freddie Crittenden, and he certainly didn’t change at the Olympics.
Crittenden advanced to the final of the 110-meter hurdles Wednesday, three days after he intentionally exploited a new “repechage” rule in track that gives runners and hurdlers a second chance if they don’t advance through the first round.
Nursing an adductor injury heading into Paris, he jogged through the 10 hurdles in his opening round, essentially giving himself an extra day to nurse the injury.
It worked. He’s feeling better — he’s wearing a lot of tape on his right leg — and ready to race even if he’s a little tired.
“This unfolded beautifully,” said Crittenden, who finished second in his semifinal heat to advance after winning his repechage heat Tuesday. “This isn’t really a new thing for me. My coach and I always, always, always, always say, ‘If we’re not feeling it, let’s Plan B it. Take it easy, figure it out, live to fight another day.’”
U.S. earns redemption, wins first medal in artistic swimming in 20 years
SAINT-DENIS, France — The United States won a medal in artistic swimming for the first time in 20 years, completing a transformation four years ahead of schedule.
The Americans relocated to Los Angeles for training with an eye on reaching the podium during the 2028 Olympics, but the team surprised by earning a silver medal in team acrobatic artistic swimming Wednesday at the Paris Olympics.
Noah Lyles makes Olympic 200-meter final despite finishing second in semifinal qualifying race
SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles will race for his second Olympic gold medal despite finishing second Wednesday in the 200-meter semifinal, his first loss at that distance in three years.
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana finished the heat in 19.96 seconds, beating Lyles by .12 and marking the first time the American has lost a 200 of any kind since he finished third at the Tokyo Games.
It opened up a 24-hour period to debate and discuss the meaning of the second-place finish, which still earned Lyles an automatic qualifying spot in Thursday night’s final but could have him running the curve from a less-than-ideal lane.
Last weekend, Lyles notably lost both his opening heat and the semifinal round of the 100, before coming back to eke out a .005-second victor y over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in the final. That win came about 90 minutes after another Jamaican, Oblique Seville, beat him in the semifinal for that sprint.
MyKayla Skinner to Simone Biles: ‘Please ask your followers to stop’ with death threats
MyKayla Skinner is asking for Simone Biles’ help.
Skinner, a former U.S. gymnast who won a silver medal in vault at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, says she and her loved ones have been subject to cyberbullying and death threats after an Instagram post by Biles last week appeared to reference recent comments by Skinner that were critical of some current members of the U.S. gymnastics team weeks.
Now Skinner is calling on her one-time teammate to put a stop to it all.
Poland rallies to end U.S. dreams of men’s volleyball gold
PARIS — Poland will play for a gold medal in men’s volleyball, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to beat the United States in the deciding fifth set of the Paris Olympics’ semifinals on Wednesday.
Poland came back from 20-18 in the third and needed two set points to force it to a deciding fifth, sending the largely pro-Poland crowd at South Paris Arena into a frenzy, with chants of “Polska!” and horns blaring throughout the stadium.
Led by Cuba native outside hitter Wilfredo León in the attack, Poland jumped out to an early lead in the fifth and left the Americans trying to play catch up the rest of the way.
A service ace by Max Holt pulled the Americans within 11-10. León’s spike out of bounds made it 14-13 before his successful point moments later sent the team onto the floor in celebration of the comeback.
Four-time American Olympians Matt Anderson and David Smith were oh-so-close to finally playing for a gold medal. The Americans haven’t been to the Olympic championship since winning it all at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Despite this defeat, getting to the medal round is sweet redemption for a U.S. men’s team that failed to advance out of group stage play in Tokyo three years ago — and it’s a major reason several of the older players on the team returned for one last Olympic hurrah.
The veteran U.S. squad will play for bronze against the loser of the late match Wednesday between Italy and France, while Poland plays for the title Saturday against the winner.
U.S. coach John Speraw guided UCLA to an NCAA title last year and had hoped he could add an Olympic crown in the same calendar year.
Romanians appeal gymnast’s score after inquiry drama in floor exercise final
PARIS — The Romanian Olympic Committee says it has appealed Sabrina Maneca-Voinea’s score from the floor exercise final at the Paris Games after a last-minute inquiry on behalf of American rival Jordan Chiles prompted heartbreak and rage from the former gymnastics powerhouse.
Maneca-Voinea and Romanian teammate Ana Barbosu were left outside the medals in Monday’s floor final after finishing with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker — a higher execution score — and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.
Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially was given a score that put her in fifth place, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Chiles’ coaches called for an inquiry on her score, and after a review, judges boosted Chiles’ total by 0.1. That was enough to leapfrog Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the last spot on the podium.
Simone Biles finishes second in floor exercise to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade in what likely was the final event of her storied Olympic career. Jordan Chiles earned bronze.
Maneca-Voinea was given a 0.1 deduction for stepping out of bounds during her routine, but replays showed she narrowly kept her heel inbounds during the moment in question.
The Romanian Olympic Committee said its president, Mihai Covaliu, wrote a letter of protest to the International Gymnastics Federation asking it to reconsider Maneca-Voinea’s score, saying an initial challenge was rejected.
“The way in which the score was assessed and the refusal to present the full reasons/proofs for the rejection of the appeal submitted within the time limit set by the rules seriously harms the image of international gymnastics, but in particular affects the athlete, even jeopardizing their mental health,” Covaliu said.
The gymnastics federation did not immediately confirm whether Romania had indeed appealed and if it would hear that appeal. It’s unclear when the Romanians made the initial challenge.
Meanwhile, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation said it has submitted requests to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It said one of them is linked to the inquiry submitted by Chiles’ coaches.
This South Korean sharpshooter won a silver medal. Then Elon Musk helped her go viral
SEOUL — A day after Kim Ye-ji won a silver medal in the 10-meter air pistol event at the Paris Olympics, she learned that the internet had decided she was the coolest shooter on the planet.
Driving the sensation was a video of the 31-year-old South Korean casually setting a world record in May while wearing a black cap turned backward, sci-fi-esque shooting glasses and a pink elephant doll tied at her hip. The clip inspired fan art, video montages and a suggestion from Elon Musk on X that she should star in an action movie.
She was a heavy favorite for gold in the 25-meter event, but an error in the qualifying round — she failed to get her shot off in the required three-second window — cost her a trip to the finals.
Australian field hockey player taken into custody for allegedly trying to buy cocaine
PARIS — A member of the Australian Olympic field hockey team was taken into custody in Paris after trying to buy cocaine, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that police interrupted a drug transaction outside a building in the 9th arrondissement of Paris overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. They said the investigation has been turned over to a police antidrug unit for investigation.
The alleged buyer was a 28-year-old member of the Australian field hockey team, prosecutors said. The 17-year-old alleged seller was also taken into custody.
The Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement that no charges had been filed and said it is continuing to make inquiries and arrange support for the team member.
Neither Australian officials nor Paris prosecutors released the name of the athlete.
Australia’s men’s and women’s teams were eliminated in the quarterfinals Sunday and Monday, respectively. The men won silver at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Aleksandra Miroslaw wins gold to cap record-setting speed climbing performance
LE BOURGET, France — Two world records, one Olympic gold medal.
Aleksandra Miroslaw capped her dominant performance at the Paris Games by winning the gold in women’s speed climbing on Wednesday.
It was her first Olympic medal after just missing out on the podium with a fourth-place finish in Tokyo three years ago.
The gold came two days after she twice broke the women’s world record, which now stands at 6.06 seconds.
She won the final in 6.10, beating the 6.18 time of silver medalist Deng Lijuan of China. Aleksandra Kalucka of Poland won the bronze.
Miroslaw was the 2023 bronze medalist at the world championships.
American Emma Hunt, the silver medalist at the worlds last year, failed to contend for a medal after slipping in her quarterfinal run.
How Snoop Dogg became America’s sweetheart at the Paris Olympics
Making waves in a pool with Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps. Rolling with LeBron James and the U.S. men’s basketball team. Trading dance moves with gymnast Simone Biles and her teammates. Throwing some side eye at the Mona Lisa inside the Louvre.
Snoop la la!!!
Biles and U.S. swmmer Katie Ledecky may have been crowned athletic GOATs at the Summer Games, but they‘re sharing the spotlight with the D-O-Double-G as Snoopmania sweeps through Paris.
Snoop Dogg, who began his career as one of the most prominent gangsta rappers of the West Coast hip-hop scene, has emerged as an MVP of NBC’s Olympics coverage this year, helping the network strike gold with record ratings. Since carrying the torch in the opening ceremony, the lanky, molasses-smooth artist has been an ubiquitous presence, balancing his role as a special correspondent for NBC with leading the cheers at numerous events, including fencing, judo and badminton.
Israeli Olympic committee says its athletes have received threats
PARIS — Israel’s Olympic team said some of its athletes have received threats as they compete in Paris amid larger tensions over Palestinian deaths during the war in Gaza and the threat of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East.
Yael Arad, president of the Israeli National Olympic Committee, told the Associated Press that team members had received “centralized” threats meant to generate “psychological terror” in athletes, without giving further details.
Last week, Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into emailed death threats to Israeli athletes, and the national cybercrime agency is looking into the leak of some Israeli athletes’ personal data online, which has since been taken down. Prosecutors also launched an inquiry into inciting racial hated after Israeli athletes received ‘’discriminatory gestures” during an Israel-Paraguay match.
Tom Reuveny, a 24-year-old Israeli athlete who won a gold in wind surfing over the weekend, was among those who said he’s received threats. Politics “should be put aside” during the Games, he told the AP, speaking during a memorial Tuesday of the deadly attack that targeted the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. The Sept. 5, 1972, assault by the Palestinian group Black September killed 11 Israelis and a police officer.
“I don’t think any politics should be involved in sport, especially in the Olympic Games,” Reuveny said. “Unfortunately, there is a lot of politics involved — not in the Games — of the people who don’t want us to compete and don’t want us to be here. I’ve gotten quite a few messages and threats.”
While Israel has called for the Olympics to remain a neutral space, the Palestinian delegation has used the Games as a way to generate conversation about the day-to-day struggles of those in Gaza. The Israel-Hamas war has claimed more than 39,000 Palestinian lives.
“The thing that really hurts me is that people are looking at Palestinians as just numbers now. The number of people that died. The number of people displaced,” Palestinian American Olympic swimmer Valerie Tarazi told the AP on Sunday.
“As athletes, we’re here just as everyone else. We want to compete. As people, we have lives. ... We want to live in our homes, just like everyone else in the world,” she added.
NBA star Victor Wembanyama inspires euphoria among French fans during the Olympics
PARIS — Just by walking onto the court before tip-off, Victor Wembanyama gets the crowd roaring, bouncing up and down. The public address announcer sings his name like music.
Wem-ban-YAMA!
Just by taking a foul shot, he starts the fans screaming again.
“When they chant ‘MVP’ at the free-throw line,” he says, “the least I can do is make it.”
Basketball’s newest phenom and NBA rookie of the year, Wembanyama has risen to the level of pop icon at these 2024 Summer Olympics. Standing well over 7 feet tall, the prodigious 20-year-old is a generational talent who can dunk, block shots and shoot three-pointers.
Also, he’s a Parisian.
Olympic triathlete who fell ill after swim in Seine River says a virus made her sick
PARIS — A Belgian triathlete who fell ill, causing her team to withdraw from a mixed relay event at the Paris Olympics, said blood tests showed it was a virus that made her sick.
Belgium’s Olympic committee announced Sunday that it would withdraw its team from Monday’s triathlon mixed relay because Claire Michel was unable to compete. Michel had competed a few days earlier in the women’s triathlon, which included a swim in the Seine River.
Bacteria levels in the long-polluted river have been in flux during the Games, causing test swims ahead of the triathlon events to be canceled and the men’s triathlon to be delayed by a day. Organizers had said that water quality tests done the day of the individual triathlon races showed “very good” levels of fecal bacteria E. coli and enterococci.
Some news outlets had reported that Michel had been sickened by E. coli and spent several days in the hospital. In an Instagram post Tuesday, she wrote that there had been “a lot of conflicting information in the media lately” and that she wanted to “clarify a few things.”
It was not E. coli that made her sick, she wrote, adding that she sought treatment at a clinic in the Olympic village on Sunday after several days of vomiting and diarrhea “left me quite empty.”
Swimmers train in Seine River ahead of 10-kilometer Olympic marathon races
PARIS — Olympic open water swimmers trained in the long-polluted Seine River on Wednesday after Paris organizers determined it was safe to dive in.
A two-hour training session was held on a cool, cloudy morning, providing the only chance for swimmers to familiarize themselves with the picturesque course through the middle of the French capital.
Dozens of swimmers — from 2016 Olympic champion Sharon van Rouwendaal to Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, competing in open water for the first time — dove into the Seine one day before the women’s 10-kilometer marathon event. The men’s race is set for Friday.
Before diving in, several swimmers checked out the conditions from the famed Pont Alexandre III, adorned with golden statues and overlooking the starting buoy and finishing chute.
“I think if anyone’s saying they’re not concerned at all, they’re probably lying,” Austrian swimmer Felix Auboeck said. “I am concerned. I just hope and trust the organization in the sense that they let us in when it’s safe enough to do so. But, of course, you’re concerned because no one wants to get ill or sick.”
Then again, Auboeck can see the appeal of swimming in the Seine at the course that has the Eiffel Tower, the gold-domed Invalides, and other stunning Paris landmarks for a backdrop.
“It is super exciting that this is scenery where we are racing,” he said. “That’s probably like the best thing we can do for the sport.”
World Aquatics canceled a test run Tuesday because of concerns over fluctuating bacteria levels in the waterway. Despite massive efforts to clear the Seine, water quality has been a constant concern throughout the Games.
Annette Echikunwoke wins silver in hammer throw after changing affiliation from Nigeria to U.S.
SAINT-DENIS, France — This time at the Olympics, hammer thrower Annette Nneka Echikunwoke got to compete. Not only compete, but win a medal — for the United States.
Three years ago, Echikunwoke arrived at the Tokyo Games ready to represent Nigeria, but she wound up needing to leave before even getting to take a throw. Nigeria was among a handful of countries deemed “high risk” by track’s anti-doping regulators in the lead-up to those Olympics — forcing its athletes to be subjected to more drug testing.
Echikunwoke was among those from Nigeria who did not meet the requirement and so was not allowed to participate.
The 28-year-old was born in Ohio and originally decided to represent Nigeria because that’s where her parents are from. But after the issues in 2021, she switched her Olympic country to the U.S., and on Tuesday night became the first American woman to earn Summer Games medal in the hammer, getting a silver.
Echikunwoke was in the early lead before Canada’s Camryn Rogers won the gold on her second-to-last throw.
“I think [this medal] could have happened three years ago, but I’m happy it’s happening now,” Echikunwoke said. “I feel like everything happens for a reason, even if it’s bad or good or ugly or whatever the case may be. This is beautiful.”
Miltiadis Tentoglou joins Carl Lewis as the only men with consecutive Olympic long jump golds
SAINT-DENIS, France — Miltiadis Tentoglou flexed his biceps, draped the Greek flag over his shoulders and stared up into the clear night sky above the packed Stade de France.
It was a moment to savor: Tentoglou became only the second man after Carl Lewis to win two consecutive Olympic long jump titles, adding the gold at the 2024 Games on Tuesday night to the one he claimed at Tokyo three years ago.
“It’s a great achievement,” said Tentoglou, who also claimed the world title last year. “Not bad.”
His gold was the first for Greece in any sport at the Paris Games, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis congratulated Tentoglou on social media.
Lewis won four Olympic long jump titles in a row, starting at Los Angeles in 1984 and running through Atlanta in 1996. The 26-year-old Tentoglou might not be done yet: He has long-term plans that include the 2028 L.A. Games.
Cuban Greco-Roman wrestler Mijain Lopez wins record fifth straight gold, and then retires
PARIS — Mijain Lopez has gone out on top.
The 41-year-old Cuban defeated Yasmani Acosta Fernandez of Chile 6-0 in the 130-kilogram final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday to win his fifth consecutive gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling.
He’s the first Olympic athlete to win gold in the same event at five consecutive Games, and the first wrestler to win five gold medals.
“What’s great is the joy,” Lopez said through a translator. “It was a result that I was craving, but also for the whole world and my country. So happy to reach the Olympic elite. The reward of a lifetime of working hard with the help of everyone and my family. It is my biggest win.”
Following the match, Lopez placed his shoes in the center of the mat, symbolizing his retirement. He first appeared at the Summer Olympics in 2004, when he finished fifth. Now, he’s ready to pass the torch.
“I have a lot of inspiration for all the young people that come to me for guidance,” he said. “I have a lot of inspiration to give to the world. I would like to educate the younger generations.”
Amit Elor becomes youngest U.S. wrestler to win Olympic gold
PARIS — American wrestler Amit Elor, just 20 years old, defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova 3-0 on Tuesday in the 68-kilogram final at the Paris Games to become the youngest Olympic wrestling gold medalist in U.S. history, male or female.
“I’m still in disbelief,” she said. “I think I have a little bit of impostor syndrome.”
Elor’s dominance was very real to her opponents. She had a 31-2 advantage over four matches and was not scored upon in her final three contests.
She became the third American woman to win gold, following Helen Maroulis in 2016 and Tamyra Mensah-Stock in 2021. Women started wrestling at the Olympics in 2004.
After the win, she draped the U.S. flag over her back and skipped around the mat.
“It was one of the best moments in my life,” she said. “I think I’m going to remember it for my entire life. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. And when I experience something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days, the grind, it’s all worth it for moments like these.”
She said she achieved her success by choosing not to overthink.
“Often when we feel like we need to rise for an occasion, we think we need to make changes and adjustments,” she said. “But the truth is, we don’t. We should always be trying our very best. Just because it’s the Olympics versus trials, we should always be giving it our all. So, that’s exactly what I did.”
Elor already was a two-time world champion, first winning at age 18. Now, the Northern California native looks forward to possibly winning Olympic gold in her home state at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“To have the opportunity to compete and represent not only my country, but my state, and to compete in my own state, is incredible,” she said. “I have been excited for that ever since I heard about it.”
Boxer Imane Khelif advances to gold-medal bout while battling gender scrutiny
PARIS — Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s welterweight division at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday night, moving one win away from what she calls the best response to the worldwide scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender.
With one more victory, Khelif would win Algeria’s second boxing gold medal and its first in women’s boxing.
Khelif defeated Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand 5:0 in the semifinals at Roland Garros, where the crowd roared for her and chanted her name repeatedly during her three-round fight. Khelif has won three consecutive bouts in Paris, and she will win either a gold or a silver medal when she completes the tournament on Friday against Yang Liu of China.
Khelif has thrived inside the ring in Paris amid criticism and stigmatization outside of it. The trouble has stemmed from the Olympic-banished International Boxing Association’s decision to disqualify her and fellow Paris medalist Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei from the world championships last year for allegedly failing an eligibility test.
The controversy has become one of the biggest stories of the Paris Olympics, but it isn’t causing any negative effects on her performances in the ring.
“I don’t care about that,” Khelif said through an interpreter. “I wish to be ready and show a good standard, show my talent, because I want to entertain everyone.”
Khelif had already clinched Algeria’s first medal in women’s boxing before she stepped into the ring to rousing roars at Court Philippe Chatrier. She then controlled her bout with Suwannapheng, who took a standing 8-count late in the third after absorbing a series of punches.
“I had heard about the news regarding her, but I wasn’t following it closely,” Suwannapheng said. “She is a woman, but she is very strong.”
U.S. women’s teams knocked out of beach volleyball competition
PARIS — No more American women left in the beach volleyball field at the Paris Games. No more hope of the U.S. women bringing a gold medal back to the sport’s birthplace for the fifth time in six Olympics.
Switzerland ousted Americans Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes on Tuesday night, a day after the other U.S. women’s team of Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth and American men Chase Budinger and Miles Evans were defeated at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Only the last remaining U.S. men’s team of Andy Benesh and Miles Partain stand in the way of the first American medal shutout since the sport that was conceived on the coasts of Hawaii and California joined the Summer Games in Atlanta in 1996.
“I so appreciate and I’ve loved to see the legacy of the United States and beach volleyball, and would have loved to continue that legacy,” said Cheng, who made it one round farther than she did in Tokyo. “It wasn’t our time.”
Switzerland’s Nina Brunner and Tanja Hueberli beat the Americans 21-18, 21-19 to advance to the semifinals, winning one point in a back-and-forth second set when Brunner made a kick save with her left foot. When the two arrived in the mix zone, the point was playing on the nearby TV and, they stood there smiling as they watched the replay.
“We had to enjoy this one again,” Hueberli said.
U.S. edges Hungary in a physical women’s water polo quarterfinal at the Paris Olympics
Ashleigh Johnson made 17 saves and Rachel Fattal snapped a tie in the fourth quarter, helping the U.S. women’s water polo team edge Hungary 5-4 in a physical quarterfinal at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday night.
U.S. captain Maggie Steffens scored two goals and played terrific defense on Hungary center Rebecca Parkes down the stretch. The 31-year-old Steffens played the entire game.
“We wanted it and so did Hungary,” Johnson said. “We knew it was going to be a grind. ... The score reflects what a battle it was.”
The U.S. is going for an unprecedented fourth consecutive gold medal. No team — men or women — has won four straight water polo titles at the Olympics.
Next up for the U.S. is Australia, which advanced with a 9-6 win over Greece. Spain faces Netherlands in the other semifinal on Thursday at Paris La Defense Arena.
Spain rolled over Canada for an 18-8 victory, and the Netherlands beat Italy 11-8 in the second quarterfinal.
American Gabby Thomas wins 200-meter gold medal by a wide margin at Paris Olympics
Gabby Thomas sped to the victory in the women’s 200 meters at the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday night, finishing in 21.83 seconds to add a gold to the bronze she took home in the event from Tokyo three years ago.
The 27-year-old Harvard graduate, who has a master’s degree in public health, took the lead for good at the curve and was never challenged in the final stretch. She let out a shout and grabbed her head with both hands after crossing the line.
Evan Fournier’s 40-footer helps France beat Canada to reach men’s basketball semifinals
PARIS — Evan Fournier was wide open at the top of the key late in the fourth quarter, a shot that would have clinched a trip to the semifinals of the Paris Olympics for France. The ball felt good leaving his hand, and he was a bit surprised when it rimmed out.
Turns out, something better awaited.
Fournier wound up making a 40-footer on the same possession to beat the shot clock — providing the exclamation point in France’s 82-73 win over Canada in the men’s basketball quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
“The shot just before was a stepback on (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), like right in the middle and I thought it was in,” said Fournier, who finished with 15 points. “The shot felt so good, I thought that if I have another chance, I’m just going to shoot it. And so, I had a nice opportunity, the ball went in, the crowd went crazy and that was good.”
Taken out of the starting lineup for the game — he and Rudy Gobert, who barely played at all Tuesday, were both swapped out by France coach Vincent Collet — Fournier took over when it mattered most. He scored 12 points in the final 3:48 for France, which will play Germany in the semifinals on Thursday.
And the 40-footer sealed matters.
Jamal Murray turned the ball over for Canada, down by seven with 1:46 left. France wound up getting Fournier the straightaway 3 that he missed, then after an offensive rebound Victor Wembanyama missed another 3, and after yet another offensive rebound, Wembanyama threw the ball out to Fournier with the shot clock close to expiring.
The heave went, and France — silver medalists in Tokyo three years ago — will play Thursday for a spot in the gold-medal game.
“Just trying to make plays to help the team,” Fournier said.
US women’s volleyball team advances to semifinal with win over Poland
PARIS — The reigning Olympic champion U.S. women’s volleyball team posted a straight-set victory against Poland on Tuesday night at the Paris Olympics.
The Americans led throughout while taking the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-14. They fell behind 5-0 and 7-1 in the third set before rallying to close it out, 25-20.
Next up is a semifinal date Thursday with powerhouse Brazil, which swept the Dominican Republic earlier in the day. It’s a rematch of the Tokyo Games final.
Turkey eliminated China with a 3-2 victory and was waiting on the result of Tuesday’s late match between Italy and Serbia to learn its next opponent.
U.S. coach Karch Kiraly said he was thrilled to get his players off their feet sooner — and not have to play any extra sets, especially for setter Jordyn Poulter as she continues to regain her form in match play after coming back from a devastating left knee injury in December 2022 that required surgery.
“To be able to chip away and get back and tie it up at 13-all and get out with 3-0 instead of 17-15 in the fifth, which happens so often, that’s really big, especially for somebody like Jordyn Poulter who’s on a really good recovery,” Kiraly said. “But to have less load here and more recovery before we play a really big Brazil team was big.”
American Cole Hocker stuns favorites to win 1500 meters
SAINT-DENIS, France — American Cole Hocker pulled the upset of the Olympic track meet Tuesday night, outracing favorites Jakob Ingebrigsten and Josh Kerr to the finish line in the 1,500 meters.
Hocker, a University of Oregon alum, won the race in an Olympic record 3 minutes 27.65 seconds, pulling from fifth to first over the final 300 meters to beat his personal best by more than 3 seconds.
He beat Kerr by .14 seconds, while Ingebrigsten, who set the pace through the first 1200 meters, ended up in fourth behind American Yared Nuguse.
WOW. 😱
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
A STUNNING upset in the men’s 1500m as AMERICAN COLE HOCKER takes gold! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/wlq81lbvSO
Why medal ceremonies might be the biggest high-stakes event of the Olympic Games
NANTERRE, France — On most afternoons, before spectators were allowed inside the swimming venue at the Paris Olympics, seven men and women would silently march on to the pool deck to practice tethering flags to three horizontal white bars suspended from the ceiling.
Their practice was necessary because the task had to be done perfectly. Few moments are more taut with emotion or more fraught with danger than the medal ceremonies at the Olympic Games.
Innocently hang a flag the wrong way — or hang the wrong flag — and what was supposed to be a celebration can become a diplomatic contretemps.
Australia’s Arisa Trew wins gold in women’s park skateboarding
PARIS — Australia’s Arisa Trew scored a 93.18 on her final run to win gold in women’s park skateboarding Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.
The 14-year-old Trew was in third place before she executed a superb third run, highlighted by a 540 — a trick with 1½ rotations in midair — to vault into first.
Japan’s Cocona Hiraki was in front through two rounds after scoring a 91.98 on her first run, but she had dropped to third going into her final chance. The 15-year-old responded with her best run of the day, a performance that had the crowd oohing with each of her completed tricks, to post a 92.63 and earn her second silver medal.
Hiraki was just 12 when she won silver when the sport debuted at the Tokyo Olympics.
Hiraki edged Britain’s Sky Brown, who earned a 92.31 on her third run to take bronze for the second Olympic medal for the 16-year-old. She became the country’s youngest medal winner in Tokyo when she also won bronze in the event at 13 years, 28 days old.
Brazil’s Dora Varella finished fourth at 89.14, and Heili Sirvio of Finland was fifth at 88.89.
American Bryce Wettstein, who blew bubbles as she was introduced and strummed a ukulele between runs, was sixth at 88.12.
Tokyo gold medalist Japan’s Sakura Yosozumi, who is 22, did not qualify for the finals after posting a best score of 79.70 in the prelims to finish 10th.
After winning gold, Mondo Duplantis puts on a show and breaks pole vault world record
SAINT-DENIS, France — The pole vaulter they call “Mondo” really can put on a show.
With the rest of the action at the Olympic track wrapped up for the evening and the crowd of 80,000 at the Stade de France still on their feet, Armand Duplantis rested the pole on his right shoulder and took a deep breath. Then, he lifted up that long piece of carbon fiber and took off down the runway and into the night sky.
Another Olympic gold medal already was his. When he came crashing down into the padding on the other side of that sky-high, pink-tinted bar, so was another world record.
Duplantis, the Louisiana-born 24-year-old who competes for his mother’s native Sweden, cleared 6.25 meters (20 feet, 6 inches) to break the world record for the ninth time — but the first time on his sport’s grandest stage.
His next move was a sprint to the stands to hug his girlfriend and celebrate his record and second Olympic gold with all those friends and family wearing yellow and blue. The country’s king and queen were on hand, as well, to witness Sweden’s latest history-making leap into the pole vault pit.
“It’s hard to understand, honestly,” he said. “If I don’t beat this moment in my career, then I’m pretty OK with that. I don’t think you can get much better than what just happened.”
By winning a second straight gold medal and breaking the record for the ninth time — each time by one centimeter — Duplantis is now next to, if not above, Sergei Bubka as the greatest ever in this event.
Seine water quality concerns leads to canceled marathon swim test run
PARIS — A test run meant to allow Olympic athletes to familiarize themselves with the marathon swimming course in the Seine River was canceled Tuesday over concerns about water quality in the Paris waterway.
Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps confirmed that World Aquatics made the decision to cancel the exercise.
The cancellation comes a day after the triathlon mixed relay event was held in the river that runs through the center of the French capital. The portion of the Seine in which the triathletes swam is much shorter than the course for the marathon swim, which has races scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
World Triathlon released data Tuesday showing that when the triathletes swam Monday, the levels of fecal bacteria E. coli and enterococci were within acceptable levels.
San Clemente’s Caroline Marks celebrates Olympic surfing gold medal win
San Clemente resident Caroline Marks won the women’s surfing gold medal on Monday at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Tahiti.
Marks beat Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb, who was awarded the silver medal.
“Your whole life goes into a moment like this,” Marks said with a gold medal hanging around her neck. “It’s beyond all my wildest dreams.”
French Polynesian Kauli Vaast took home the men’s gold surfing medal.
‘We ugly cried.’ Jordan Chiles savors euphoria of surprise Olympic bronze medal
PARIS — Gina Chiles would have been happy either way.
Whether the inquiry submitted by Jordan Chiles’ coach would move her onto the podium or keep her in fifth place during the floor exercise final on Monday, Gina was already proud. In the stands at Bercy Arena, she kept showering applause. Then she saw the standings reset.
Her daughter was an Olympic bronze medalist.
“If I could tell the sounds that will be ingrained in my ears of the roar and cheer of everyone from every country and then seeing Jordan just overjoyed — it’s just unbelievable,” Gina said. “We ugly cried, we cheered, we screamed, it’s just amazing.”
Jordan won her first individual Olympic medal Monday at Bercy Arena in dramatic fashion, stepping up as the final competitor of a long 10 days of the Olympic artistic gymnastics program and doing just enough — upon review — to cap her long-awaited redemption arc.
Sparks star Dearica Hamby helps U.S. rally for bronze medal in 3x3 basketball
PARIS — Two things have made the Paris Olympics unique: the huge crowds and the iconic venues.
More than 550,000 packed Stade de France for rugby sevens, the Eiffel Tower is drawing sellout crowds for beach volleyball, an estimated 30,000 walked the fairways for the final round of men’s golf in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Versailles, and 8,000 people showed up for each of the nine days of fencing at the classic Grand Palais in the heart of the French capital.
It’s been no different at La Concorde, the historic landmark where the U.S. won a bronze medal in women’s 3 x 3 basketball Monday.
Devin Booker goes from facepalm emoji to congratulating Noah Lyles: ‘Great for America’
Devin Booker still doesn’t agree with Noah Lyles.
It’s been nearly a year since the U.S. sprinter drew the ire of Booker and several other NBA players by ridiculing the practice of referring to the winner of that league’s title as the “world champion.”
“World champion of what? The United States?” Lyles said in a mocking tone during an Aug. 25, 2023, news conference at the track and field world championships in Budapest, Hungary. He had just won his third straight world title in the 200 meters, to go along with golds in the 100 and 4x100 relay at the same meet.
Lyles won his first Olympic gold medal Sunday, leaning across the finish line in the 100 to beat Kishane Thompson of Jamaica by five-thousandths of a second, 9.784 seconds to 9.789.
France beats Egypt and will face Spain in the men’s soccer final
LYON, France — Thierry Henry stood with his arms outstretched, facing the jubilant crowd and soaking up the atmosphere.
The final of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics was in sight after France had been pushed to the limit by Egypt in Monday’s semifinal at Stade de Lyon.
Jean-Philippe Mateta, meanwhile, was being mobbed by his teammates after scoring his second goal in a 3-1 win that sets up a final against Spain at Parc des Princes on Friday.
“It was like, I don’t know how to say — it was incredible,” Mateta said.
France vs. Spain means there will be a European gold medalist at the Olympics for the first time in 32 years.
The host nation’s place in the final looked in serious doubt as Egypt was closing in on an upset after leading through Mahmoud Saber’s 62nd-minute goal.
France had hit the frame of the goal on three occasions before Mateta equalized in the 83rd and sent the game into extra time.
His second came in the 99th and Michael Olise added France’s third in the 108th.
“It’s not easy, right? We knew that. But at the end of the day, we kept on coming. We kept on trying. We kept on creating from the wing and trying to play and we got our reward,” France coach Henry said.
Discus thrower Valarie Allman and pole vaulter Sam Kendricks win medals moments apart for U.S.
Sam Kendricks appreciates the Olympics again. Valarie Allman never stopped.
It’s just the healing power that medals have to mend and reinforce feelings.
In a short span Monday night, Allman won her second straight Olympic title in the discus throw, while Kendricks captured silver in a pole vault competition that featured Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis breaking his own world record.
The medals from Allman and Kendricks, 31, gave the U.S. 11 so far in the meet, including three golds.
Three years ago in Tokyo, Kendricks didn’t get the chance to compete. He was placed in isolation because of a positive COVID-19 test and didn’t feel supported by Olympic officials.
It led to some pretty hard feelings — feelings that had the Mississippi native wondering if he even wanted to compete in Paris.
His love-loathe relationship is back on path to love after he earned a silver medal. It pairs with the bronze he captured at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
“I was definitely bitter,” Kendricks said. “I wasn’t going to come to Paris until it was proven to me that it was going to be great and shining into the future.
“It’s tough, being turned away from. All of a sudden you’re sick, and every doctor throws you to the wolves, and all of a sudden you’re stuck in isolation when Team USA is supposed to love you.”
It took some soul-searching for him to arrive in Paris for another Olympics.
“Rather than run away from it like I really wanted to, you’ve got to come back,” Kendricks said. “You’ve got to face that lion.”
Kendricks went up against a pole-vaulting beast in Duplantis, the 24-year-old from Louisiana who competes for his mother’s native Sweden. Kendricks watched the journey up close of Duplantis blossoming into the world’s best. It culminated Monday with Duplantis clearing 6.25 meters (20 feet, 6 inches) to defend his gold medal.
“His story is written in the stars, for sure,” said Kendricks, who cleared 5.95 meters (19-6 1/4) to hold off Emmanouil Karalis of Greece. “But I think mine will have a tapestry hanging on my wall one day worthy of reading.”
U.S. men beat Croatia, advance to water polo quarterfinals
NANTERRE, France — The U.S. men’s water polo team has been overshadowed by the country’s dominant women’s program for more than a decade.
The men are looking to make their own noise at the Paris Olympics.
Hannes Daube and Max Irving each scored three times to lead the United States to a surprising 14-11 victory over Croatia on Monday on the final day of group play.
The Americans improved to 3-2 at the Games with their second straight win. They finished third in Group A, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Australia on Wednesday.
“We need to be focused. The job’s not done,” U.S. attacker Luca Cupido said. “We are where we want to be, in the quarterfinal. It doesn’t matter who is in the other team. We’re going to come ready for the next game.”
The U.S. men finished sixth at the Tokyo Games. While the American women are going for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Olympic title, the men are trying for the program’s first medal since a silver in 2008.
Spain beats Morocco to reach its second straight Olympics final in men’s soccer
MARSEILLE, France — Juanlu Sanchez came off the bench to fire Spain to a record-equaling fifth Olympic men’s soccer final on Monday.
Sanchez struck in the 85th minute at Stade de Marseille to seal a 2-1 win over Morocco and set up a final against either France or Egypt at the Paris Games.
Morocco led 1-0 at halftime after the tournament’s leading scorer, Soufiane Rahimi, converted a penalty in the 37th.
Spain evened the score in the 65th when Fermin Lopez showed quick feet in the box and hit a left-footed shot low in the bottom corner. The Barcelona midfielder then provided the assist that set up Sanchez to sweep his winning goal into the far corner.
Spain, which won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, lost to Brazil in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
It will get the chance to make up for that and add to what has already been a successful year after the men’s senior team won the European Championship last month.
For Morocco, it was another painful exit at a semifinal of a major tournament.
Noah Lyles and Gabby Thomas advance in 200-meter races
SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles returned to the track Monday night to start the quest for his second Olympic gold medal, cruising through his first-round 200-meter heat in 20.19 seconds.
Lyles beat defending Olympic champion Andre De Grasse of Canada by .11 seconds in what was a routine, no-drama run through the curve — in other words, everything his title race in the 100 the night before was not.
Lyles edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by .005 seconds in that one — a race that goes down as one of the best ever on the Olympic track, or anywhere. Both sprinters, along with Fred Kerley, were scheduled to receive their medals at the end of the evening’s action.
Also advancing in the 200 were Americans Erriyon Knighton (20.00) and Kenny Bednarek, who ran 19.97 and could very well be Lyles’ biggest challenger come the final set for Thursday,
Lyles is trying to become the first man to double since Usain Bolt did it for the third time at the Rio Games in 2016. Carl Lewis is the last U.S. man to pull it off in the 100-200, back in 1984 in Los Angeles.
Lyles came onto the track while the men’s pole vault final was at its midpoint, with Mondo Duplantis of Sweden in the mix to defend his Olympic title.
Gabby Thomas, the favorite in the women’s 200 now that Jamaica’s world champion, Shericka Jackson, has pulled out, won her semifinal heat and advanced to the final.
Two U.S. beach volleyball teams knocked out
PARIS — Two U.S. teams fell on the sand at Eiffel Tower Stadium on Monday, with Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss losing to Canada in the women’s quarterfinals a few hours after Chase Budinger and Miles Evans lost to Norway in the men’s.
Only Miles Evans and Andy Benesh advanced on the day, joining Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes in the elite eight.
“Definitely a little heartbroken,” said Nuss, who along with her former LSU teammate formed the No. 2 team in the world rankings. “We came in wanting to bring home gold back to the United States. That’s been our goal for the past four years. So to go out in the round of 16 is obviously an earlier exit than we would have liked.”
Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes beat Nuss and Kloth 21-19, 21-18, leaving the country that has won four of the last five women’s gold medals with just one team in the bracket.
Budinger, a former NBA player, and Evans lost in straight sets to Norway, the defending Olympic champions, on Monday afternoon. To start off the night session, first-time Olympians Benesh and Partain knocked out four-time Olympian Paolo Nicolai and his partner, Samuele Cottafava, 21-19, 21-18.
Taiwanese athletes claim Olympic gold against China, and not everyone was happy about it
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s first gold medal Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics promptly reignited the geopolitical fervor over Taiwanese identity and self-determination, even down to the way excited fans were allowed to celebrate.
On Sunday, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin from Taiwan won first place in badminton men’s doubles, defeating China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang.
It was a particularly sensitive victory since China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, even though the Communist Party has never ruled it and and many Taiwanese citizens reject the assertion that the island is subject to Chinese control.
“Winning the championship feels great, and beating China feels even better,” said Chen Hsi-yi, a 35-year-old film and television producer in Taipei who watched the match by himself at home.
How timekeepers determined Noah Lyles won 100 meters by slimmest of margins
PARIS — The instant that Noah Lyles crossed the finish line in Sunday night’s heart-stopping 100-meter final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the clock started on a completely different sort of race.
With the American sprinter and his rivals bunched so tightly at the end, it was impossible to divine a winner with the naked eye.
So, far above the track, a team of officials immediately turned to their computer screens and got to work determining an order of finish.
“All of this happens, obviously, very fast,” said Alain Zobrist of Omega, the Swiss company contracted to keep time at the Games. “There is a lot of pressure.”
‘She’s queen.’ Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles honor floor gold medalist Rebeca Andrade
PARIS — Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles knelt down and extended their arms over their heads. Turning to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade as the 25-year-old climbed to the top of the Olympic podium, the Americans bowed toward the new Olympic floor champion.
“She’s queen,” Biles said.
On Monday, Biles was happy to pass her crown. The most decorated gymnast in history finished her Paris Games with uncharacteristic mistakes during the floor and balance beam event finals at Bercy Arena but celebrated Andrade as she soaked up the moment as a Brazilian hero.
Taiwan government requests investigation into supporter sign being destroyed
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s government on Monday called on French authorities to investigate an incident at the Paris Olympics men’s doubles badminton final against China when a Taiwan supporter had her sign reading, “Let’s go Taiwan,” ripped from her hands and torn up.
The Taiwan Foreign Ministry described the incident as violent and against the Olympic values of friendship and respect. A towel with a similar sentiment was also stolen off a fan during the match, in which Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin beat China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang to win gold.
The Badminton World Federation did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the situation.
International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams cited the 1981 agreement for Taiwan to participate as Chinese Taipei when asked about the incident.
“There are very clear rules,” Adams said at the daily IOC news conference in Paris. “Banners are not allowed. You can see how this can lead into: ‘If that’s allowed then why not this?’” That is why the rules are quite strict. We have to try to bring 206 national Olympic committees together in one place. It is quite a tough ask.”
China subjects Taiwan to political isolation and military threats, and the island is only allowed to participate in the Olympics and other international competitions under the name Chinese Taipei. It cannot fly its own flag or play its national anthem.
Calabasas jeweler shares story behind Simone Biles’ iconic goat diamond necklace
Simone Biles had the perfect accessory planned for her second coronation as Olympic all-around champion. It was better than just a gold medal.
Minutes after winning gymnastics’ most coveted title, Biles fastened on a white gold necklace and flashed a diamond-encrusted goat pendant toward the camera.
Janet Heller’s social media pages haven’t been the same since.
The Calabasas-based jeweler was the mastermind behind Biles’ viral accessory. Heller designed the piece with the Olympic star and worked with a team of master artisans to hand-drill and hand-set 546 diamonds in white gold shaped like a goat. Janet Heller Fine Jewelry is now taking off like Biles flying through the air on a vault.
Olympic athletes take the Seine plunge again in triathlon relay
PARIS — Olympic triathletes plunged into the Seine River Monday morning as the mixed relay event got underway after organizers said the bacteria levels in the long-polluted Paris waterway were at acceptable levels.
The plan to hold the swimming portion of the triathlons and the marathon swimming events in the Seine was an ambitious one. Swimming in the river has, with some exceptions, been off-limits since 1923 because it has been too toxic.
Representatives from World Triathlon and the International Olympic Committee along with Paris Games organizers and regional and weather authorities met Sunday night to review water tests. The results indicated the water quality at the triathlon site had improved over the preceding hours and would be within the limits mandated by World Triathlon by Monday morning, they said in a statement.
The decision to allow the event to go forward with swims in the Seine came after Belgium’s Olympic committee announced Sunday that it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon after one of its competitors who swam in the river last week fell ill. It was not clear whether her illness had anything to do with her swim in the Seine.
Paris spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) on infrastructure improvements to clean up the river that flows through its center. That included the construction of a giant basin to capture excess rainwater and keep wastewater from flowing into the river, renovating sewer infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.
High jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh wins Ukraine’s first individual gold
SAINT-DENIS, France — Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who was forced to flee her country due to the war with Russia, won gold at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
She had the perfect partner to celebrate with: teammate Iryna Gerashchenko, who shared the bronze medal. The pair ran down the track waiving Ukrainian flags, just the two of them, prompting a standing ovation at Stade de France.
It was Ukraine’s first individual gold of these Summer Games, following a victory in women’s team saber fencing.
It was a big night for Ukraine in track and field, with Mykhaylo Kokhan claiming a bronze medal in the hammer throw, too — doubling the country’s medal haul from three to six overall.
The three Ukrainians shared a huge hug after the hammer throw was decided, then posed together on the track with blue and yellow flags.
Mahuchikh cleared 2.00 meters to finish ahead of Nicola Olyslagers of Australia, who also cleared 2.00 but then failed all three of her attempts at 2.02.
Eleanor Patterson of Australia and Gerashchenko shared the bronze at 1.95.
Mahuchikh considered jumping again and could have tried to break the world record of 2.10 that she set less than a month ago in another Paris stadium. But then she stopped and started celebrating. Gerashchenko rushed over with a blue and yellow flag and wrapped them both up in it.
Mahuchikh is from Dnipro, a city of nearly 1 million located only about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the front lines of the war. When the war started, she piled as much as she could into her car and left town quickly. On her way out, she heard gunfire and could, at times, see shells raining down miles away.
U.S. men eliminated from 3x3 competition despite pool play rally
PARIS — The U.S. men’s team was eliminated from the 3x3 competition on Sunday at the Paris Olympics after finishing 2-5 in pool play while playing its last five games without star Jimmer Fredette.
“We fought hard, I think we just ran out of gas playing with three,” Canyon Barry said. “It’s so tough ... my heart still breaks for Jimmer. It’s just not fair that someone of that high character has to go through this.”
Fredette was brought in to boost the team after it failed to qualify for the Tokyo Games, and his play helped the U.S. enter these Olympics as the No. 2 seed. But he sustained a lower extremity injury in the team’s second game and didn’t play again.
The U.S. opened pool play with four losses. Huge games by Barry, the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry, lifted the team to wins over France and China before the Americans were eliminated Sunday with a 21-6 rout by the Netherlands.
The U.S. is left wondering what could have been if Fredette wasn’t injured.
“Most of our team is kind of centered on him offensively,” Barry said. “We run a lot of stuff through him. So, when he goes out, we had to change the whole way we played.”
The U.S. had the same number of wins in pool play as Poland but lost the tiebreaker because Poland beat the U.S. in the second game of the tournament.
“It’s difficult because no matter if we’re down a man or anything like that, we expect to come and give our best possible performance, leave it all on the line, and I think we did that so we can be proud of that,” Kareem Maddox said. “But it’s just not what the USA expects when it comes to basketball. So, we’re not disappointed in our effort, we’re disappointed in the results.”
Belgium withdraws from mixed relay triathlon after athlete who swam in Seine River falls ill
PARIS — Belgium’s Olympic committee announced Sunday that it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon at the Paris Olympics after one of its competitors who swam in the Seine River fell ill.
Claire Michel, who competed in the women’s triathlon Wednesday, “is unfortunately ill and will have to withdraw from the competition,” the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee said in a statement.
Paris 2024 organizers had no immediate statement on Michel’s illness, but said in a statement Sunday night that the mixed relay triathlon would proceed Monday at 8 a.m. The swim portion of the competition is slated for the Seine, as well.
The Belgian committee’s statement did not elaborate on Michel’s illness but it comes after concerns over the river’s water quality. Organizers had said that water quality tests done the day of the individual triathlon races showed “very good” bacteria levels.
On Sunday night, representatives from World Triathlon and the International Olympic Committee along with Paris Games organizers and regional and weather authorities reviewed water tests. The results indicated the water quality at the triathlon site had improved over recent hours and would be within the limits mandated by World Triathlon.
Daily water quality tests measure levels of the fecal bacteria, including E. coli, in the Seine’s waters. World Triathlon’s water safety guidelines and a 2006 European Union directive assign qualitative values to a range of E. coli levels.
Under World Triathlon’s guidelines, E. coli levels up to 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters can be considered “good” and can allow competitions to go forward.
World Triathlon’s medical committee said it considers water quality analysis, sanitary inspection and the weather forecast when determining whether to go forward with a race. The decisions are made at early morning meetings on the day of the event.
Leading up to the individual triathlon events, water quality concerns prompted organizers to cancel the swimming portion of two test runs meant to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the course and also to delay the men’s race by a day. Test swims in the Seine scheduled for Saturday and Sunday before the triathlon mixed relay were also canceled because of bacteria levels in the water.
The Belgian committee said it “hopes that lessons will be learned for future triathlon competitions at the Olympic Games. We are thinking here of the guarantee of training days, competition days and the competition format, which must be clarified in advance and ensure that there is no uncertainty for the athletes, entourage and supporters.”
Swiss officials said Saturday that triathlete Adrien Briffod, who also competed in the Seine on Wednesday, fell ill with a stomach infection. But they said it was “impossible to say” whether it was linked to the swim and that the other delegations told them none of their triathletes had reported stomach problems.
Swiss officials said in an update Sunday that Simon Westermann, who had been tapped to replace Briffod, also had to withdraw because of a gastrointestinal infection. Westermann had not participated in any swims in the Seine, the statement said. The Swiss team still planned to compete in the mixed relay Monday.
Norwegian triathlete Vetle Bergsvik Thorn got sick a day after competing in the men’s triathlon. Thorn told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he woke up the next day with an upset stomach and was vomiting but thought that the likely cause was food poisoning. He said he felt better later that day and was planning on competing again in the mixed relay scheduled for Monday.
Arild Tveiten, the sports director of the Norwegian Triathlon Federation, said the cause of Thorn’s illness was unclear.
“We’re thinking what everyone is thinking: that it’s probably the river. But we don’t know. It could be the river, it could be the chicken,” Tveiten told NRK. “The doctor is leaning toward the possibility of food poisoning. That’s what the symptoms suggest.”
Marathon swimming events are set to be held in the Seine on Thursday and Friday.
U.S. sets world record in women’s 4x100-meter medley relay, beats rival Australia in swim medal race
The U.S. women stormed to a strong finish in the pool, setting a world record in the 4x100-meter medley relay.
The Americans finished with a world record time of 3:49.63. Australia took silver (3:53.11) and China took bronze (3:53.23).
Torri Huske swam the anchor leg that sealed the victory. She was joined in the relay by Lilly King, Regan Smith and Gretchen Walsh.
King made up for a disappointing showing in her individual events by powering the Americans to the lead on the breaststroke segment. Then it was Walsh and Huske, two of the biggest U.S. stars in France, bringing it home to break the record of 3:50.40 set by the U.S. at the 2019 world championships.
Smith led off in the backstroke leg, finally earning her first career gold.
It was the final swimming race of the Olympics.
The victory gave the previously frustrated Americans eight total gold medals in the pool, edging rival Australia’s seven gold medals. The U.S. closed with both the overall and gold medal swimming lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. women’s basketball storms past Germany and into quarterfinals
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Jackie Young scored 19 points and the U.S. showed off its incredible depth Sunday, beating Germany 87-68 in the Americans’ final game of pool play.
A’ja Wilson added 14 points, and Breanna Stewart had 13.
With the victory, the Americans clinched the top seed in their pool and extended their record streak to 58 consecutive Olympic wins dating to the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The U.S. (3-0), which outscored Germany 52-13 in reserve points, will learn later Sunday night which team it is going to face in the quarterfinals Wednesday in Paris. The German team (2-1), which is playing in its first Olympics, also is headed to the quarterfinals.
The two teams played an exhibition game in London right before the Olympics, and the Americans came away with an easy 84-57 victory that night.
The Germans got off to a strong start Sunday as they jumped out to a 17-8 lead midway through the first quarter. Leonie Fiebich, who plays with Sabrina Ionescu and Stewart on the New York Liberty, had eight of those points.
The U.S. didn’t panic.
Over its run of seven consecutive gold medals, the Americans have made the most of their depth that no team in the Olympics can match. With the starters struggling a bit, coach Cheryl Reeve turned to the next five players that included Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas and Young.
That second group closed the gap to 19-16 after the first quarter. The Americans started the second quarter with a 21-5 run and were up 41-29 at the break.
Bobby Finke sets world record in men’s 1,500-meter freestyle to win gold
NANTERRE, France — Bobby Finke set a world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle Sunday, giving the United States a huge boost on the final day of swimming at the Paris Olympics.
Finke was under world-record pace the entire race and really turned it on coming to the finish. He touched in 14 minutes, 30.67 seconds to break the record of 14.31.02 set by China’s Sun Yang at the 2012 London Games.
Bobby does the unFINKEable! 🙌
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
Gold medal and WORLD RECORD in the 1500m freestyle!#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/siCsTPEN8X
The silver went to Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri in 14.34.55, while race favorite Daniel Wiffen of Ireland couldn’t follow up his triumph in the 800 freestyle. He was never a factor and settled for the bronze in 14:39.63, barely holding off Hungary’s David Betlehem for the final spot on the podium.
Finke set the third swimming world record of these Olympics and provided a much-needed jolt for the mighty American team, which leads the overall medal count but had endured a series of disappointing results from some of its biggest swimmers.
Finke’s gold was the seventh for the U.S., pulling them into a tie with Australia for the top spot in that column with only the 4x100 medley relays remaining.
Kristen Faulkner becomes first American to win gold in road cycling in 40 years
PARIS — Kristen Faulkner timed her attack to perfection to win the women’s road race at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, becoming the first American rider in 40 years to win a medal in the event.
The 158-kilometer (98-mile) route started and finished in Paris, with Faulkner crossing the line at the Trocadéro in a fraction under four hours.
Faulkner finished 58 seconds clear of Dutch rider Marianne Vos, Lotte Kopecky of Belgium and Blanka Vas of Hungary, who were separated by a photo finish with Vos taking silver and Kopecky clinching the bronze.
Faulkner and Kopecky caught up to Vos and Vas with about three kilometers left. As Faulkner attacked, the other three hesitated and then could not catch her.
She only had the Eiffel Tower and glory ahead of her.
The 31-year-old Alaska native is the first American to win a road race medal of any color since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, when Connie Carpenter and Alexi Grewal swept the gold medals.
Scottie Scheffler’s spectacular year continues with Olympic golf gold
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Scottie Scheffler delivered the best performance of his greatest year by rallying from four shots behind on Sunday with a nine-under 62 to win the Olympic gold medal in men’s golf in a thriller at Le Golf National.
Already a six-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, including his second Masters title, Scheffler added Olympic gold to an astonishing season with a round that kept some 30,000 fans on edge for a wild final two hours.
The world’s No. 1 player had plenty of help. Jon Rahm of Spain had a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood when he stepped on the 11th tee. Fleetwood caught him in two holes as the Spaniard had a stunning collapse.
Novak Djokovic becomes oldest man to win Olympic singles gold since 1908
PARIS — Novak Djokovic won his first Olympic gold medal by beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in an enthralling men’s tennis singles final Sunday, giving the 37-year-old from Serbia the last significant accomplishment missing from his glittering resume.
Djokovic’s impressive career already featured a men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles and the most weeks spent at No. 1 in the rankings by any man or woman. It also already contained a Summer Olympics medal, from 2008, but it was a bronze — and he has made clear that simply was not sufficient.
Until he got past bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the semifinals Friday, Djokovic was 0-3 in that round at the Games. He lost to the eventual gold winner each time: Rafael Nadal at Beijing in 2008, Andy Murray at London in 2012, and Alexander Zverev in Tokyo three years ago.
In Paris, wearing a gray sleeve over the right knee that required surgery for a torn meniscus two months ago, Djokovic faced Nadal in the second round and eliminated his longtime rival in straight sets. Now Djokovic is the oldest man to win the singles gold in his sport since 1908 — and prevented Spain’s Alcaraz, who is 21, from becoming the youngest.
When the victory was his, when the gold was his, thanks to one last forehand winner, Djokovic turned toward his team in the stands — sitting in front of his wife and their two children — and dropped his racket as he knelt on the clay. As emotional as ever, he cried and covered his face, then rose and grabbed a red-white-and-blue Serbian flag. After hugs in the stands, Djokovic waved that flag. Alcaraz wept afterward, too.
The final, which lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes despite being decided in only two sets, was a rematch of the Wimbledon title match three weeks ago that Alcaraz won to follow up his French Open title in June.
Suni Lee adds to her Paris medal count, taking bronze on the uneven bars
PARIS — Suni Lee added another medal to her Olympic haul on Sunday, taking bronze on the uneven bars at Bercy Arena.
The 21-year-old edged out defending Olympic gold medalist Nina Derwael for third place and by 0.034 points. When Lee’s score flashed across the screen, she flinched in surprised and covered her mouth with both of her chalk-covered hands.
Lee has three medals from these Games, with team gold and a bronze in the all-around. She has six total Olympic medals, including two consecutive bronze medals on uneven bars. She is the first American woman to win back-to-back Olympic medals on the same event since Aly Raisman on floor in 2012 and 2016.
Suni Lee wins an uneven bars bronze medal with a fantastic routine in the final! #ParisOlympics
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/0V1TGS25sp
Olympic athletes have a new worry about the Seine, and it’s not the pollution
PARIS — People have been living along the Seine for more than 3,000 years and they’ve been dumping trash, human waste and whatever else they want to get rid of into the river for much of that time. Even Joan of Arc’s ashes were reportedly deposited there after she was burned at the stake in 1431.
So it should be no surprise that the river, which cuts through the center of Paris, is no longer pristine. But concerns about the water quality, which forced the men’s triathlon to be postponed a day, have lifted and now there’s a new worry ahead of Monday’s triathlon mixed relay and Thursday and Friday’s marathon swim events.
The currents.
Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan clinches first Olympic medal amid scrutiny
VILLEPINTE, France — Boxer Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan clinched her first Olympic medal Sunday in front of a crowd that chanted her name, one day after fellow boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria secured one as well following days of online abuse and intense scrutiny about their participation at the Paris Games.
Lin defeated Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria 5:0 in a women’s 57-kilogram quarterfinal, advancing to the semifinals and ensuring she will win at least a bronze medal.
Lin and Khelif have been at the center of a clash over gender identity and regulations in sports, as critics have brought up their disqualification from the world championships last year after the banned International Boxing Assn. claimed they failed unspecified eligibility tests for women’s competition.
Lin, who will face Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey at Roland-Garros on Wednesday, said her goal is to keep going and become to be a gold medalist. She did not mention any of the online scrutiny of the past few days and said that she shut down her social media before her first Olympic fight.
“I want to thank all the supporters from Taiwan,” she said.
Staneva, a 34-year-old amateur boxing veteran, lost a close fight to Lin in the semifinals of the 2023 world championships in India. The victory was changed to a no contest by the IBA, which claimed Lin had failed the unspecified eligibility test.
The IBA has been banned from Olympic participation since 2019 following years of criticism from the International Olympic Committee, including concerns over its administration of competitions and financial transparency. The IBA has declined to disclose any details about its tests, calling the information confidential.
Gabby Thomas clear favorite in 200 meters after Shericka Jackson pulls out
SAINT-DENIS, France — Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson pulled out of the women’s 200 meters Sunday and will not race for an individual medal at the Paris Games.
Jackson, the defending world champion who is the second-fastest woman of all time in the 200, had previously withdrawn from the 100 meters, saying it was partly because of a leg injury she suffered in a tune-up race last month. It is unclear why she pulled out of Saturday’s race.
It turns American Gabby Thomas into the clear favorite to win the 200. Thomas cruised through her qualifying heat Sunday, as did Julien Alfred, who returned to the track about 13 hours after beating Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100 meters.
It’s yet another blow for the Jamaican women, a perennial Olympic powerhouse that has captured 15 of the 24 Olympic medals in the 100 and 200 since 2008.
All those sprinters from Jamaica’s 100-meter sweep in Tokyo have been absent in Paris. Elaine Thompson-Herah, the 100- and 200-meter champion, shut down her season earlier this year with an Achilles injury.
Only minutes before Saturday night’s 100 semifinal, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pulled out with an undisclosed injury, saying on social media “it is difficult for me to find the words to express my disappointment.”
South Sudan’s magical men’s basketball run ends
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — South Sudan’s impressive run at the Paris Olympics is over.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 28 points and Serbia beat South Sudan 96-85 on Saturday to punch its ticket for next week’s Olympic men’s basketball quarterfinals in Paris.
Nikola Jokic added 22 points and 13 rebounds for Serbia, which finished second in Group C behind the U.S. South Sudan’s loss means Greece gets the final wild card for the knockout round by virtue of having a better point differential over its three group-stage games than South Sudan.
Marial Shayok and Carlik Jones led South Sudan with 17 points each.
Throughout the game South Sudan played like a team whose tournament was on the line. Players dove on the floor in mass for loose balls and crowded around Jokic every time he got the ball deep.
There were also all-out effort plays, like Wenyen Gabriel sprinting for a chase-down block on Aleksa Avramovic during a fast-paced first quarter.
Serbia — ranked fourth in the world by FIBA — led 33rd-ranked South Sudan 47-44 at halftime.
Serbia’s lead remained in single digits in the third quarter, falling to 59-58 on a two-handed dunk by Gabriel. But Serbia found some offensive rhythm after a timeout and opened a 65-58 lead on back-to-back 3s by Bogdanovic.
Serbia led by five entering the fourth. And South Sudan kept coming, using a Peter Jok steal and alley-oop to Gabriel to bring the crowd to a roar and shrink the margin to a basket.
Serbia just kept making shots, using a 19-3 spurt to take a 91-74 lead with less than three minutes left.
South Sudan has prepared for the Olympic spotlight since last September when it finished the World Cup as Africa’s highest ranked team, earning an automatic spot for the Paris Games.
But despite entering the Olympics with the lowest world ranking, it was clear just making to France was never the end goal for this team. It wanted to prove it belonged on the world stage alongside the greatest players in the sport, like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Jokic.
U.S. wins rare swimming gold in 4x100-meter mixed relay
The U.S. won gold and set a world record in the 4x100-meter mixed relay. France and Paris Olympics breakout star Léon Marchand finished fourth.
The American team of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske swam the mixed relay in 3:37:43 to break the world record of 3:37.58 established by Britain when the event debuted at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Katie Ledecky wins her fourth 800-meter freestyle swimming gold
Katie Ledecky capped another stellar Olympics by becoming only the second swimmer to win an event at four straight Summer Games, holding off Ariarne Titmus to win the 800-meter freestyle Saturday night.
It was Ledecky’s second gold medal in Paris and ninth of her remarkable career, which marked another milestone. She became only the sixth Olympian to reach that figure, joining swimmer Mark Spitz, track star Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi in a tie for second place.
The only athlete to win more golds: swimmer Michael Phelps with 23.
Ledecky went faster than her winning time in Tokyo, touching in 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds. Titmus, the Australian star known as the “Terminator,” was right on her shoulder nearly the entire race, but Ledecky pulled away in the final 100.
Titmus, who beat Ledecky in the 400 freestyle, settled for silver at 8:12.29. The bronze went to another American, Paige Madden at 8:13.00.
Phelps had been the only swimmer to win the same event at four straight Summer Olympics, taking gold in the 200 individual medley at Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.
Now he’s got company.
Julien Alfred upsets Sha’Carri Richardson to win women’s 100 meters at Paris Olympics
All eyes were on American star Sha’carri Richardson, but Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred stole the spotlight during the 100-meter dash at the Paris Olympics.
Alfred finished with at time of 10.72 seconds, well ahead of the field for the gold medal. It was her country’s first Olympic medal and sparked celebrations in Saint Lucia.
Richardson — who missed the previous Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana — earned silver in the women’s 100 meters at Stade de France, finishing 0.15 seconds behind Richardson. American Melissa Jefferson finished third with a time of 10.92.
U.S. can’t hold off late charge, takes silver in 4X400-meter mixed relay
A day after setting the world record in the 4X400-meter mixed relay, the U.S. team fell victim to a late surge by Dutch star Femke Bol, who carried the Netherlands to a come-from-behind gold.
Bol ran a final leg of 47.93 seconds, catching Kaylyn Brown and pulling ahead in the final meters. The winning time of 3:07.43 was only .02 slower than the previous day’s record.
The Americans looked like favorites coming into this race. Vernon Norwood ran a decent first leg. Shamier Little established a lead after that and Bryce Deadmon kept his team in front.
Though Belgium and Great Britain made charges, it looked like Brown might hold on. Then came Bol.
A bronze medalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Games, she began her move off the last turn, urged on by a thunderous crowd at the STade de France. Great Britain came in third.
American Kate Douglass takes silver in 200-meter IM
Canadian Summer McIntosh continued her dominant Olympics with a third gold medal, while the U.S. took silver in the 200-meter individual medley Saturday.
McIntosh finished with an Olympic record 2:06.56, while American Kate Douglass took silver (2:06.92) and Australian Kaylee McKeown got bronze (2:08.08).
Fellow American Alex Walsh finished eighth due to disqualification.
Brushing off injuries, Ryan Crouser wins third gold medal in shot put
PARIS — Ryan Crouser arrived at the 2024 Summer Olympics feeling excited and — after a string of recent injuries — relatively healthy.
Which was bad news for everyone else in the men’s shot put.
As a dominant figure in his sport for eight years — and the only man to surpass 77 feet — Crouser won gold at a third consecutive Games on Saturday night, becoming the first shot putter to accomplish that feat.
“It’s been a total commitment,” the 31-year-old Oregon native said, calling it “kind of a testament to the total dedication and hard work that has gone into it.”
An early-round throw of 75 feet and 1 ¾ inches, though well short of his world record, put Crouser comfortably in the lead as rain began to fall at the Stade de France, making the circle slick and throws much more difficult.
Rajinda Campbell of Jamaica had looked ready to make a run at the lead but barely held on for third. Joe Kovacs — a long-time teammate and rival of Crouser — managed an ugly final throw that nonetheless traveled far enough for silver.
“You see three guys before you fall, it makes you a little more cautious,” Kovacs said. “So I think I’m proud of myself for saying screw it, it’s the Olympics.”
It was just last summer that Crouser competed at the world championships despite being diagnosed with two blood clots in his lower leg. Doctors cleared him to fly, but it was uncertain how the malady would affect his performance.
There was also the matter of a new technique, the “Crouser Slide,” the self-coached athlete invented in a barn behind his Arkansas home.
Given the circumstances, the 6-7, 320-pound Crouser called his repeat victory in Budapest “the best performance of my life.” But since then, elbow injuries and a torn pectoral muscle lengthened his list of maladies.
“I have had a bit of difficulty recognizing that I am getting older,” he said. “It makes me cherish this Olympic experience even more because I can see that I cannot do this forever.”.
In Paris, things went easily enough during Friday qualifying. A comfortable throw, not much energy expended.
The next day, he wasted no time with 74 feet 3 inches in the first round. After that statement throw, Crouser raised his arms, urging the crowd to cheer a little louder. The lead grew with each successive round until the weather took a turn for the worse.
The uncertainty about whether his body would hold up over six rounds had worked to Crouser’s advantage.
“So I knew I had to come out swinging,” he said. “I was lucky enough to be in the driver’s seat.”
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif clinches medal at Olympics amid gender misconceptions
VILLEPINTE, France — Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria clinched a medal at the Paris Olympics in an emotional fight Saturday that followed days of sharp scrutiny and online abuse as misconceptions about her gender exploded into a larger clash about identity in sports.
Khelif defeated Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary 5:0 in the quarterfinals of the women’s 66-kilogram division. Khelif will win at least a bronze medal after she comfortably earned the second victory of her tumultuous second trip to the Olympics.
Khelif faced outcry fueled by claims from the International Boxing Association, which has been banned from the Olympics since 2019, that she failed an unspecified eligibility test to compete last year over elevated levels of testosterone. She won her opening bout at the Paris Games on Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy tearfully abandoned the fight after just 46 seconds.
That unusual ending became a sharp wedge to drive into an already prominent divide over gender identity and regulations in sports, drawing comments from the likes of former U.S. President Donald Trump, “Harry Potter” writer J.K. Rowling and others falsely claiming Khelif was a man or transgender.
At a Paris Games that has championed inclusion and seen other outcry over an opening ceremony performance featuring drag queens, LGBTQ+ groups say the hateful comments could pose dangers to their community and female athletes.
Khelif’s second win in Paris appeared to be an emotional catharsis for the 25-year-old boxer from a village in northwest Algeria. After her hand was raised in victory, Khelif went to the center of the ring, waved to her fans, knelt and then slammed her palm on the canvas, her smile turning to tears.
She left the ring to hug her coaches while her fans roared, weeping during their embrace and as she walked out.
Spain beats Colombia on penalties to reach the women’s soccer semifinals
LYON, France — World champion Spain fought back from 2-0 down and advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament by beating Colombia in a penalty shootout on Saturday.
Spain won 4-2 in the shootout at Stade de Lyon, with Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati scoring the decisive spot kick.
Catalina Usme and Liana Salazar failed to score from the spot for Colombia, which had looked set to advance to the last four after taking a 2-0 lead through Mayra Ramirez and Leicy Santos.
Jenni Hermoso had sparked Spain’s second-half fightback and Irene Paredes forced the game to extra time with an equalizer in the seventh minute minute stoppage time.
Spain — playing in its first Olympics — will face either France or Brazil in the semifinals in Marseille on Tuesday and still has chance to complete a memorable double after winning the Women’s World Cup for the first time in Australia last year.
But for a long time Saturday, it looked like it was headed out of the tournament.
Ramirez fired Colombia into a 12th-minute lead — racing past Paredes and finishing clinically. Santos spun and curled in Colombia’s second in the 52nd to set up what looked like being one of the surprise results of the Olympics.
Hermoso’s goal in the 79th sparked the comeback and Paredes converted from close range to equalize deep into stoppage time.
In the shootout, Usme’s weak penalty was saved by Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll. Salazar fired Colombia’s third spot kick over the bar.
All four of Spain’s penalties were successfully converted, with Bonmati sealing the win.
Colombia had led 2-0 when star player Linda Caicedo was injured and left the field on a stretcher in the 66th.
Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm share lead in Olympic golf tournament
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Xander Schauffele erased a two-shot deficit with a 25-foot eagle putt and Jon Rahm answered with a big putt of his own Saturday, leaving them tied for the lead and setting up a star-heavy chase for the Olympic gold medal in men’s golf.
Rahm went from a two-shot lead to trailing in a matter of minutes; he had a three-putt bogey on the 15th as Schauffele was making eagle in the group behind.
But the Spaniard, playing on a big stage for the last time this year before he returns to LIV Golf, holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th and finished with a tough par for a five-under 66.
Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship and British Open over the last three months, got off to a slow start before posting a 32 on the back nine for a 68.
They were at 14-under 199, tying the 54-hole Olympic record Schauffele set when he won gold at the Tokyo Games.
The crowd was just as loud and just as boisterous in slightly more pleasant weather. Fans have been allowed to see Olympic golf only twice since its return to the program — Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Paris, which has a history of hosting golf. The French Open dates to 1906.
“It might have been new in golf but it is the Olympics,” Rahm said. “I think the crowd knows it is, and we are all aware of what’s at stake.”
But this is not a two-man race for the gold. Far from it.
Tommy Fleetwood of Britain, who started the third round tied at the top with Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama, made only three birdies but holed a six-foot par on the 18th that was equally meaningful. He had a 69 and was one shot behind.
Zheng Qinwen wins China’s first Olympic tennis singles gold
PARIS — Zheng Qinwen claimed China’s first tennis singles gold medal in Olympic history by defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3 in the 2024 Paris Games women’s final Saturday.
The 21-year-old Zheng displayed the same powerful serves and groundstrokes she used to eliminate No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals and now has the biggest title of her career.
Not that Zheng hasn’t shown plenty of promise already. She is ranked No. 7, after all, and was the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the hard-court Australian Open in January.
This, though, could make her a real star in her country. International Tennis Hall of Fame member Li Na is the only Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title — at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open — and served as inspiration for Zheng when she was a kid learning the sport.
“It’s just unreal,” Zheng said after signing several autographs for members of the crowd. “All my country will be proud of me. I will be proud of myself.”
Novak Djokovic will play Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday for the men’s singles gold.
U.S. Olympic pommel horse hero Stephen Nedoroscik takes bronze in the individual event
PARIS — He only does one routine, but Stephen Nedoroscik is no one-hit wonder.
After clinching the United States’ first Olympic team medal since 2008 on Monday — and becoming an internet sensation in the process — Nedoroscik took bronze in the pommel horse final Saturday for the first U.S. Olympic medal in the event since 2016. Between qualifications, the team final and the event final, Nedoroscik had three opportunities to compete during these Games, and he scored more than 15 points in each of his attempts.
His event final score of 15.300 was one-tenth better than his score from qualification that tied him for first place, but Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan took gold ahead of Kazakhstan’s Nariman Kurbanov. When Nedoroscik’s score flashed across the screen with third place next to it, he flashed a thumbs up to the camera.
Trinity Rodman’s stellar goal in extra time lifts U.S. into Olympic semifinals
PARIS — Trinity Rodman’s left-footed curler from inside the penalty area snapped a scoreless tie in the first extra-time period Saturday, giving the U.S. women a 1-0 win over Japan at packed Parc des Princes stadium and a spot in Tuesday’s semifinals of the Paris Olympics soccer tournament.
The Americans will play the winner of Saturday’s late quarterfinal final between Canada and Germany.
The U.S., which saw its run through last summer’s World Cup end in penalty kicks after playing Sweden to a scoreless draw, seemed headed toward penalties again when Rodman ran onto a long diagonal ball from Crystal Dunn along the right side of the 18-yard box. She then cut back to evade Japanese defender Hikaru Kitagawa before slicing a bending shot over keeper Ayaka Yamashita and into the top netting.
Simone Biles captures her seventh Olympic gold medal, winning vault in Paris
PARIS — Simone Biles craned her neck to watch the score flash across the big screen. When it flashed — 15.300 — her smile was the only thing brighter than Bercy Arena’s lights.
Biles claimed her seventh Olympic gold medal and 10th Olympic medal overall by adding a vault title on Saturday.
The 27-year-old put up an untouchable 15.700 score with a Yurchenko double pike on her first vault — her eponymous skill that no other woman has attempted in competition before — then backed it up with a 14.900 on her second vault. With Biles’ considerable difficulty, no woman in the competition had a chance to match her score.
IOC president denounces hate speech directed at boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting
PARIS — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Saturday the “hate speech” directed at boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting at the Paris Olympics is “totally unacceptable.”
“We will not take part in a politically motivated … cultural war,” Bach said at a news briefing at the midway point of the games that also tried to draw a line under days of global scrutiny about the female boxers’ gender.
“What is going on in this context in the social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fueled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable,” he said.
IOC President Thomas Bach responds to questions about the women's boxing competition and makes it very clear there was never any doubt on the athletes being women, and that the current online abuse is unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/Xvd6SvtmQ5
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 3, 2024
Khelif of Algeria and Lin of Taiwan have been the focus of intense attention — and often inaccurate commentary — because both were disqualified at the 2023 world championships.
The Russian-led International Boxing Assn. — which has been banished from the Olympics by the IOC in a yearslong dispute — removed the boxers from the worlds 16 months ago in India citing gender-based tests that are still unspecified and unproven.
The women’s boxing issue was linked by Bach to what he called a wider, Russian-led campaign against the IOC and Paris Olympics where only 15 Russian athletes are competing, and as neutrals without their national identity. The IOC and international sports bodies have isolated Russia during the military invasion of Ukraine.
“What we have seen from the Russian side and in particular from the [IBA],” Bach said, “they have undertaken already way before these Games with a defamation campaign against France, against the games, against the IOC.”
Noah Lyles finishes second in his opening 100 meters heat
SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles finished second in his opening heat of the Olympic 100 meters Saturday but still advanced and kept alive his hopes for the sprint double.
The American got off to a sluggish start and finished in 10.04 seconds, which was .06 behind Louie Hinchliffe, a British sprinter being trained by Carl Lewis.
The second-place finish means Lyles, the reigning world champion at 100 and 200 meters, won’t have the premier lane choice when he races in the semifinals Sunday. If he advances from that, he’ll race for the gold medal later in the evening.
“It is difficult,” he said. “I downplayed my competitors for sure. I was like, ‘There’s no reason to really put any emphasis on it.’ But these guys proved to me that they’re ready to compete. I said, ‘All right, I can’t do that anymore.’ I promise that will not happen again.”
Also advancing in the early heats were Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, who jogged the last 20 meters and won his heat in 10 seconds flat; Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, who won his in 10.08; and Oblique Seville of Jamaica, who won his heat in 9.99.
Seville has a victory over Lyles at a race in Jamaica earlier this year.
Simone Manuel fails to advance out of 50-meter freestyle preliminaries
NANTERRE, France — In another disappointment for the U.S. swim team, Simone Manuel was eliminated in the preliminaries of the 50-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Manuel posted the 18th-fastest time in the hectic sprint over one length of the pool, not good enough to make it to the evening semifinals.
The first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in swimming touched in 24.87 seconds, 0.15 out of the time she needed to crack the top 16 and 1.02 behind the fastest qualifier, Sarah Sjöström of Sweden.
Manuel stormed off the deck and past reporters. Asked to stop for a question, she replied, “nope,” and kept walking.
Olympians Simone Manuel and Shaine Casas have a chance to inspire a new generation of swimmers in a sport traditionally plagued by diversity issues.
The United States went into the next-to-last day of the competition with 21 medals but only four golds, a performance that has fallen short of expectations for the world’s dominant swim nation.
Several high-profile swimmers have failed to even make the finals in some of their best events.
Caeleb Dressel, a star of the Tokyo Olympics with five gold medals, was knocked out in the semis of the 100 butterfly and broke down in tears after leaving the deck.
Ryan Murphy, a longtime stalwart in the backstroke, managed a bronze in the 100 back and was knocked out in the semis of the 200 — far short of his goal to reclaim the titles he swept at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Olympic swimmer Tamara Potocka collapses following an asthma attack
NANTERRE, France — Slovakia swimmer Tamara Potocka collapsed poolside Friday morning after a qualifying heat of the women’s 200-meter individual medley at the Paris Olympics when she had an asthma attack, a team spokesman said.
Potocka, 21, was given first aid and carried off on a stretcher while wearing an oxygen mask. Medical personal at the pool said she was conscious.
“They transferred her to the hospital in the Olympic Village and our team doctor is waiting for her there,” Slovakia Olympic Committee spokesman Lubomír Souček told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Potocka collapsed as she got out of the water and almost immediately was surrounded by a half-dozen medical attendants who put her on a stretcher after about a minute and carried her off the pool deck.
It was not clear if she received CPR.
Israeli swimmer Lea Polonsky, who swam two heats after Potocka, said swimmers know their sport has inherent risks.
“Of course that’s something in the back of your mind, but we do every day push ourselves to the limit,” she added. “You always know something like that can happen. It’s not something you think about during the race, but it’s always there.”
This is Potocka’s first Olympics. She lives in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.
Potocka finished seventh in her heat in a time of 2 minutes, 14.20 seconds. Her time was not fast enough to advance her to the semifinals of the event, which eliminated her from the competition.
Canyon Barry powers U.S. to two 3x3 basketball wins
Canyon Barry carried the short-handed U.S. men’s team to two victories Friday in 3x3 pool play at the Paris Olympics.
Barry scored 14 points in a 21-17 win over China in the nightcap after dropping 15 in a 21-19 victory over France earlier Friday.
“Winning in the Olympics is fun,” a beaming Barry said. “I’ll tell you that there’s not much of a better feeling than that.”
The U.S., which played without star Jimmer Fredette for a third straight game because of a lower extremity injury, had dropped its first four games of the tournament.
“It’s exhausting, it’s brutal,” Barry said of playing a man down. “But we’re Olympians, we’ve trained for it. Obviously, not ideal circumstances, but... you have to be able to push through and persevere. And that’s what makes being an Olympian special.”
The U.S. led China by 6 after a 2-pointer by Dylan Travis with about two minutes to go. Ning Zhang then scored three points for China to cut the lead to 18-15.
Travis made a basket before Jiaren Zhao hit two free throws to make it 19-17 with less than a minute to go. Barry pulled up at the top of the key and nailed a 2-pointer to end it with 36 seconds left.
Travis raved about Barry’s work Friday.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I don’t know, it’s like he was playing with a higher power or something.”
China fell to 1-5 with the loss.
In the early game, France took the lead on a basket by Franck Seguela with 90 seconds to go. Barry, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry, then took over.
He scored a basket before making two of the underhanded free throws his father made famous to leave the U.S. one point from the win.
Timothe Vergiat got France within one on a basket with less than a minute to go before Barry drove and made an off-balance layup to close it out with 50 seconds remaining. Barry sat on the court and screamed as his teammates jumped around him celebrating
U.S. player Kareem Maddox said the message before the Friday’s games was simple.
“Just fight,” he said. “I feel a lot of responsibility to fight and just keep fighting. That’s all you can do and Jimmer is right there with us, helping us every step of the way.”
France wins in men’s soccer as crowd boos foe Argentina and players clash on the pitch
BORDEAUX, France — An early goal was enough for France to beat Argentina 1-0 and reach the men’s soccer semifinals at the Paris Olympics on Friday, in a match where fighting broke out between the players immediately after the final whistle.
There was shoving for a couple of minutes before the players were broken up. Some France players appeared to sprint down the tunnel moments later. But they came back out a short time later and did a lap of honor.
Argentina’s players were booed throughout the match by a hostile crowd, which celebrated early on when striker Jean-Philippe Mateta headed home in the fifth minute for coach Thierry Henry’s team, which will face Egypt in the last four on Monday in Lyon.
Mateta was celebrating with captain Alexandre Lacazette when they noticed the skirmish. Lacazette rushed back to help break it up, as did Henry and counterpart Javier Mascherano, who appeared to block one of his own staff members from joining in.
“I went to shake the opposing coach’s hand and all of a sudden I saw a lot of things happening,” Henry said. “I don’t like seeing this kind of thing. It wasn’t necessary.”
As France fans continued celebrating, stewards and a handful of riot police formed a ring around the pocket of Argentina fans inside the stadium.
A racism scandal had heightened pre-match tensions, following a video of Argentina players singing an offensive song about French players of African heritage as they celebrated their Copa America victory last month.
Henry was annoyed that Enzo Millot — who had been substituted — got a red card for his part in the fracas.
“We didn’t want to lose a player (to suspension) but it was pointless, he wasn’t even playing (at the final whistle),” Henry said. “I’m really not happy about that. We were all united, the only drawback is getting a red on the bench.”
Henry is a World Cup and European Championship winner with France, as well as English club Arsenal’s all-time record scorer. He praised his team’s resolute mentality.
“Sometimes in a competition you win with pain,” he said.
France won its only Olympic title in 1984, the year it also won the European Championship.
Grant Fisher placed third in the 10,000-meter men’s final
American Grant Fisher placed third in the 10,000-meter men’s final, overcoming tripping on the edge of the track to earn a spot on the podium Friday.
He wrapped up the race with a time of 26:43.46. It is only the third time the U.S. has won a medal in the eveny since 1964.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei won gold in an Olympic record time of 26:43.14 and Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi took silver (26:43.44).
Nico Young, a 22-year-old Newbury Park High alum, was running the second 10,000-meter race of his life and finished 12th. (12:58).
American Regan Smith earns silver in women’s 200-meter backstroke
American Regan Smith was narrowly edged by Australian Kaylee McKeown, taking silver in the women’s 200-meter backstroke.
McKeown, widely known as the most dominant swimmer in the event, finished with an Olympic record time of 2:03.73. Smith touched the wall at 2:04.26. Canada’s Kylie Masse took bronze (2:05.57), finishing just ahead of American Phoebe Bacon (2:05.61).
The U.S. has racked up swimming medals, but they’ve mostly been of the silver and bronze variety.
Australian Cameron McEvoy wins 50-meter freestyle, American Caeleb Dressel misses medal stand
Caeleb Dressel fell short of a medal in the 50-meter freestyle race Friday during the Paris Olympics.
Australia’s Cameron McEvoy won gold with a time of 21.25 seconds, Benjamin Proud from Great Britain took silver (21.30) and France’s Florent Manaudou took bronze (21.56). Manaudou became the first Olympian to medal in the 50-meter freestyle race during four Olympics, drawing a roar of approval from the home crowd.
Dressel finished sixth with a time of 21.62.
Simone Biles’ memo to Trump: ‘I love my Black job’
Simone Biles may be a tad bit busy in Paris this week, but the U.S. gymnastics great seems to be keeping up with what’s going on back home.
On Friday morning — the day after winning her second gold medal of these Olympics and the day before the first of her three remaining opportunities to add to her 2024 medal count — Biles took to X to take an apparent dig at former President Trump, the current Republican presidential nominee.
“I love my black job,” Biles wrote.
Here’s the backstory.
French judo icon Teddy Riner wins his third individual gold medal
PARIS — French judo icon Teddy Riner capped his incredible career by becoming the second three-time individual Olympic gold medalist in the sport. The 35-year-old heavyweight defeated Korea’s Min-jong Kim for the gold in his fifth Olympics.
An 11-time world champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist, Riner is one of the most popular and beloved figures in any sport from France.
Riner was France’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony and joined retired French track and field sprinter Marie-José Pérec in lighting the cauldron at the end of the night.
He is widely considered the greatest judoka the sport has ever seen. He had a 10-year unbeaten streak in which he dominated opponents with his imposing size and athleticism.
With a first-round bye, Riner rolled through the second round and quarterfinals Friday afternoon, setting up a much-anticipated semifinal against Temur Rakhimov of Tajikistan. He drew the loudest cheers from the crowd at Champs de Mars, which roared when he walked onto the red-and-yellow tatami, and cheered even louder when he finished Rakhimov with an ippon that secured his spot in the final.
U.S. men’s soccer sees its Olympic run end in blowout loss to Morocco
PARIS — The U.S. run through the men’s soccer tournament came to definitive end Friday, with Morocco dominating to a 4-0 quarterfinal-round win at a packed Parc des Princes stadium.
Although the American women have made the final in five of the previous seven Olympics, on the men’s side, where the tournament is an age-group competition, the U.S. last played in the Summer Games in 2008 and made the quarterfinals just once in the last 68 years.
Judged against that history the team’s performance in France, where it won two of four games, finished second in its group and advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since 2000, was a success.
Olympic boxing controversy sparks fierce debate over inclusivity in women’s sports
PARIS — A Summer Olympics that hoped to champion inclusivity — choosing “Games Wide Open” as its slogan — has become embroiled in loud, angry debates over who should and should not be allowed to compete as a woman.
The dispute has triggered conflicting official statements, pointed comments and unhinged social media posts, all whirling around two athletes in the women’s boxing competition at Arena Paris Nord.
Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan have been allowed to box here despite being disqualified at last year’s world championships for failing unspecified gender-eligibility tests.
“I think we all have a responsibility to dial down this and not turn it into some kind of witch hunt,” Olympic spokesman Mark Adams told reporters earlier this week. “These are regular athletes who have competed for many years in boxing, they are entirely eligible and they are women on their passports.”
How Suni Lee overcame kidney diseases to go from bedridden to Olympic medalist
PARIS — As little as an hour before Suni Lee stood on the third step of the Olympic all-around podium, Jess Graba couldn’t imagine this moment.
In December, the coach’s star pupil was “rotting” in her bedroom, mourning the gymnast she used to be and uncertain about the woman she would become after two kidney diseases morphed her body beyond recognition. On the first day of August, Lee was an Olympic all-around medalist again.
“Not many people train for seven months for a medal,” Graba said. “Nobody does. Only her.”
Lee’s miraculous comeback continued Thursday in the women’s all-around final where she took the bronze medal. Although she qualified in third place, had the third-highest difficulty score in the all-around final field and had just helped the United States win gold in the team competition, Lee spent much of Thursday telling others she wouldn’t medal in the all-around. She walked out of Bercy Arena with her fifth Olympic medal in hand.
Carlos Alcaraz one win away from becoming youngest men’s singles gold medalist
PARIS — Carlos Alcaraz moved one win away from becoming the youngest man to win an Olympics tennis singles gold medal by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 in the Paris Games semifinals on Friday.
Alcaraz is a 21-year-old from Spain who already owns four Grand Slam titles — including in June at Roland Garros, the clay-court facility being used for tennis at the 2024 Games — and is about a month younger than Vincent Richards of the U.S. was when he claimed the gold in Paris in 1924.
With dozens of spectators waving red-and-yellow Spanish flags at Court Philippe Chatrier or yelling “Vamos, Carlos!” on a cloudy afternoon — and a soundtrack provided during breaks in the action by a brass band in the stands — Alcaraz was dominant and never faced a break point.
Auger-Aliassime is a 23-year-old Canadian whose best showing at a major tournament was a semifinal appearance at the 2021 U.S. Open. Auger-Aliassime made it to that round back then when Alcaraz, just 18 at the time, stopped playing in the second set of their quarterfinal because of an injured leg muscle.
The Alcaraz on display during his Olympics debut is a much more finished product, someone who has won 12 consecutive matches at Roland Garros and collected a second consecutive title at Wimbledon last month, too.
Alcaraz defeated 24-time Slam champion Novak Djokovic in both of those finals at the All England Club, and there could be a rematch for the men’s gold on Sunday. That’s because Djokovic, a 37-year-old from Serbia, was scheduled to face Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in Friday’s second Olympic semifinal.
China’s swimming doping controversy making waves at Paris Olympics — and in Washington
PARIS — The swimming competition at the 2024 Summer Games will conclude with four medal races Sunday, but that won’t quash a geopolitical tug-of-war that has erupted at the pool.
An ongoing scandal involving Chinese swimmers and a slew of failed drug tests has U.S. authorities openly bickering with their international counterparts and with Olympic leadership. Salt Lake City has been dragged into the mess too.
An American official described it as “playing a game of ping-pong with media bullets.”
It all began last spring when the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported that 23 members of the Chinese swim team had failed drug tests in early 2021 but were allowed to continue competing, with several winning medals at the Tokyo Games.
Katie Ledecky preparing to make more history in Paris
NANTERRE, France — Katie Ledecky advanced to the finals of the women’s 800-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics with a chance to make even more history.
With a victory Saturday, Ledecky would join fellow American Michael Phelps as the only swimmers — of any gender and from any country — to win four gold medals in the same event.
Ledecky had the fastest time in the morning heats (8 minutes, 16.62 seconds) on Friday and will swim the 800 final Saturday, when she will be an overwhelming favorite for gold.
She is the record holder at the distance with a time of 8:04.79.
Ledecky first won this event in the 2012 London Olympics. Phelps won the 200 individual medley four times.
“I try not to really think about it,” Ledecky said Friday. “Just taking it one event at a time and I know I have challenges in each of my events.”
“When it’s all said and done, I’ll enjoy it,” she added.
Japan’s Rui Hachimura exits Olympic Games because of a calf injury
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — The Paris Olympics are over early for Japan’s Rui Hachimura.
Japan’s basketball federation said in a statement Friday morning that Hachimura will sit out its game against Brazil because of a left calf injury.
The team said that Hachimura felt discomfort in his calf fallowing Japan’s 94-90 overtime loss to France on Tuesday. He received an MRI confirming an injury to his gastrocnemius muscle. He has since left the team.
“As my injury required early treatment, I was unfortunately unable to accompany the team in accordance with NBA/FIBA rules,” Hachimura, who plays for the Lakers, said in a statement. “I would like to thank all the spectators who supported me at the venue, basketball fans around the world, and all the fans in Japan. I think that together with my teammates, we played a very good game for Japanese basketball. I am proud to have been able to play as a member of Akatsuki Japan.”
Hachimura played 29 minutes in the loss to France, scoring a game-high 24 points
Japan is 0-2 in group play. The winner of its matchup with Brazil (0-2) will finish third in Group B. The loser will be eliminated from the tournament.
U.S. women’s fencing conquers nerves, upsets Italy to win historic gold in team foil
PARIS — It was Lauren Scruggs’ job to anchor the U.S. team, to score a few more points, but she was struggling. Glancing off to the side, she could see her teammates watching, worried.
Man, she thought, I don’t want to be that person.
The person who lets a big lead slip away. The person who blows her country’s first chance at gold in a team fencing event.
“Yeah, I was super stressed,” Scruggs said. “It would suck to lose that way, you know?”
U.S. Olympian couldn’t pay her rent. Flavor Flav and Alexis Ohanian took care of it
Veronica Fraley is scheduled to compete at the Paris Olympics for the first time Friday.
So now probably is not a good time for distractions — like, say, rent being due back home in Nashville and not having the funds to cover it.
Luckily, hip-hop pioneer Flavor Flav, billionaire Alexis Ohanian and others have Fraley covered.
Fraley was a second-year graduate student at Vanderbilt University when she won the NCAA discus championship while setting a school record with her throw of 208 feet and 10 inches in Eugene, Ore., in June. She made the U.S. national team in the event several weeks later at the Olympic trials.
U.S. women’s basketball advances to quarterfinals, extends 57-game Olympic win streak
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Breanna Stewart scored 26 points and the U.S. beat Belgium 87-74 on Thursday night, clinching a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals.
A’ja Wilson added 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Americans, who have a 57-game Olympic winning streak that dates to the 1992 Barcelona Games. This was one of the closer games during the historic run of seven consecutive gold medals. Only three contests have been single-digit victories.
The Americans (2-0) faced a loud, spirited pro-Belgium crowd that made up most of the 25,044 in attendance. The arena is about 30 minutes away from the country’s border. The two teams met in a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in February in Belgium and the U.S. needed a tip-in from Stewart at the buzzer to come away with that win.
On Thursday, Belgium once again tested the Americans like few teams have done during their unprecedented Olympic run.
Katie Ledecky becomes most decorated U.S. female Olympian with freestyle relay silver
Katie Ledecky helped the Americans win silver in the 4x-200-meter freestyle relay and made history in the process.
With her 13th medal, Ledecky became the most decorated U.S. female Olympian of all time.
Australia (7:38.08) took the gold, well ahead of the U.S. (7.40.86). The Americans were expected to be locked in a battle with China (7:42.34) for silver, but they finished second by a comfortable margin and the Chinese took the bronze.
During her penultimate race of the Paris Olympics, Ledecky broke the mark she shared with fellow Americans Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin and Jenny Thompson. The 27-year-old now has eight golds, four silvers and one bronze over four Olympics, with every intention of swimming on to Los Angeles in 2028.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kate Douglass wins gold in 200 breaststroke
Kate Douglass brought home gold Thursday for an American team that has endured a whole bunch of runner-up finishes.
Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh romped to victory in the 200-meter butterfly, dealing American Regan Smith a familiar silver-medal finish.
But Douglass put the U.S. on the top of the podium in the 200 breaststroke, a race that essentially served as a changing of the guard.
Longtime American star Lilly King, competing in her final Olympics, finished last in the final. She made her way over several lane ropes to give a hug to Douglass, one of the world’s most versatile swimmers and now a gold medalist.
It was the fourth swimming gold for the world’s most dominant swimming nation, to go along with 10 silver medals and six bronzes.
Simone Biles wins gold again, claiming the Paris Olympics all-around gymnastics title
PARIS — Simone Biles walked off the floor with both arms extended over her head extending one finger on each hand toward the crowd.
Again, she is No. 1.
Stop what you’re doing right NOW and watch Simone Biles on floor! 🐐 #ParisOlympics
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/yAKPJ9PVEh
The greatest gymnast in history reclaimed the Olympic title Thursday at Bercy Arena, becoming the first woman to win multiple Olympic all-around gold medals since 1968 and the oldest female Olympic champion since 1952.
When Biles landed her final tumbling pass, securing her sixth Olympic gold medal, U.S. teammate Suni Lee jumped in the air and clapped her hands over her head. The returning Olympic all-around champion took bronze, finishing her competition with a clutch floor routine that moved her onto the podium for the first time all night. When Biles’ final score of 59.131 was announced, both Americans climbed onto the floor podium each holding a corner of the U.S. flag.
Algerian boxer who had gender test issue wins first Olympic fight
VILLEPINTE, France — Imane Khelif of Algeria won her opening Olympic boxing bout Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy quit after just 46 seconds.
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, and her presence at the Paris Olympics has become a divisive issue.
Carini and Khelif exchanged only a few punches before Carini walked away and abandoned the bout — an extremely unusual occurrence in Olympic boxing. Carini’s headgear apparently became dislodged at least once before she quit. Carini didn’t shake Khelif’s hand after the decision was announced but cried in the ring on her knees.
Afterward, a still-tearful Carini said she quit because of intense pain in her nose after the opening punches. Carini, who had a spot of blood on her trunks, said she wasn’t making a political statement and was not refusing to fight Khelif.
“I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough,’ because I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to, I couldn’t finish the match,” Carini said.
Carini further said she is not qualified to decide whether Khelif should be allowed to compete, but she had no problem fighting her.
“I am not here to judge or pass judgment,” Carini said. “If an athlete is this way, and in that sense it’s not right or it is right, it’s not up to me to decide. I just did my job as a boxer. I got into the ring and fought. I did it with my head held high and with a broken heart for not having finished the last kilometer.”
Khelif is an accomplished amateur who won a silver medal at the International Boxing Association’s 2022 world championships. The same governing body disqualified her from last year’s championships shortly before her gold-medal match because of what it claimed were elevated levels of testosterone.
The 25-year-old entered the ring at the North Paris Arena to a chorus of cheers, but the crowd was confused by the bout’s sudden end. Khelif, who fights again Saturday, didn’t speak to reporters.
“I am heartbroken because I am a fighter,” Carini said. “My father taught me to be a warrior. I have always stepped into the ring with honor and I have always (served) my country with loyalty. And this time I couldn’t do it because I couldn’t fight anymore, and so I ended the match.”
Khelif and Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan suddenly have received massive scrutiny for their presence in Paris after years of amateur competition. Lin won IBA world championships in 2018 and 2022, but the governing body stripped her of a bronze medal last year because it claimed she failed to meet unspecified eligibility requirements in a biochemical test.
Lee Kiefer and U.S. win their first gold in women’s team foil
PARIS — Lee Kiefer became the first American fencer to win three Olympic gold medals as the U.S. got its first-ever team fencing gold in women’s foil at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
The team of two-time individual gold medalist Kiefer, silver medalist Lauren Scruggs, Jacqueline Dubrovich and Maia Weintraub held on for a 45-39 win over Italy in the final.
Scruggs faced a late rally from Italy’s Arianna Errigo, who cut an eight-point U.S. lead to three, but the 21-year-old took the next three points to close out the win and celebrated with a shout of delight.
Weintraub, the U.S. team’s alternate, was substituted into the final and immediately faced Italy’s most experienced fencer, the 2012 gold medalist Errigo. That didn’t faze Weintraub, who went 6-4 against Errigo and 11-5 from her two matchups.
Kiefer earlier turned around the semifinal bout against Canada, going a combined 23-12 in her three matchups, including 13-4 against 16-year-old Yunjia Zhang when the U.S. had been four points down. The U.S. won 45-39.
The U.S. now has four fencing medals at the Paris Olympics and two gold medals in fencing at the same Olympics for the first time, as well as a first-ever team gold for the U.S.
An American fencer, Albertson Van Zo Post, won two gold medals at the 1904 St. Louis Games but one of those was a team event in which he competed alongside two Cuban fencers. That medal is officially considered a “mixed team” win, not a U.S. gold.
Japan won its first women’s fencing medal of the Paris Olympics with a 33-32 win over Canada in the bronze-medal bout.
Iga Swiatek loses to Zheng Qinwen in Olympic semifinals
PARIS — Iga Swiatek lost to Zheng Qinwen of China 6-2, 7-5 in the Paris Olympics semifinals Thursday, a surprising setback for the No. 1-ranked woman and champion at the French Open four of the past five years.
The result was hard to predict for several reasons. Swiatek entered the day with a 6-0 edge in their head-to-head matchups. She has led the WTA rankings for nearly every week since April 2022, while Zheng is No. 7. Plus, just when Swiatek appeared to be getting back into the match with a 4-0 lead in the second set, she faltered.
The really stunning part? Swiatek is as good as it gets on red clay and at this particular place. The 23-year-old from Poland has been dominant at Roland Garros, the facility used for the annual French Open and the site for tennis during these Summer Games.
Afterward, Swiatek didn’t take any questions from print reporters in the mixed zone area for interviews. Her face flushed and eyes red, Swiatek did not break stride as she passed journalists, saying only: “Sorry. Next time.”
The 21-year-old Zheng, the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open in January, assured China of its first singles medal in Olympic tennis since the sport returned to the Games in 1988.
Extreme weather hits Paris, highlighting Olympics’ vulnerability to climate change
PARIS — The thermometer read 95 degrees but down on the beach volleyball court, with all that gleaming white sand, it felt like 102. The players used a short break to towel off and guzzle water.
“It was really, really hot,” Carolina Solberg Salgado said. “I was trying not to think of how [uncomfortable] I was.”
As she and her Brazilian teammate resumed their match against a Lithuanian duo, cheering erupted in a corner of the Eiffel Tower Stadium — a venue worker had stretched a rubber hose into the stands and was spraying the fans.
“It was great,” said Sean McKinnon of Toronto. “He hit full-pressure in the face of the poor girl next to us, but I think she appreciated it.
Kanak Jha makes U.S. Olympic history in men’s table tennis
PARIS — Kanak Jha secured the U.S. its best Olympic run in men’s table tennis by reaching the last 16 at the Paris Games on Wednesday, while the shock of the tournament came when world No. 1 Wang Chuqin of China lost to 26th-ranked Truls Moregard of Sweden.
Jha, the 120th-ranked player in the world, beat Panagiotis Gionis of Greece 4-2 to top Jimmy Butler’s round-of-32 appearance at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
“We’re just taking one match at a time, and not thinking about the first ever or whatever,” U.S. men’s team coach Mark Hazinski said.
The 24-year-old Jha, who prepared for the Games with help from GoFundMe, said he was “feeling relieved.”
“The match was very tough,” he said. “He came back 3-2, if it had gone to seven sets, it would be in [his] advantage.”
Jha later lost 4-0 to Tokyo silver medalist Fan Zhendong.
The major upset came when Wang lost 4-2 to Moregard in their round-of-32 match. Wang had won the gold in mixed doubles Tuesday.
“I definitely felt very down coming off the court,” the 24-year-old Wang said. “I had such a high yesterday from winning the mixed doubles gold. To go from that to this low, I guess this is what competitive sport is about. It’s all on me, I didn’t have the ability to win today. I wasn’t enough, I’ve got to go back to reflect.”
The 22-year-old Moregard, who is not even the highest ranked player in Sweden, later defeated Kao Cheng-Jui 4-1 to continue his dream run and reach the quarterfinals.
Canada women’s soccer advances despite drone cheating scandal
Vanessa Gilles scored in the 62nd minute to give Canada a 1-0 victory over Colombia and send the team into the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics on Wednesday despite losing six points in the tournament because of a drone-spying scandal.
Canada will face Germany in a quarterfinals Saturday in Marseille.
Earlier in the day, the defending Olympic champions lost their bid to overturn the FIFA-ordered points deduction for filming an opponent’s practice in France.
Canada, which won its first two matches but earned no points from those victories, went into Wednesday’s match against Colombia in Nice in need of a win to stand a chance of advancing.
For U.S. soccer, a winning hand thus far in both Olympic tournaments. What comes next?
PARIS — The Olympics opened in Paris a week ago, but neither the men’s nor women’s U.S. soccer teams have seen the Eiffel Tower yet. That could change this weekend when both come to the French capital for quarterfinal matches, the men with Morocco on Friday and the women against Japan on Saturday.
For the men, playing in the Olympic tournament for the first time in 16 years, the trip to the knockout round is just their second since 1956 — before the Olympics became an age-group tournament — while their two wins is already the most ever in the Summer Games.
“They are a very, very good group. A group that has amazing connections between them,” coach Marko Mitrovic said. “It’s a pleasure to work with them every day. They are so mature. We have a lot of fun, but when it comes to the field they are ready to go full, full.”
U.S. men’s basketball advances with win over South Sudan
The U.S. needed a late bucket to beat South Sudan during an exhibition game before the Paris Olympics.
They had no such trouble on Wednesday.
Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and was one of six players with double-figure scoring during a 103-86 win in Lille.
The American advance to the quarterfinals after winning two games, but they will still complete one more in group play at 8:15 a.m. PDT Saturday against Puerto Rico. The game will air on NBC.
Katie Ledecky wins gold in 1,500-meter freestyle
Katie Ledecky extended her streak to 37.
Ledecky won her 37th consecutive 1,500-meter freestyle race, clinching gold at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday with an Olympic-record time of 15:30.02.
France’s Anastasiia Kirpichinikova finished nearly half a lap behind Ledecky to claim silver in 15:40.35. Germany’s Isabel Gose took bronze at 15:41.16.
“I’m proud of the time,” she said during an NBC interview after the race. “... I kind of let my mind wander during the race, thinking of all the people that have trained with me. I was kind of like saying their names in my head and thinking about them. To my Florida crew, all those Florida boys who pushed me every day, I love you guys.”
It was her 12th Olympic medal, tying the record for the most ever by a female swimmer.
“I’m just so honored to represent our country,” Ledecky told NBC when asked about the record. “Those women that have set the standard for so many years have inspired me.”
The victory could be a morale boost for a U.S. swim team that has picked up mostly silver and bronze medals, with gold proving to be elusive. Ledecky took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle earlier in the Games and celebrated more than usual when she broke through with a dominant gold-medal win Wednesday.
Simply the greatest. 🙌
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 31, 2024
Katie Ledecky adds another gold medal to her legendary career achievements.#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/skbxzj1CAj
Frederick Richard, Paul Juda gain experience but no medals during men’s all-around competition
This won’t be the end of Frederick Richard. The Olympic rookie will promise that.
The Michigan star didn’t challenge for the men’s all-around podium as he hoped Wednesday at Bercy Arena, falling during his first routine and finishing 15th, but as he clasped his hands together in gratitude, he had the look of a man ready for more on home soil in four years.
“A perfect story is kind of boring sometimes,” said Richard, 20. “I gained a lot from this competition in successes and in failures. I’m going to go back to the gym extremely hungry, I’m not satisfied with whatever I got here. … I had a lot of fun this whole week of competition and I’m going to be here for a while, that’s all I know.”
Two days after helping the United States to its first team Olympic medal since 2008, Richard and teammate Paul Juda were exhausted from the emotional and physical recovery of their historic team medal. Juda finished 14th in the final, a result he will not let his Michigan teammate forget, Richard admitted begrudgingly.
Juda capped his competition with a strong pommel horse routine and as he wound up for his dismount, he said out loud while his legs swung in circles, “Oh my God, I did it. I did it. I did it.”
He stuck the landing, and before walking off the Olympic podium for the last time in Paris, Juda bent down and kissed the horse. He clutched his chest in relief.
“Like 12 out of 10,” Juda said of the Olympic experience. “The best experience of my life.”
Japan won a fourth consecutive men’s Olympic all-around title, but it came from an unexpected source. Instead of defending Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto, it was 20-year-old Shinnosuke Oka who raised his flag to the crowd at the center of the floor. The first-time Olympian edged Chinese favorite Zhang Boheng, who fell on floor during the first rotation but nearly completed the comeback until he overarched a handstand on high bar in the last rotation. Zhang settled for silver, just 0.233 points behind Oka. China’s Xiao Ruoteng won bronze.
After becoming the youngest U.S. man to win a world all-around medal when he took bronze last year, Richard has been taking notes from the top teams in the world during major international competitions. He’s eyeing their impeccable technique that allows them to win competitions even with average performances. If he can get to that level, then he knows that if he’s having a good day, then he can blow away the competition the way the U.S. women’s team has.
“My goal is not to just make it to the Olympics,” Richard said. “My goal is to get to the top.”
U.S. lacked talent and was lazy? No, Simone Biles trolls MyKayla Skinner after team won gold
Simone Biles seems to have gotten the last word in a beef with former U.S. gymnastics teammate MyKayla Skinner following Team USA’s gold medal in the team competition Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.
Biles took to Instagram and said current U.S. teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera had a “lack of talent” and described them as “lazy.”
Of course, the legendary gymnast didn’t mean any of it, until she got to the third part — “olympic champions.”
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula eliminated in Olympic doubles
PARIS — Coco Gauff lost in women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, a day after her tearful exit in singles.
Gauff and her U.S. teammate, Jessica Pegula, were the top-seeded women’s pair but were eliminated in the second round by the Czech duo Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 in a match tiebreaker.
On Tuesday, Gauff was defeated by Donna Vekic of Croatia in straight sets in the third round of singles, where the American was seeded second. Gauff got into an argument with the chair umpire close to the finish of that match over an officiating decision.
Even after the two setbacks, Gauff still had something to play for in Paris, where she was one of the U.S. flag bearers during last week’s opening ceremony and had hoped to head home with three medals. She was scheduled to play in mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz later Wednesday.
Gauff arrived in France as one of the biggest stars in her, or any, sport.
The 20-year-old from Florida won her first Grand Slam singles championship at the U.S. Open last September, and she collected her first major doubles title at the French Open in June — although not with Pegula, who was out injured, but with Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
Olympic breakout star Ilona Maher aims to shatter stereotypes about women athletes
PARIS — The Americans’ stunning bronze-medal win in women’s rugby sevens Tuesday was so big even Ilona Maher didn’t know what to say.
And given that she’s the rugby player with the largest social-media following in the world, for Maher to be saying little says a lot.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Maher said after the U.S. overcame a five-point deficit to Australia in the closing seconds to win on Alex “Spiff” Sedrick’s nearly 100-yard dash to a try, followed by her two-point conversion kick after time had expired. “I’m so tired but I’m so excited.”
Maher, a two-time Olympian who chased Sedrick across the goal line, has attracted a massive social-media following with viral videos that champion body positivity, women’s empowerment and offer humorous takes on her life as a world-class athlete.
Hannah Roberts crashes out of BMX park final; Perris Benegas earns silver
PARIS — Hannah Roberts watched China’s Deng Yawen put together a brilliant run in the freestyle BMX competition at the Paris Olympics, and in the ultimate game of one-upmanship, the five-time world champion from the United States knew she had to go bigger.
She went plenty big. She just couldn’t finish.
Roberts wound up crashing on a front flip late in her first run Wednesday, and was only seconds into her second when she put her foot down on the landing. That left the heavy favorite out of the medals entirely, and left Deng on the top step of the podium along with silver medalist Perris Benegas of the U.S. and bronze medalist Natalya Diehm of Australia.
“It was just a lot mentally, a lot of pressure I put on myself,” said Roberts, who may have been feeling the effects of a hard crash in practice. “There’s a lot of things that can go wrong in a very short amount of time and today just wasn’t my day.”
Deng finished with a score of 92.60 points at the urban sports park built at Place de La Concorde. Benegas rose to the occasion after a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games to score 90.70. Diehm was a surprising third with 88.80.
Charlotte Worthington of Britain, the defending champion, failed to qualify for the finals, ensuring a new Olympic gold medalist as the freestyle version of BMX made its second appearance at the Summer Games.
Right place, right time: The story behind the viral surfing photo from the Paris Olympics
Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina had just made Olympic surfing history, receiving a score of 9.9 out of a possible 10 points during the third round of competition Monday at the Paris Games.
Standing with other photographers on a nearby boat off the coast of Teahupo’o, Tahiti, where the surfing competition is being held, Jerome Brouillet knew what was coming next ... at least to a certain extent.
The veteran sports photographer who had shot Medina several times in the past had a feeling the surfer was going to strike a victory pose.
Jamaican star Shericka Jackson will not run in the 100 meters
PARIS — Shericka Jackson of Jamaica said Wednesday she will not run in the 100 meters when Olympic track starts, clearing away one of the sprinters who had been expected to give Sha’Carri Richardson her toughest competition in the sport’s marquee event.
Jackson did not go into details when she confirmed she would focus only on the 200, which is typically her better event.
The opening round for the women’s 100 is Friday at the Stade de France.
Jackson pulled up with a leg cramp at an Olympic tuneup race in Hungary earlier this month, but her coach, Stephen Francis, told the Jamaica Gleaner website this week that “she appears OK to me.”
Sha’Carri Richardson earns a spot in the Paris Olympics, winning the 100-meter final in a season-best time of 10.71 seconds at the U.S. track and field trials.
Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah is not at the Olympics, also dealing with injuries. Another Jamaican, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, is competing in her fifth and final Games. She has two gold medals at 100 meters, in 2008 and 2012.
Richardson is the reigning world champion at 100 meters.
Canada loses points-reduction appeal amid spying scandal
PARIS — Canada lost its appeal against the deduction of six competition points following a drone-spying scandal in the Olympic women’s soccer tournament.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday said its panel of three judges dismissed Canada’s appeal and confirmed the six-point deduction imposed Saturday by FIFA.
Two assistant coaches used drones to spy on New Zealand’s practices last week before their opening game.
The urgent verdict was delivered less than eight hours before defending Olympic champion Canada was scheduled to play Colombia at Nice in the final round of games in Group A.
Amid reports Canada’s national soccer teams have secretly filmed their opponents, it’s fair to wonder if their recent rise is fueled by cheating.
Canada was third in the standings with zero points despite winning both its games, against New Zealand and France.
Canada can still advance to the quarterfinals with a win Wednesday that would lift the team into first or second place. The top two in each of the three groups advance, plus two third-placed teams.
Coach Bev Priestman and her two assistants were banned by FIFA for a year after being removed from the Olympics by Canadian officials.
Triathletes swim in the Seine River after days of water quality concerns
Olympic triathletes dove into the Seine River on Wednesday after organizers declared the water in Paris safe for swimming following days of concerns about elevated bacteria levels caused by heavy rains last week.
The women jumped into the river near the majestic Pont Alexandre III around 8 a.m., with steady rain tapering off just as the athletes splashed into the water. Some dunked their swim goggles in the Seine before putting them on and heading into the river with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The men followed just under three hours later.
The decision to go ahead with the swim for the triathlon competitions was a big deal for the city, Olympics organizers and the athletes. Officials undertook an ambitious plan, including 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in infrastructure improvements, to clean up the long-polluted Seine. They had been steadfast in their insistence that the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming events could safely be held in the river.
After days of uncertainty following rain on Friday and Saturday, organizers said early Wednesday that the latest tests of the water showed compliance with quality standards. They couldn’t contain their delight that their gamble of holding Olympic events in the long-toxic river was paying off.
“It’s magic,” said chief Paris Games organizer Tony Estanguet, speaking to French television. “It’s a very important legacy for Parisians to be able to swim from next year in the Seine.”
Last U.S. Olympic 10,000-meter winner believes Grant Fisher can win the race in Paris
PARIS — Billy Mills is the only member of one of the most exclusive clubs in U.S. track and field history.
When he dashed away from a deep field to win the 10,000 meters on a dirt track in the 1964 Tokyo Games, Mills became the first American to win a gold medal in the longest track event in the Olympics. No one, male or female, has matched that since.
The 86-year-old Mills expects that drought to end Friday.
“We have a runner in the 10K this year who I believe has that total gift of focus and talent,” Mills said. “I am excited.”
U.S. racks up swimming medals, but few are gold
Through four days at La Defense Arena, the mighty U.S. team has won a bunch of medals — 15 in all — but only two of them are gold.
Seven silvers and six bronzes round out the tally.
The Americans reached the medal podium in all three events Tuesday night, but each time it was in the runner-up spot (with a bronze medal thrown into the mix, as well).
Regan Smith fell to her Australian rival Kaylee McKeown, who captured her second straight Olympic gold in the women’s 100-meter backstroke.
Smith was the world-record holder after a dazzling performance at the U.S. trials last month, but it was McKeown coming out on top in the race that really mattered.
“I knew it was going to be such a fight,” Smith said. “Kaylee is an exceptional competitor,”
The Americans also claimed the bronze with Katharine Berkoff, the daughter of four-time Olympic medalist David Berkoff.
“Everyone wants to win,” the third-place finisher said. “That’s the goal. It’s such a tight field, so I knew it was going to be tough.”
It was more of the same in the men’s 800 freestyle, where defending Olympic champion Bobby Finke came up just short. Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen captured his country’s first swimming gold medal since 1996.
“I’d be lying If I said I wasn’t disappointed,” Finke said. “I was the first loser. It always stings to not be able to defend your title.”
In the final event of the night, the Americans claimed yet another silver in the men’s 4x200 freestyle relay, with Britain winning its second straight Olympic gold in that event.
“We are always rooting for gold,” said Drew Kibler, a member of the U.S. relay team. “That is the American standard.”
It was certainly an improvement on the same race in Tokyo, when the Americans missed a medal with a shocking fourth-place showing.
“It is a really special thing to be on that podium. It was really tough missing that podium a few years ago,” Kibler said. “But we are always shooting for gold.”
While the Americans have nearly twice as many medals as any other nation, they trail rival Australia in the race for shiniest color.
The swimmers from Down Under have four victories and eight medals overall.
“The thing that is most important is that we are pushing the sport in the right direction,” Smith said. “Our rivalry is great for attention in the sport. We have so much respect for each other.”
U.S. falls to Serbia in 3x3 men’s basketball during disappointing Olympics debut
PARIS — The U.S. men’s debut in Olympic 3x3 basketball at the Paris Games was one to forget.
The Americans fell to Serbia 22-14 on Tuesday night in their opening game of these Olympics after failing to qualify for the Tokyo Games.
Marko Brankovic had eight points and Strahinja Stojacic added seven, including a 2-pointer that ended it with 2:34 remaining, to lead Serbia, the bronze medal finisher in Tokyo.
The U.S. brought in former NBA player Jimmer Fredette after not qualifying for the last Olympics. But he managed just four points in the rout.
Kareem Maddox made a 2-pointer with about three minutes remaining to cut the lead to 18-14. But Dejan Majstorovic made 2-point shot before Dylan Travis missed for the U.S. to set up Stojacic’s game-winner.
Serbia didn’t miss a 1-point shot, making all 12 attempts, while the U.S. made just 10 of 16 of those opportunities, including an a miss by Fredette on a wide-open layup.
Maddox had six points to lead the United States. Canyon Barry, who works as a scientist for a defense contractor, added two points and a rebound. He is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry.
Neither team talked to reporters after the game because of the threat of severe storms that were expected in the area.
Protestors disrupt soccer matches
A fan had to be wrestled away from Guinea forward Aliou Balde after rushing the field Tuesday in another security incident during the Olympic men’s soccer tournament.
The man raced onto the pitch at the end of the United States’ 3-0 win over Guinea at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne.
The same venue was the scene of violence and chaos when Morocco fans ran onto the field and threw bottles in their team’s win against Argentina, which was suspended for around two hours with just minutes remaining.
Security pounced on the Guinea fan and struggled for about one minute to pull him away from Balde, who was unhurt.
Balde emerged from the scrum, removed his shirt and then gave it to the fan, who was still being restrained on the ground.
“He say (to) me, ‘I love you and I watch you every game,’” Balde told The Associated Press. “I think he deserved this because he come in the pitch. For me it’s nice to do. It is not easy.
“I gave it to him. It’s so nice for him.”
Victory for the U.S. secured its place in the quarterfinals of the Olympics for the first time since Sydney 2000. It will play Morocco on Friday.
Guinea was eliminated after three straight defeats.
Also Tuesday, a man holding a Palestinian flag invaded the pitch during Morocco’s game against Iraq in Nice. Morocco won 3-0. He was swiftly removed by police. Several dozen riot police were then deployed along the field to prevent further incidents.
‘We just made history’: U.S. women’s rugby sevens revel in bronze-medal showing
PARIS — Every four years the world pauses for two weeks to cheer on rowers, fencers, archers and weightlifters, who win and lose in anonymity for most of their careers.
But one moment of brilliance during that narrow window can change the trajectory of a sport or an athlete forever. Think Nadia Comaneci on the balance beam, Dick Fosbury flopping to victory in the high jump or Shun Fujimoto sticking his dismount from rings on a shattered knee.
For the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team, that moment may have come Tuesday at a sold-out Stade de France stadium when replacement Spiff Sedrick burst out of a crowd of defenders and raced nearly 100 yards as time expired to tie the score. She then added the two-point conversion, giving the Americans a stunning 14-12 win over Australia and their first-ever Olympic medal, a bronze.
“We just made history,” teammate Ariana Ramsey said. “We just beat the second-best team in the world. That’s insane. It’s groundbreaking. Everything about this game was groundbreaking.
Bobby Finke earns silver in 800-meter freestyle
Bobby Finke earned a silver medal in the 800-meter freestyle race Tuesday.
Finke rallied to finsih with a time of 7:38.75. Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen held off Finke’s charge and took gold (7:38.19), while Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri claimed bronze (7:39.39).
It was Finke’s third Olympic medal and adds to the U.S. swim team’s haul.
Bobby Finke's valiant comeback comes up just short of gold, but he earns SILVER in the 800m free! 💪
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024
📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/WeKAUx0G0e
US men’s soccer team reaches Olympic quarterfinals for first time since 2000
Kevin Paredes scored two goals as the United States advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic men’s soccer tournament for the first time since Sydney 2000 by beating Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday.
Victory in Saint-Etienne ended a 24-year wait for the U.S. to reach the knockout phase and it will play Morocco in the quarterfinals in Paris on Friday.
First-half goals from Djordje Mihailovic and Paredes put the Americans on course for the next round. Paredes sealed the win with his second after the break.
The U.S. advanced in second place behind Group A winner France, which beat New Zealand 3-0.
France plays Argentina in the quarterfinals in a repeat of the World Cup final in 2022. The game is in Bordeaux on Friday.
Simone Biles leads dominant U.S. to gold in Olympic gymnastics team competition
PARIS — Fans at Bercy Arena wore white T-shirts with the Olympic rings printed across the front. Each ring featured a photo of a U.S. gymnast inside. Underneath, there was a single word: “Redemption.”
This felt like more. It was relief. It was a release.
It was gold.
U.S. women pull off dramatic rally to earn first medal in rugby
The U.S. edged Australia 14-12 to earn bronze for its first Olympic medal in rugby sevens, adding to a big statement for the North American teams four years before the Olympics are staged in L.A.
The Australians were leading 12-7 with seconds remaining and deep in U.S. territory. The ball went to Alex Sedrick and she bumped off two tacklers before racing all the way to the other end to score and spark jubilation for the Americans.
The U.S. women reached the Olympic semifinals for the first time and lost to defending champion New Zealand. That made the playoff for a third a case of winning a medal or going home without.
The Americans rushed onto the field to celebrate the 14-12 victory and Ilona Maher, the social media celebrity of these Games, raised both arms up in triumph.
Coco Gauff left in tears after argument with umpire during Olympics loss
PARIS — The scene felt all too familiar to Coco Gauff. An officiating decision she was sure was wrong. A chair umpire who wouldn’t listen. Tears streaming down her cheeks. And, most disappointing of all, a loss, this time at the Paris Olympics.
Even the site was the same: Court Philippe Chatrier was where the reigning U.S. Open champion was eliminated in the third round at the Summer Games by Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-6 (7), 6-2 on Tuesday. That’s also the main stadium used annually for the French Open, where Gauff found herself in a nearly identical dispute over a call while being defeated by eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals last month.
“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,” Gauff said afterward, renewing a call for video review to be used in tennis, as it is in many other professional sports.
“I felt that he called it before I hit, and I don’t think the ref disagreed,” she said. “I think he just thought it didn’t affect my swing, which I felt like it did.”
Gauff is one of the biggest stars at the 2024 Paris Games, a 20-year-old from Florida who was seeded No. 2 at the Olympics in singles and was a flag bearer for the United States during the opening ceremony on Friday.
By the time the disputed call happened two games from the end of the match, Gauff was way behind.
She hit a serve and Vekic’s return landed near the baseline. A line judge initially called Vekic’s shot out; Gauff did not keep the ball in play. Chair umpire Jaume Campistol thought Vekic’s shot landed in and awarded her the point, giving her a service break and a 4-2 lead.
Gauff walked over to talk to the official and play was delayed for several minutes.
“I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball,” Gauff said to Campistol. “It’s not even a perception; it’s the rules.”
She easily won her first two singles matches, dropping a total of just five games. But her first Olympic singles tournament — she is still in women’s doubles and mixed doubles — ended with a performance that was hardly her best on the hottest day of the Summer Games so far, with the heat rising above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
“These points are big deals. Usually afterward, they apologize. So it’s kind of frustrating. The ‘Sorry’ doesn’t help you once the match is over,” Gauff said. “I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point.”
Fencer reveals she competed at Paris Games while seven months pregnant
PARIS — Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed she fought at the Paris Olympics while seven months pregnant.
Hafez posted on Instagram that she was “carrying a little Olympian one” hours after she had reached the round of 16 in women’s saber Monday.
The 26-year-old fencer from Cairo upset Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the United States, a former NCAA champion, before losing to Jeon Hayoung of South Korea.
“My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional,” Hafez wrote. “The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it. I’m writing this post to say that pride fills my being for securing my place in the round of 16!”
A former gymnast with a degree in medicine, Hafez is a three-time Olympian who won gold medals in the individual and team saber events at the 2019 African Games. She finished Monday’s competition officially ranked 16th, her best result in any of her three Olympic appearances.
After soggy start, Paris Olympics now burdened by heat wave
PARIS — The 2024 Olympics famously launched with a rain-soaked opening ceremony that drenched athletes and spectators alike. Now, they’re facing the opposite experience Tuesday: a heat wave.
Most of France is under a heat warning Tuesday, with temperatures in Paris and surrounding areas expected to climb to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, the national weather agency said. Air conditioning is far less common in homes, shops and restaurants than in the United States and some other countries.
The heat was expected to be even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille that is hosting competitions like soccer and sailing. It was as hot as 104 in parts of southern France on Monday and temperatures were expected to be that high again Tuesday.
Back-to-back record global heat was seen last week as climate change makes extreme weather more frequent and intense. Paris 2024 organizers have aimed to cut the event’s carbon footprint, among them turning to an underfloor cooling system and insulation instead of air conditioning at the Olympic village where athletes are staying. Some countries, like the U.S., brought their own.
A handful of water misters were set up at La Concorde urban park, the venue that includes skateboarding and BMX freestyle cycling, and people were already dunking their heads on a warm Monday or cooling off with ice cream.
Equestrian teams have a system to keep their horses cool between competitions held in the regal gardens of the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, spraying their horses with cool water and keeping them in the shade after riding the course.
Meet Team USA gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik: A new hero in glasses
PARIS — Not all heroes wear capes.
This one wears glasses.
Stephen Nedoroscik’s clutch pommel horse routine during Monday’s team final clinched the United States’ first Olympic medal since 2008 and, in the process, launched a thousand internet memes.
OUR ROMAN EMPIRE. 🙌 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/09aD42sLdZ
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024
The bespectacled Olympic bronze medalist has been compared to Clark Kent, a Ken whose job is “horse,” and Steve Rogers before and after being injected with the super serum that turned him into Captain America.
A pommel horse specialist, Nedoroscik cheered on his teammates for two hours during a tense competition at Bercy Arena, carried bags and got water. NBC flashed a countdown clock to his performance. Then on the final routine of the final rotation, he stepped up for a 38-second performance that helped the team make history.
Ryan Murphy learns ‘it’s a girl,’ earns his third 100-meter backstroke Olympic medal
PARIS — Ryan Murphy did something Monday that hasn’t been done for half a century, swimming to a medal in the men’s 100-meter backstroke during a third consecutive Olympics.
But that was only the second-best news he got on the third night of competition at the Paris Games. Because as he was standing near the medal stand, he spotted his pregnant wife in the stands. And she had a message for him.
“I saw Bridget holding up a sign that said ‘Ryan, It’s a Girl’,” he said. “That was a great way to find out. That really lit me up and brought this night to another level.”
Men’s Olympic triathlon postponed amid Seine River water quality concerns
The men’s Olympic triathlon planned for Tuesday has been postponed over concerns about water quality in Paris’ Seine River, where the swimming portion of the race was supposed to take place.
Organizers said they will try to hold the men’s triathlon Wednesday instead. The women’s competition is also scheduled on Wednesday, but both are subject to water tests. A risk of storms in the forecast for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings could complicate rescheduling the events.
Heavy rains generally cause levels of E. coli and other bacteria in the Seine to rise. Paris experienced a downpour during the Olympic opening ceremony Friday, with rain continuing into Saturday. The swimming portion of training events meant to let the triathletes familiarize themselves with the course was canceled on Sunday and Monday because of concerns over water quality.
The decision to postpone the men’s triathlon followed a meeting early Tuesday morning that included the sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team and city officials.
Nyjah Huston content he avenged Tokyo flop by earning bronze in Paris street skate
PARIS — It took Nyjah Huston all of three seconds to fall on his first run at these 2024 Summer Olympics. Scrambling to his feet, he landed a couple of tricks, then fell again. The look on his face said it all.
No. Not again.
As one of the iconic figures in competitive skateboarding, the six-time world champion had faltered at the Tokyo Games three years ago, missing the same trick over and over to finish seventh.
Nearing 30 and no longer the best skater on the U.S. team — that honor arguably goes to Jagger Eaton — Huston came to Paris looking for some measure of redemption in the men’s street competition.
U.S. women’s basketball delivers dominant win over Japan
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — A’ja Wilson scored 24 points and Breanna Stewart added 22 to help the U.S. beat Japan 102-76 on Monday night in the Olympic opener for both teams.
The Americans now have a 56-game Olympic winning streak that dates to the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The last of those victories before Monday also came against Japan when the two teams played for the gold medal in the Tokyo Games three years ago. The U.S. came away with a 90-75 win for its seventh straight gold medal.
Now Monday’s victory tipped off the run to keep that streak going.
A'ja Wilson is too fast, too strong and TOO GOOD.
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2024
📺 @NBCOlympics & @peacock#ParisOlympics
pic.twitter.com/ByhzyGFBlS
U.S. women’s rugby advances, earns shot at first Olympic medal
The charismatic U.S. women’s rugby team is on the cusp of its first Olympic medal.
After falling behind Great Britain 7-0, the Americans rallied to earn a 17-7 win and clinch a spot in the semifinals. The U.S. is now two wins away from gold and one win away from a bronze finish.
The win over Great Britain avenged a painful loss, with the Brits previously knocking the Americans out during the Tokyo Olympics.
Nick Itkin takes bronze in men’s individual foil
Nick Itkin, a Los Angeles native, rallied to reach the top four and eventually won the bronze in men’s individual foil Monday during the Paris Olympics.
Itkin, who won two national titles at Notre Dame, defeated Japan’s Kazuki Iimura 15-12 to clinch his medal.
Itkin was fired up when he won in sudden death over Italy’s Guillaume Bianchi to earn a spot in the final four.
ALL THE EMOTION. 😤
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 29, 2024
American foil fencer Nick Itkin was AMPED after winning in sudden death to advance to the final four! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/GjNg56ZHU7
How the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won its first medal since 2008
PARIS — Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda and Asher Hong stood shoulder to shoulder. Their arms were draped across each other’s backs in a tight line as Stephen Nedoroscik mounted the pommel horse.
When Nedoroscik’s feet touched the mat again, they were all Olympic medalists.
The United States ended a 16-year Olympic medal drought, claiming bronze in the team final on Monday in Bercy Arena. Japan overcame a shocking fall from reigning Olympic all-around champion Hashimoto Daiki on pommel horse to edge out China, which suffered three falls on high bar in the final rotation.
Nedoroscik had waited two hours to perform his single routine of the day. The pommel horse specialist didn’t look fazed, working through efficiently and sending his teammates into a euphoric celebration when he landed his dismount. He raised both fists in the air and wrapped coach Sam Mikulak in a hug. Mikulak lifted Nedoroscik in the air.
Japan’s Yuto Horigome wins gold again in skateboard street; Americans are second and third
PARIS — Japan’s Yuto Horigome is a back-to-back Olympic gold medalist in men’s street skateboarding after scoring a nearly perfect 97.08 on his fifth and final trick Monday to pass Americans Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston.
Horigome finished just 0.1 points ahead of Eaton, who after a brilliant showing settled for silver. Huston took home the bronze three years after a disappointing seventh-place finish in Tokyo, where skateboarding made its Olympic debut.
The 25-year-old Horigome came up empty on his second, third and fourth tricks, then stunned the crowd on his final attempt. Hutson and Eaton each wiped out in his fifth chance, making Horigome an Olympic champion again.
Nyjah Huston is the Michael Jordan of skateboarding, but he flopped in Tokyo. No longer a gold-medal favorite can he find redemption at the Paris Olympics?
Snoop Dogg, who has quickly become one of the celebrity faces of the Paris Games, was in attendance and gave Huston some support. Huston nailed his second run with a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg song playing on the speakers around La Concorde Urban Park.
It did not turn out to be a winning anthem for the U.S. skateboarder, however, after Horigome’s final jump flipped the script at nearly the last minute.
This competition had been scheduled for Saturday, but the same rain that soaked the opening ceremony down the Seine River — then much more overnight and into the morning — caused it to be postponed. It was one of a handful of outdoor events affected over the weekend before skies cleared.
As expected, Simone Biles will compete in all events at Olympic team finals
PARIS — A calf injury isn’t going to slow down Simone Biles.
As anticipated, the American gymnastics star is in the lineup for all four events during Tuesday night’s Olympic team finals.
Hezly Rivera, the youngest member of the entire U.S. Olympic delegation, will not compete in the team final. The 16-year-old was chosen for her expertise on the uneven parallel bars and the balance beam but looked nervous on beam in qualifying. She settled down to finish with a hit routine on bars, but she was the only U.S. gymnast to not make an event final.
Jade Carey will only compete in the vault after falling to qualify in the floor exercise on Sunday. She told Olympics.com she was feeling under the weather all week. She’s the reigning Olympic floor champ.
Simone Biles appears to injure her lower left leg, but the American gymnast still puts in a strong enough performance to lead all-around qualifications.
Biles tweaked her left calf while warming up for the floor exercise during qualifying. She retreated briefly to have the calf taped but then returned and posted the top scores on floor and vault on her way to topping the all-around.
Last week, U.S. team leaders had considered holding Biles out of the uneven bars in team finals to give her a small break during the Games. Instead, Biles will be part of every event during the finals, when three gymnasts from each country compete and all three scores count.
The Americans are heavily favored to win gold after finishing runner-up to Russia in Tokyo three years ago.
The U.S. lineup for the team final:
Vault: Jordan Chiles, Carey, Biles
Uneven bars: Chiles, Biles, Suni Lee
Balance beam: Chiles, Lee, Biles
Floor exercise: Lee, Chiles, Biles
U.S. and Japanese figure skaters will finally get their 2022 medals in Paris
PARIS — U.S. and Japanese figure skaters finally have a date at the Paris Olympics next week to get their Beijing Winter Games medals — exactly 2½ years after they earned them in a team event upended by a Russian doping case.
A presentation ceremony for skating’s team event from February 2022 will be held Aug. 7 in Paris, the International Olympic Committee said Monday.
The U.S. and Japan placed second and third behind Russia, but no team skating medals were awarded in Beijing because Russian teenage star Kamila Valieva within hours was implicated in a doping case that took almost two years to resolve.
The U.S. skaters formally became Olympic champions after Russian appeals seeking to regain the title were dismissed last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The medals will be awarded beneath the Eiffel Tower at the Champions Park site where VIPs watched the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
Valieva was disqualified from the Beijing Olympics and banned for four years by a CAS panel of judges in January.
The latest round of Russian appeals challenged how the International Skating Union amended the Beijing result after the January ruling. That left the Russians in third place and Canada fourth.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the bronze medals would also be presented in Paris. A Canadian appeal claiming the bronze is currently being judged by CAS, which held a hearing on July 22.
Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston top qualifying in men’s street skateboarding
PARIS — Americans Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston were the top qualifiers in the preliminary round of men’s street skateboarding at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
Eaton nailed his second run while Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” played on speakers around La Concorde Urban Park and picked up trick scores of 92.65 and 93.86 to finish first of the 24 skateboarders in the competition. The Arizona native won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Huston was a narrow second after a flawless run that, along with his two best tricks, all scored in the 90s. He tapped his skateboard against the ramp and yelled, “Let’s go!” after essentially sealing his place in the final later Monday.
Japan’s Sora Shirai and Yuto Horigome, the defending gold medalist, were third and fourth. Making his Olympic debut, 14-year-old Japan skateboarder Ginwoo Onodera did not qualify, nor did the third U.S. skateboarder, Chris Joslin, who had an off day.
Argentina’s Matias Dell Olio, Kelvin Hoefler, Canada’s Cordano Russell and Slovakia’s Richard Tury also qualified. Tury’s final trick bumped France fan favorite Vincent Milou out of the top eight.
Where the Paris Olympics medal count stands
Here’s a look at where the Paris Olympics medal count stands as of 1 a.m. PDT Tuesday:
Novak Djokovic defeats Rafael Nadal in what might have been the final match between the rivals
PARIS — Novak Djokovic dominated rival Rafael Nadal at the start, then held off a comeback attempt to win 6-1, 6-4 at the Paris Olympics in the second round Monday, the 60th — and likely last — head-to-head matchup between the two tennis greats.
Djokovic claimed 10 of the initial 11 games, with Nadal nowhere near the skilled and ever-hustling version of himself that won a record 14 French Open trophies on the same red clay at Roland Garros that is hosting Summer Games matches. Instead, Nadal was diminished, showing every bit of his 38 years, and looking like someone who might be ready to head into retirement after playing only sparingly the last two seasons because of a series of injuries, including hip surgery.
Then, suddenly, the indefatigable Nadal got going, making a push to turn this contest competitive, which surely no one — least of all Djokovic — found too surprising. Nadal captured four consecutive games in the second set, including a forehand winner to break to make it 4-all. He raised his left fist, drawing roars from a packed Court Philippe Chatrier crowd that repeatedly tried to encourage him with chants of “Ra-fa! Ra-fa!”
And that’s when Djokovic regained control. He broke right back, pointing to his left ear while walking to the sideline as if to taunt Nadal’s supporters and ask, “Where are your cheers now?” Djokovic then served out the victory.
Telecommunication lines in France damaged by vandalism
PARIS — The French government says multiple telecommunications lines have been hit by acts of vandalism, affecting fiber optic lines and fixed and mobile phone lines as cities around France are hosting events for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The scale of the impact is unclear, as is whether it has affected any Olympic activities. The vandalism came after arson attacks hit train networks around France on Friday, hours before the Olympics opening ceremony.
Marina Ferrari, secretary of state in charge of digital affairs, posted on X on Monday that damage in several regions overnight affected communications networks. She said that led to reduced access to fiber optic lines and fixed and mobile telephone lines.
Paris 2024 Olympics organizers would not immediately comment.
A French police official said at least six of France’s administrative departments were affected, which include the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille, a host of Olympic soccer and sailing competitions.
Telecom operators Bouygues and Free confirmed their services were affected. French media reports said lines operated by provider SFR also were hit. The parent company of Free said its teams were working to restore services.
Free said Monday that an “incident effecting multiple networks is in progress in 11 departments,” including in Marseille.
“All our teams have been mobilized to resolve the situation,” Free said in a statement.
A national investigation is underway into last week’s train sabotage, which disrupted travel for nearly a million passengers in France as well as people in London and in other neighboring countries. Train traffic had largely resumed by Monday.
China moves a step closer to gold sweep in diving
PARIS — With Tom Daley out of the way, China is another step closer to an unprecedented sweep at the Olympic diving pool.
Lian Junjie and Yang Hao breezed to gold in the 10-meter synchronized platform event Monday to give the Big Red Machine its second straight gold medal of the Paris Games.
The three-time reigning world champions finished with a whopping 490.35 points, receiving several perfect 10s from the judges and no marks lower than 8.0. They nailed their final dive, forward 4½ somersaults in the tuck position, to clinch the gold.
Before the final marks were even posted — all 9.0s and 9.5s — the Chinese coaches were hugging and celebrating. Fans waved Chinese flags in the stands at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in suburban Saint-Denis.
China, which has dominated the sport in the post-Greg Louganis era, is trying to become the first country to claim every diving gold medal since synchro was added in 2000, doubling the program from four to eight events.
Since that expansion, China has won 40 of 50 golds, including seven of eight at each of the last two Summer Games.
Triathlon training called off again because of Seine water quality concerns
PARIS — Concerns about the water quality in the Seine River led officials to call off the swimming portion of an Olympic triathlon training session for a second straight day Monday.
Organizers overseeing the event at the Paris Games are optimistic that triathletes will be able to swim in the city’s famed waterway when the competition starts Tuesday.
The sport’s governing body, World Triathlon, its medical team and city officials are banking on sunny weather and higher temperatures to bring the bacteria levels below the necessary limits to stage the swim portion of the race, which also includes biking and running.
World Triathlon made the decision to cancel the swim workout early Monday following a meeting over water quality in the Seine, which is closely linked to the weather. Rain deluged Friday’s opening ceremony and showers persisted Saturday, forcing some tennis matches and the skateboarding competition to be canceled.
The representatives for Paris 2024 and the triathlon international federation said tests conducted in the Seine on Sunday showed water quality levels leading into the training session that “did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held.” The delegation blamed the recent rain.
French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra told French news channel CNEWS on Monday that officials are “absolutely serene about all of this.” The plans they put in place to control bacteria levels in the river have been effective, but the weather is beyond their control, she said.
The recent rain contributed to the water quality concerns, but she said she believed things would improve.
“I am confident in the fact that we will be able to be there tomorrow for the men’s triathlon event,” she said.
U.S. women’s soccer rolls past Germany, builds momentum
MARSEILLE, France — Sophia Smith scored a pair of goals to help the United States beat Germany 4-1 and advance to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics on Sunday night.
Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams also scored for the Americans, who defeated Zambia 3-0 in the opener.
The Americans are playing their first major tournament under new coach Emma Hayes, who took over the U.S. team in late May.
Hayes is tasked with leading the Americans as they seek to distance themselves from the disappointment of last summer’s Women’s World Cup, when they crashed out in the round of 16.
Amid reports Canada’s national soccer teams have secretly filmed their opponents, it’s fair to wonder if their recent rise is fueled by cheating.
The United States is the winningest team in the Olympics, with four gold medals. The Americans won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games under former coach Vlatko Andonovski, who resigned following the World Cup.
Smith started for the United States after leaving the opener in the first half with what appeared to be an ankle injury.
Ten minutes into the match, Smith struck a cross from Trinity Rodman that sailed past German goalkeeper Katrin-Ann Berger.
Giulia Gwinn equalized in the 22nd minute with a low, bouncing shot from well outside the penalty area that eluded diving U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
The Yurchenko double pike has become Simone Biles’ signature move in the vault, a gravity-defying, six-second burst that has added to her legend.
Swanson put the United States back in front in the 26th. Berger punched out an attempt from distance by Smith, but Swanson picked up the rebound for a goal. It was Swanson’s third goal of the Olympics.
Swanson is the second player to score three goals in the group at an Olympics, joining Abby Wambach in 2012.
Smith scored her second in the 44th minute on a high-arcing shot that hit the far post and caromed into the goal.
Williams, a substitute, added the final goal in the 89th minute and fans in Marseille chanted “USA! USA!” as time ran down.
U.S. defender Tierna Davidson left the match with an injury and was replaced by Emily Sonnett.
Alexandra Popp left in the 76th minute with what appeared to be a right leg injury. It was a blow to Germany, which was already playing without midfielder Lena Oberdorf (knee).
The United States plays Australia in Marseille to conclude group play. Germany, which defeated Australia in its Olympic opener 3-0, plays Zambia in Saint-Etienne.
Canada wins
Vanessa Gilles scored in the 12th minute of stoppage time against France to keep alive Canada’s hopes of advancing.
Canada looked to be heading out of the tournament before its final Group A match when the game was tied 1-1 in Saint-Etienne.
A six-point deduction for the drone-spying scandal meant only a win would be enough to give the defending Olympic champion any chance of advancing.
Gilles converted via the post from close range to seal the comeback win after Jordyn Huitema’s shot was saved.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto had put France ahead in the 42nd and Jessie Fleming evened the match in the 58th to give the Canadians hope.
The win still leaves Canada on zero points despite back-to-back wins because of the sanctions by FIFA. Canada was looking into an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the ruling.
American Lee Kiefer clinches her second consecutive foil gold medal
PARIS — If France isn’t exactly the birthplace of fencing, it’s close — this country’s passion for swordplay dates back to King Charles IX in the 16th century.
But on Sunday evening at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it was two Americans who claimed possession of the sport, charging into the finals of the women’s foil competition at the storied Grand Palais.
And it was defending champion Lee Kiefer who made history.
Three years after her unexpected gold at the Tokyo Games, the top-seeded Kiefer continued to dominate the event with a record second title, defeating ninth-seeded Lauren Scruggs 15-6.
Canada’s rise in soccer suddenly looks suspicious amid Olympic spying scandal
PARIS — So now we know what fueled Canadian soccer’s rise from pretender to global contender. It wasn’t just grit, camaraderie and good coaching that got the country into the men’s World Cup for the first this century and earned its women’s team three straight trips to the Olympic medal stand.
There reportedly were drones involved as well.
Last week the women’s national team was caught spying on New Zealand in advance of the two countries Olympic opener and the damage that has done to Canadian soccer two years before the World Cup returns to North America could be devastating. The country’s soccer federation and FIFA have both launched investigations, with federation CEO Kevin Blue saying he fears cheating may have become a “long-term, deeply embedded systemic” part of the national team’s culture.
This all blew up last week when Joseph Lombardi, an analyst with the Canadian women’s team, was stopped by French police after he retrieved a drone that had been flying over the New Zealand team’s training. Canada’s Olympic committee quickly moved to control the damage in the hope of keeping the scandal from growing larger.
It was a plan that failed miserably.
Torri Huske wins gold in Paris after falling short in Tokyo
American Torri Huske found redemption in the pool and teammate Gretchen Walsh earned her first individual Olympic medal Sunday.
Huske held off Walsh to win the women’s 100 meter butterfly with a time of 55.59. Walsh finished with a mark of 55.63.
Huske narrowly missed a top-three finish in the event during the Tokyo Olympics and was overcome with emotion when she saw she won gold.
“I feel like I’m in shock right now. I don’t know how to process it,” Huske told an NBC reporter after the win. “... It’s really surreal. I just missed the podium last time by a hundredth, so ... I’m so grateful right now.”
Kevin Durant and LeBron James lead U.S. past Serbia in Olympic opener
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — LeBron James made his Olympic return after a 12-year absence. Kevin Durant played for the first time this summer.
And the two most-experienced Olympians on this U.S. team opened the Paris Games — not to mention a bid for a fifth consecutive gold medal for the Americans — with a near-perfect show.
Durant made his first eight shots on the way to 23 points in less than 17 minutes, James added 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and the U.S. rolled to a 110-84 win over Serbia in the Olympic opener for both teams on Saturday.
South Sudan stuns Puerto Rico in basketball for first Olympic victory
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — As South Sudan players jogged onto the court on Sunday amid cheers from fans waving the flag of their home nation, Nuni Omot slowed, stopped and pressed his hand to the Paris 2024 logo embossed across the surface.
He and his teammates were officially Olympians. Less than two hours later, they were celebrating their country’s first ever Olympic win.
Carlik Jones scored 19 points and South Sudan rallied in the second half to beat Puerto Rico 90-79 in the Paris Olympics opener for both teams on Sunday.
“We’re not a secret anymore,” South Sudan coach Royal Ivey said afterward.
Women’s gymnastics and swimming are among the many events at the Paris Olympics that will be on television Sunday.
It was the latest milestone for South Sudan, which is playing in its first Olympics after qualifying as Africa’s top finisher in last year’s World Cup. Marial Shayok added 15 points for South Sudan, which will next meet the U.S. on Tuesday. Omot chipped in 12 points and six rebounds.
It was the culmination of a morning that began with officials playing the wrong national anthem for South Sudan before tipoff. But Omot said it only inspired them to play their best basketball.
“It gave us fuel. It gave us fuel to the fire,” Omot said. “Obviously, we felt disrespected when that happened. ... I feel like for us we’ve got to continue to show the world what we’re capable of.”
From the NBA to the beach: Chase Budinger is eager to ‘shock the world’ on Olympic stage
PARIS — Although Chase Budinger is exhausted from a two-hour practice, he accepts warmly when a young fan approaches for a photo on the boardwalk near the Hermosa Beach volleyball courts. The boy had watched the final hour of Budinger’s practice with partner Miles Evans from a nearby patio and waited for the perfect moment to take a photo with one of the top beach volleyball players in the world.
Craning his neck to look up at the 6-foot-7 Budinger, the boy thanks him for the snapshot.
“And you played in the NBA too, right?” he asks.
Budinger smiles in the affirmative. Sometimes he even forgets about his first career.
Simone Biles shows her grit, overcoming apparent leg injury in impressive Paris start
PARIS — A hush fell over Bercy Arena as Simone Biles stood at the end of the vault runway. A closeup shot on the big screen showed Biles’ chalked-up feet on the pastel blue carpet. Her left ankle was heavily taped.
Then, six seconds later, Biles suspended all worries. She nailed her eponymous vault and led the United States into the team final while also dominating all-around qualifying.
With the world waiting to see what she would do in her return to the Olympic stage after a dramatic withdrawal three years ago, Biles towered over the competition. She drew a standing ovation after her first routine, soaked up the atmosphere of a sold-out arena as she waved to fans and left the competition as the all-around leader. Her total of 59.566 was more than three points ahead of the next-closest competitor after two of five subdivisions.
How Jordan Chiles can ‘change the game’ with her Olympic Beyoncé routine
PARIS — She hasn’t even saluted for her first Olympic routine in Bercy Arena, but Jordan Chiles already has something better than a gold medal.
Beyoncé’s platinum record.
Eleven days before Chiles was set to compete in her second Olympic Games, Beyoncé sent a signed copy of her album “Cowboy Carter” to the 23-year-old whose floor routine is set to a compilation of the superstar’s songs. Posting a photo of the gift on Instagram, Chiles was stunned.
“Congrats to you Queen,” the note written in silver ink read. “I always watch you with pride and admiration! Thank you for repping us.”
Chiles is representing Queen Bey’s music on the biggest sports stage as she competes in her second Olympic Games beginning Sunday at Bercy Arena. The UCLA star who won two individual NCAA championships will be a key factor in the United States’ hope to regain the gold medal after taking silver in Tokyo.
Australian cyclist undergoes abdominal surgery after crash
PARIS — Australian cyclist Lucas Plapp underwent abdominal surgery overnight at a Paris hospital following a hard crash on rain-slicked roads during the Olympic time trial on Saturday, the Australian team said.
AusCycling, Australia’s cycling governing body, confirmed the procedure early Sunday. No other details were available.
Plapp was among the last riders to start on the 32.4-kilometer (20-mile) course and was laying down a medal-worthy ride at the first time check, trailing then-leader and eventual bronze medalist Wout van Aert by just two seconds. But when Plapp reached a technical portion of the course, his bike slid out from under him and he crashed hard onto the pavement.
AusCycling said Plapp was conscious and moving afterward. He was lifted into the team vehicle and taken to the hospital for precautionary scans, and later he required the abdominal procedure.
“Plapp slid under a barrier fence shortly after passing the first checkpoint approximately 14 kilometers into the 32-kilometer course,” AusCycling said. “His parents and an Australian team doctor were at the hospital with him.”
The 23-year-old Plapp, who won bronze at the Tokyo Games as part of the Australian pursuit team, is the reigning national time trial and road race champion. He was supposed to ride alongside Simon Clarke in support of teammate Michael Matthews in the Olympic road race next Saturday.
Concerns over Seine water quality grow ahead of triathlon
PARIS — Concerns over the water quality of Paris’ Seine River have continued into the 2024 Olympics, with a pre-race triathlon event there canceled Sunday.
Organizers said they nixed the swimming leg of the triathlon familiarization scheduled for Sunday morning after a meeting about water quality among authorities tasked with carrying out water quality tests. That included representatives of World Triathlon, as well as city and regional authorities.
Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century in big part due to poor water quality. Organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for these Games, and the government has said the river would be clean enough to hold events, including the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming event.
Daily water quality tests in early June indicated unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria, followed by recent improvements. Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a famous dip in the river less than two weeks before Olympic events were set to start, fulfilling a promise to show that the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions.
Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.
Beach volleyball competition opens in shadow of Eiffel Tower
The first full day of competition delivered on expectations, with an evening women’s beach volleyball match between the U.S. and Canada unfolding in the shadow of the illuminated Eiffel Tower.
The Paris Games were always going to be known for events unfolding next to historic monuments. Beach volleyball’s view will be hard to beat.
Times photographer Wally Skalij captured the scene as the first full day of competition closed.
Ousted Naomi Osaka says ‘I guess I need to learn how to win again’
PARIS — Naomi Osaka smiled as she spoke to reporters after a 7-5, 6-3 first-round loss to Angelique Kerber at the Paris Olympics on Saturday night, disappointed in the result but hopeful she eventually will return to being the once-dominant player who earned four Grand Slam titles and reached No. 1 in the rankings.
“I guess I need to learn how to win again. Maybe that’s something I forgot how to do,” Osaka said. “Maybe I have to keep playing matches against really good players to relearn that.”
She was hoping for a better showing than she had at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago in her native Japan. She was supposed to be one of the big stars and received the honor of lighting the cauldron at the opening ceremony.
But Osaka lost in the third round there and said she felt a burden to perform well in front of her home fans. She was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father, and the family moved to the United States when Osaka was 3.
“I felt more pressure in Tokyo,” the 26-year-old Osaka said. “I honestly felt like I could have done better today.”
She turned her left leg awkwardly at 4-3 in the second set and said she was given medication to help. But Osaka didn’t win another game against Kerber.
Asked how her leg was feeling afterward, Osaka said: “I don’t know, because I took a painkiller, so when it wears off, I’ll let you know. It felt like I hyperextended (it) a little bit. I felt a pinch while I was playing, but I hope I’m still pretty young, so maybe it won’t be that bad.”
Kerber, a silver medalist in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, has said she will retire after competing for Germany at these Summer Games.
“To win a match like this against Naomi, who is such a great champion — that means a lot, especially because it’s my last tournament. It shows me that I can still beat the top players,” Kerber said. “I just tried to enjoy every moment. I’m just looking forward to having another dance.”
Canada tops Giannis and Greece
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Canada was tested, then held on to get its first Olympic win in 24 years.
RJ Barrett scored 23 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 21 and Canada survived a big effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo to beat Greece 86-79 in the Paris Olympics opener for both teams in Group A play on Saturday night.
Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 34 points for Greece. Dillon Brooks scored 14 for Canada.
Even though Antetokounmpo had the big night, Barrett lauded the waves of defenders Canada threw his way.
“That’s why you have the word ‘team,’” Barrett said. “It’s not one guy. It’s all of us, all together. Everybody has their part to do. Playing Giannis is not an easy task.”
Canada led by as many as 16 and never trailed, though Greece made matters very interesting in the final moments. Vasilis Toilopoulos scored with 1:15 remaining to get Greece within four and a Canada turnover on the next possession led to a dunk by Antetokounmpo to cut the lead to 80-78.
But Gilgeous-Alexander got a high-arching shot over Antetokounmpo’s outstretched arm to kiss off the glass for a score with 42.8 seconds left, restoring the four-point edge, and Canada would escape.
“They’re a really good team so that’s going to happen,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They’re not going to quit, obviously. So we expected that. We expected we’d make our run and they’d have a little more juice and make their run. For us it was just about weathering the storms, and kind of sticking to our game plan throughout the runs. Basketball is a game of ups and downs. We just try to weather the other teams’ better than they weather yours.”
There were 52 fouls called in the game resulting in 64 free throws — 32 for each team.
It was Canada’s first Olympic men’s basketball win since 2000 at Sydney. The Canadians hadn’t made an Olympic tournament since — but earned this spot after a run to the bronze medal at the World Cup last summer in the Philippines.
U.S. men’s soccer beats New Zealand to hold off possible elimination
MARSEILLE, France — Djordje Mihailovic converted a penalty as the United States pounced early in a 4-1 victory over New Zealand on Saturday to stave off possible elimination at the Olympics.
A loss in Marseille could have ended the Americans’ chance to advance to the knockout round in just their second Olympic appearance. The U.S. had lost to France in its Group A opener.
Mihailovic calmly hit the penalty in the eighth minute after Nathan Harriel was brought down in the box by Matthew Garbett.
Four minutes later, senior player Walker Zimmerman made it 2-0 when he poked in a goal in a scramble in front of the net following a free kick.
Gianluca Busio scored on a rebound at the half-hour mark and celebrated by dancing with teammate Kevin Paredes. Paxton Aaronson added a fourth goal in the 58th.
New Zealand avoided the shutout with Jesse Randall’s late goal.
New Zealand’s 2-1 opening victory over Guinea had put the team in a strong position to advance. The OlyWhites, as they are known, started the day second in the group to France.
The United States is set to play Guinea in its final group match Tuesday in Saint-Etienne. New Zealand plays France in Marseille.
Caleb Dressel helps U.S. win freestyle relay, Americans’ first gold in Paris
The U.S. men won the 4x100-meter freestyle relay with a strong anchor leg by Caeleb Dressel on Saturday, clinching the first American gold medal of the Paris Olympics.
It also was Dressel’s eighth gold medal of his career.
The victory broke up Australia’s run of wins in the pool on Saturday.
Australia holds off U.S. women in 4x100 meter freestyle relay
Australia continued its dominant start in the pool on Saturday.
Simone Manuel delivered a spirited push on the final leg and edged China, but the U.S. finished second behind the rival Austalians in the women’s 4x100 meter freestyle relay.
The Australians finished in a time of 3:28.92, while Americans posted a 3:30.20 finish. China’s time was 3:30.30.
FIFA strips Canada points, bans coaches for one year after scandal
FIFA deducted six points from Canada in the Paris Olympics women’s soccer tournament and banned three coaches for one year each on Saturday in a drone-spying scandal.
The stunning swath of punishments includes a 200,000 Swiss franc ($226,000) fine for the Canadian soccer federation in a case that has spiraled at the Summer Games. Two assistant coaches were caught using drones to spy on opponent New Zealand’s practices before their opening game Wednesday.
Head coach Bev Priestman, who led Canada to the Olympic title in Tokyo in 2021, already was suspended by the national soccer federation, then removed from the Olympic tournament.
Priestman and her two assistants implicated in the case, Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, are now banned from all soccer for one year.
FIFA fast-tracked its own disciplinary process by asking its appeals judges to handle the case.
FIFA judges found Priestman and her two assistants “were each found responsible for offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play.”
The Canadian federation was held responsible for not ensuring its staff complied with tournament rules.
The coaches and the Canadian federation now can challenge their sanctions at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s special Olympic court in Paris. That tribunal is set up for urgent hearings and verdicts at the Olympics.
The 38-year-old Priestman is from England and was hired in 2020 to coach the Canada team. She is under contract through the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
She had stepped aside from the defending champion’s Olympic opener against New Zealand on Wednesday after the scandal was revealed. Canadian officials suspect the spying has been systemic over years.
Her two staffers were sent home for allegedly using a drone to spy on New Zealand in training. Canada won the game 2-1 with interim coach Andy Spence in charge.
Victor Wembanyama wows as France wins men’s basketball opener
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Victor Wembanyama walked out to a star’s welcome for his Olympic debut. He made sure to give France’s fans plenty to cheer about.
Wembanyama marked his start of the Paris Games with all the dunks, defense and other eye-popping plays that have made the 20-year-old appointment viewing during his young basketball career.
Wemby connects from beyond the arc 🎯👽
— NBA (@NBA) July 27, 2024
📺 CNBC and Peacock
pic.twitter.com/BcwReQB7p2
More important for France, it added up to a victory for the host nation.
Wembanyama had 19 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks to help France overcome an early deficit and hold off Brazil 78-66 to open the group stage at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille.
Nicolas Batum added 19 points for France, which was showered with chants of “Le Bleus!” to join Germany as winners in Group B on the opening day of the tournament in Lille.
France next plays Japan, which lost Saturday to Germany, on Tuesday. Brazil has Germany next.
Victor Wembanyama THROWS IT DOWN with authority! 🤯🔥
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
📺 CNBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/mRnlN5A3VP
U.S. women’s water polo draws celebrities as it rolls to a win
Jenna Flynn scored four goals for the U.S. as it beat Greece 15-6 to open play at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Check out some of Wally Skalij’s pictures from the event:
Chloe Dygert takes bronze after crash in cycling time trial
PARIS — Grace Brown of Australia won the women’s Olympic time trial on the wet, treacherous streets of Paris on Saturday, safely staying on her bike even as American favorite Chloe Dygert and many of her biggest rivals kept hitting the deck.
Brown stopped the clock in 39 minutes, 38.24 seconds in a dominant performance in the first cycling event of the Summer Games. Anna Henderson of Britain finished 1:31 back in second while Dygert, the reigning time trial world champion, remounted after crashing hard on a left-hand turn and managed to claim the bronze medal.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of Denmark, one of the favorites in next week’s road race, was among numerous riders who crashed on pavement made wet by persistent rain. So was Taylor Knibb, the surprising American time trial champion, who also has qualified for her second consecutive Summer Games in the triathlon.
Brown, who has said this will be her final season of competitive cycling, was the penultimate rider off the start ramp and quickly set the pace. She put five seconds into Dygert at the first checkpoint and breezed through the second nearly a minute ahead.
Dygert was trying desperately to stay close before hitting a left-hand turn, where the pavement turned to cobbles. Her bike slid out from under her, Dygart went down hard, and the time it took to remount and get back to speed proved costly.
The pre-race favorite was left with a bronze medal to add to the silver and bronze she had already won on the track.
Steve Kerr hopes Kevin Durant will play for U.S. in men’s basketball opener
PARIS — There is hope that Kevin Durant plays for the U.S. in its Olympic opener against Serbia on Sunday, which means the men’s national team may have 12 players available for the first time this summer.
That is, unless something else happens.
The Americans open their path toward what they hope is a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal when they take on three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and World Cup finalist Serbia in the opener for both teams at the Paris Games. Durant missed all five exhibition games the U.S. played coming into Paris because of a calf strain, and coach Steve Kerr stopped short of definitively saying Saturday that he is in the lineup for the opener.
“Hopefully,” Kerr said.
Durant was on the floor for practice, while presumed starting center Joel Embiid was not because of illness. Kerr said he didn’t expect Embiid to miss Sunday’s game.
“I’m confident we’ll have everybody ready tomorrow,” Kerr said.
There have been signs in recent days that USA Basketball expects Durant — a three-time gold medalist, now bidding to become the first player who can say he’s a four-time Olympic men’s basketball champion — will be ready to go. First, it didn’t replace him on the roster. Second, it released clips of a Thursday scrimmage where Durant was active and even had a reverse dunk (plus got dunked on by Anthony Edwards, who idolizes him). And third, Kerr insisted earlier in the week that he wasn’t concerned about Durant’s status.
“We’ll see how things go in practice today,” Kerr said Saturday. “So far, so good. He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well.”
Can the Paris Summer Olympics give Peacock the streaming boost it needs?
NBCUniversal launched its Peacock streaming service in 2020 with the hope that the Summer Olympics would make it a must-have.
It didn’t quite work out that way. And in the age of social media, consumers let the company know loud and clear that its efforts missed the mark when the pandemic-delayed Games in Tokyo aired in 2021. The streamer’s programming was both underwhelming and hard to find, users complained.
NBCUniversal Media Group Chairman Mark Lazarus described the reaction as “the big digital middle finger.”
“In Tokyo, we said, ‘This is the streaming home of the Olympics,’ and we really didn’t pay that off,” Lazarus said in a recent interview. “We didn’t stream all of the events. We didn’t deliver what we marketed.”
Paul Juda has breakout performance; Brody Malone fails to reach all-around final
PARIS — Paul Juda landed his last tumbling pass with a small hop, stood up straight and tipped his head back. He dramatically extended both arms above his head in a V shape, soaking in a personal victory.
The 23-year-old surged to the second-best all-around U.S. score during qualifications Saturday at Bercy Arenaand qualified for the all-around final in 13th place while helping the United States advance in fifth. Juda was not expected to compete for the individual final considering he was the fourth all-around finisher at the U.S. trials, but when he heard he finished fourth in the first qualifying subdivision, he realized that with Monday’s team final, stacking Wednesday’s all-around final would make for a long week.
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m really excited because I’ve been preaching this to all of my friends back home: Working hard is a privilege, having pressure is a privilege,” Juda said. “Going to this competition, everybody would die for it.”
The United States (253.229) finished second in the qualifying group after Great Britain (256.561) and fifth overall of the eight teams that will compete in Monday’s final that begins at 8:30 a.m. PDT. China dominated the qualification with a team score of 263.028, 2.434 points more than second-place Japan.
Juda’s breakout performance (82.865) came as three-time U.S. champion Brody Malone faltered on pommel horse and high bar to fall out of all-around contention. The top 24 gymnasts qualify for the all-around final, but each country is allowed only two finalists. After falling on pommel horse and coming off the high bar twice, Malone finished a distant third among Americans in all-around, with Frederick Richard leading the delegation at 83.498 points and qualifying 10th.
Juda said Malone, the only member of the five-athlete team returning for a second Olympics, apologized to teammates for his performance. His teammates assured him there was nothing to be sorry for.
Less than two years after relearning how to walk after a gruesome knee injury, Malone established himself as an Olympic contender by winning the U.S. championship and finishing second in the U.S. trials. But “the world kind of takes [Malone’s performances] for granted,” Richard said.
“When I watched him mess up today, I wasn’t worried, because I know he’s the type of person that learns from his mistakes,” the reigning world all-around bronze medalist said. “He’s the type of person who’s never going to be out of it and he’s going to come back even stronger in two days. … You’re looking at the full picture today. Today’s not the day we needed him.”
Malone’s opening-rotation fall on pommel horse put additional pressure on event specialist Stephen Nedoroscik. The 25-year-old earned his spot on the Olympic team solely for his expertise in the trickiest event in men’s gymnastics. With Malone falling right before him, Nedoroscik needed to avoid a fall counting toward the final team score.
The 2021 world pommel horse champion understood the assignment.
Nedoroscik’s 15.200 was tied for the highest score on the event during qualification and put him into the event final on Aug. 3. He even edged out two-time defending pommel horse champion Max Whitlock of Britain. Nedoroscik is hoping to become the first U.S. Olympic medalist on pommel horse since Alex Naddour took bronze in 2016.
With Russia not competing at the Games, this is a critical opportunity for the United States to win its first Olympic team medal since 2008. While the scores reset for the team final, finishing more than three points behind Britain prompted some hand-wringing about the United States’ podium chances behind favorites Japan and China. The Americans aren’t panicking.
“This wasn’t exactly the best performance USA’s ever had,” Nedoroscik said. “But it was enough for preliminaries and we have finals coming up. … I still think we have a fantastic chance to medal.”
Swimming has a diversity problem. Can this generation of Olympians change that?
PARIS — When Maritza Correia McClendon started swimming in Puerto Rico, she stood out because of her talent, not the color of her skin.
“There’s a lot of diversity in Puerto Rico,” said McClendon, who is Black and Latino, as are one in five people on the island.
Then her Guyanese-born parents moved to Florida when she was 8. Though she had become even faster in the pool, that was no longer the first thing people noticed about her.
“I remember a parent telling me, ‘What are you doing here? You should go do track or you should go on a basketball court,’” she said. “They were almost shaming me for being that outcast on that pool deck.
“That is definitely traumatizing. It’s still hard for me. I do definitely still struggle with that confidence factor.”
Q&A: Learn how Olympians keep their cool from Team USA’s chief sports psychologist
Your morning jog or weekly basketball game may not take place on an Olympic stage, but you can use Team USA’s techniques to get the most out of your exercise routine.
It’s not all about strength and speed. Mental fitness can be just as important as physical fitness.
That’s why the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee created a psychological services squad to support the mental health and mental performance of athletes representing the Stars and Stripes.
“I think happy, healthy athletes are going to perform at their best, so that’s what we’re striving for,” said Jessica Bartley, senior director of the 15-member unit.
Diving duo wins first U.S. medal of the Paris Olympics; China takes gold
SAINT-DENIS, France — One down. Seven to go.
China won its first gold medal in diving on Saturday on the first full day of competition in the Paris Olympics, a perfect start for the team of Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen.
The Chinese were first on Saturday in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard with 337.68 points on five dives. They were followed by Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook of the United States 314.64 points and the British team of Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen with bronze and 302.28 points.
A look at which Olympic events will be on television during the first full day of competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
China has ruled diving for decades, and three years ago in Tokyo it won seven of eight gold medals. But it’s never pulled off the elusive gold sweep. That’s the goal this time.
The same Chinese duo also won gold in the last three world championships and were heavy favorites going in.
The crowd, heavy with Chinese fans and and flags, chanted “jiayou” — roughly translated “lets go” — each time the Chinese walked out to dive.
This event was added in 2000, and Chinese women have won gold six times in seven Games. The only loss was to Russia in 2000. China won three years ago in Tokyo with Shi Tingmao and Wang Han.
Olympic organizers apologize for introducing South Korean athletes as North Korean
PARIS — Olympics organizers said they “deeply apologize” for introducing South Korea’s athletes as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris.
As the South Korean athletes waved their nation’s flag on a boat floating down the Seine River Friday evening, they were announced in both French and English as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. South Korea is the Republic of Korea.
“We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the Korean team during the opening ceremony broadcast,” the International Olympic Committee said in a post on X in Korean.
The South Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism Vice Minister Jang Mi Ran requested a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach over the incident, the ministry said in a statement Saturday. It said the ministry also asked South Korea’s Foreign Ministry to file “a strong government-level complaint” with the French government.
A look at which Olympic events will be on television during the first full day of competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The statement said South Korea’s Olympic committee separately asked the organizers of the Paris Games to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams on Saturday called the error “clearly deeply regrettable.”
“An operational mistake was made. We can only apologize, in an evening of so many moving parts. that this mistake was made,” Adams said in response to a question from a South Korean journalist during a news conference Saturday.
Paris Olympic cauldron will be airborne only at night
PARIS — The Olympic cauldron that made a stunning first flight at the Paris Games opening ceremony will sit on the ground during the day and rise again every evening.
Paris Olympics organizers said that from Saturday, the cauldron attached to a balloon will fly more than 60 meters (197 feet) above the Tuileries gardens near the glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre museum from sunset until 2 a.m.
During daytime hours, 10,000 people each day can get free tickets to approach the cauldron, which is the first in Olympic history to light up without the use of fossil fuels.
Organizers said the electric flame uses 40 LED spotlights “to illuminate the cloud created by 200 high-pressure misting nozzles.”
China wins first gold medal of the Paris Olympic Games
CHATEAUROUX, France — China has won the first gold medal of the Paris Olympics, but its athletes were nowhere near Paris.
The Olympic shooting range, a three-hour drive from Paris in the city of Chateauroux, was the venue for Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao to shoot for gold in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event held Saturday morning.
Huang and Sheng opened up an early four-point lead against South Korea’s Keum Jihyeon and Park Hajun in the head-to-head for the gold medal and stayed ahead from there to win 16-12.
China also won the event three years ago in Tokyo, when Yang Qian and Yang Haoran took the gold medal as team air rifle shooting made its debut on the Olympic program.
Earlier Saturday, Kazakhstan’s Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev became the first medalists of the games when they beat Germany’s Anna Janssen and Maximilian Ulbrich 17-5 for the bronze.
Rain forces postponement of men’s skateboarding street final
The first event of the skateboarding competition at the Paris Olympics on Saturday was postponed after rain overnight and into the morning.
Skateboarding is played at the outdoor venue of La Concorde Urban Park in Paris. World Skate, the sport’s governing body, cited adverse weather conditions for the move.
Men’s street skateboarding scheduled for Saturday was postponed to Monday. The women’s event is scheduled for Sunday.
Rain has been one of the big stories early in the Games after constant showers and occasional downpours served as the backdrop for the opening ceremony. As of 1 a.m. PDT, much of the rain had cleared from the area and no other events had yet been disrupted by rain.
Chasing the Olympic dream isn’t cheap, and U.S. athletes often are stuck with the bill
PARIS — The guy lugging an overstuffed bag onto the New York subway, looking hurried, maybe a little tired, is a three-time Olympian.
Eli Dershwitz has been rushing around the city, training at one fencing club and coaching young students for money at another, followed by more training and coaching sessions at several more stops during his 10-hour day.
“So I’m just running around like crazy,” he says. “I’ve got three changes of clothing and … the bag gets heavier and heavier.”
It doesn’t matter that Dershwitz is the reigning world champion in men’s saber and a medal favorite at the 2024 Paris Games. It doesn’t matter that some of his opponents live in countries where the government covers all expenses.
Paris shines through summer storm in spectacular Olympic opening ceremony
PARIS — All around the city there was talk of bad weather and nervous glances toward a dour, gray sky.
Sure enough, the clouds let loose in torrents of rain late Friday afternoon, dousing the streets, threatening to spoil France’s big moment.
Then the show began.
A convoy of boats cruised down the Seine, one after another, carrying thousands of athletes. Lady Gaga danced across a glittering stage and Celine Dion sang from a perch in the Eiffel Tower. The Olympic torch levitated like a giant hot-air balloon.
It seemed that nothing — not even a drenching summer storm — could stop the 2024 Paris Olympics from staging one of the most-spectacular opening ceremonies ever.
Not everyone in Paris entranced by the Olympics opening ceremony
PARIS — In the Parisian neighborhoods far from the Seine the start of the opening ceremony was marked by a circling of a loud police helicopter.
The rest of the airspace over the city was closed because of security concerns.
With rain failing into the early evening the streets were empty but bars and restaurants were crowded. In one small bar in the Clinchy area, two TVs were turned off and no one seemed much interested in the Olympics.
But in an Italian restaurant a couple of streets over, the staff stopped working for several minutes to watch and discuss the ceremonies while three guests changed to a table just below the TV.
Average rainfall in Paris in July is 2.4 inches over eight days. It has rained at least a little bit for six consecutive days in Paris.
Celine Dion performs on Eiffel Tower, Olympic cauldron is lit
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are officially underway following the conclusion of a grandiose opening ceremony that included performances by Lada Gaga and Celine Dion and a “parade of nations” on the River Seine.
Times writers Mary McNamara and Meredith Blake recap the audacious spectacle.
Allyson Felix’s push to have child care at Paris Olympics pays off: ‘A great starting point’
To the seven Olympic titles and 15 world championships won during a record-setting track career, Allyson Felix could have added one more distinction: world’s fastest mom.
After daughter Camryn was delivered prematurely by emergency cesarean section in 2018, Felix returned for her fifth Games in Tokyo, winning two more sprint medals to become the most decorated woman athlete in Olympic track and field history. Yet despite all that speed, Felix found she wasn’t fast enough to keep up with her track career and her daughter without some help.
“It was just kind of an eye-opening experience,” she said. “I took her everywhere that I was competing, and I kind of was surprised at how hard it was and how much you really had to shoulder on your own.”
Simone Biles poised to show off an original skill on the uneven bars
PARIS — Simone Biles has a sixth eponymous skill in the works.
The FIG, the governing body of international gymnastics, confirmed that Biles has submitted an original skill on the uneven bars, which would be her first in the event. The skill — which will be named after the seven-time Olympic medalist if she successfully completes it in this week’s Olympics — is a clear hip circle forward with a one-and-a-half pirouette in a handstand. It’s an upgraded version of the Weiler skill Biles has executed for much of her career that involves a single pirouette on the bar.
👀⁉️ pic.twitter.com/wmz12X5jmB
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) July 26, 2024
Biles already has five skills named for her, with two on floor, two on vault and one on beam. Her newest bars element was submitted to the technical committee and awarded a difficulty value of an “E” on a scale from A to J and is worth 0.5 points in difficulty. She is expected to complete at least three of her namesake skills this week, including her signature Yurchenko double pike on vault. During podium training Thursday, she stuck the skill to the delight of her coaches.
“Perfect,” coach Cecile Landi said with a chuckle. “We’ll take this one in a heartbeat.”
Her current floor routine includes two skills named for the world’s most decorated gymnast as she opens with a triple-twisting back tuck and also performs a double layout with a half-twist. Biles has the second-most eponymous skills, following former Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim, who has seven.
The Yurchenko double pike has become Simone Biles’ signature move in the vault, a gravity-defying, six-second burst that has added to her legend.
Bienvenue, Mother Monster: Lady Gaga reportedly performing at opening ceremony
Let’s play an Olympic game?
Lady Gaga, the Grammy-wining “LoveGame” and “Born This Way” diva, reportedly will give Paris the Mother Monster treatment as she helps kick off the 2024 Olympic Games this week. The pop icon and “A Star Is Born” Oscar winner will take the stage during the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, the Hollywood Reporter confirmed Wednesday.
Representatives for Lady Gaga did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for confirmation Thursday.
News of the “Bad Romance” singer’s Olympics spotlight came amid reports that she had touched down in Paris earlier this week. Lady Gaga was spotted outside a hotel in Paris, the French outlet Le Parisien reported Wednesday. And she isn’t the only artist to fuel opening ceremony performance speculation.
Security tight in Paris ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony
There are plenty of police officers on duty ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday (David Wharton / Los Angeles Times)
Police are out in force throughout Paris ahead of the opening ceremony (10:30 a.m. PDT start; NBC).
Police were stationed all over the entrance to the credentialed zone in central Paris near the Siene River. The line for bag checks is already very long more than four hours before the start of the ceremony.
Here’s where many members of the media will be watching the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. (David Wharton)
The Seine River still in a tranquil state roughly 90 minutes before it will be at the center of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
Read staff writer David Wharton’s look at the security situation in Paris as the city prepares for what will be a unique kickoff to the Olympics.
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony will feature roughly 90 boats floating down the Seine and thousands of spectators, creating many security challenges.
The Sports Report Olympics edition: Previewing the opening ceremony
It’s finally time for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. I’m John Cherwa and I will not be among the 10,500 who will take a boat trip down the Seine today.
The two days of appetizers are over. We’ve probably watched the last of rugby and team handball. Our days of finding the channel number for USA network are likely done. As Michael Buffer made a ton money saying, “Let’s get ready to rumble.”
But before we start dishing details and offering opinions, let’s get one thing straight. It’s opening ceremony, not opening ceremonies. There is only one of them, singular, not plural. Not sure how the plural “ceremonies” got traction, but you hear it all the time.
Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics
PARIS — France’s high-speed rail network was hit Friday with widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics.
French officials condemned the attacks as “criminal actions,” though they said there was no sign of a direct link to the Games, and prosecutors in Paris opened a national investigation saying the crimes could carry sentences of 15 to 20 years.
“It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics,” said Sarah Moseley, a 42-year-old traveler waiting at the Gare du Nord station in Paris as she learned that her train to London was delayed by the rail chaos.
As Paris authorities geared up for a spectacular parade on and along the Seine River, three fires were reported near the tracks on the high-speed lines of Atlantique, Nord and Est, causing disruptions that affected hundreds of thousands of travelers.
Unique Olympics opening ceremony keeps Paris on high alert over security
PARIS — Soldiers patrol along the Seine River, dressed in camouflage and blue berets, big rifles slung over their shoulders. The Police Nationale stand guard at checkpoints, turning away people who want to stroll at the water’s edge.
A four-mile stretch of this iconic river, in the heart of the city, is on lockdown.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will stage an unusual opening ceremony here on Friday. In a departure from the usual stadium show, dancers, musicians and athletes will cruise down the Seine on a flotilla of boats as hundreds of thousands of spectators watch from bridges and grandstands.
With a glowing Eiffel Tower in the background, it promises to be visually stunning. Also, a massive security headache.
U.S. women’s soccer scores Olympic-opening win over Zambia, but bigger tests loom
NICE, France — The Emma Hayes era officially got under way Thursday, with the U.S. beating Zambia 3-0 on the opening day of the women’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics in a game that was far more one-sided than the final score.
Playing on the French Rivera in steamy Nice, wedged between the Mediterranean Sea and the French Alps, the Americans dominated in their new coach’s first competitive game on the sidelines, getting two goals from Mallory Swanson, another from Trinity Rodman and two assists from captain Lindsay Horan — all in the first 25 minutes.
There were few witnesses to any of that since the match drew a gathering so small, players could be heard shouting to one another from the top deck of Allianz Riviera Stadium. Nor, given the quality of the opponent — Zambia is ranked 64th in the world, worst in the Olympic field — were there many conclusions that could be drawn from the result.
Most picturesque Olympics ever? Paris venues will offer ‘phenomenal backdrop’
The Eiffel Tower in Paris will be the site of the beach volleyball tournaments at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
PARIS — Throngs of tourists flocking to the Eiffel Tower on a warm, humid afternoon cannot help but notice the 2024 Summer Olympics are close at hand.
Much of the surrounding gardens have been cordoned off with chain-link fencing, transformed into construction sites with big trucks rumbling in and out. Work crews in hard hats are finishing a temporary beach volleyball stadium and the grandstands around a plaza where athletes will receive their medals each night.
It makes sense that Paris has put the iconic landmark to use — these Games will be nothing if not a picture-postcard affair.
Alyssa Naeher and U.S. women’s soccer looking to beat the odds and win Paris gold
Alyssa Naeher has done things no other goalkeeper in U.S. Soccer history has done.
She’s won two World Cups, posted shutouts in more than 62% of her starts and converted penalty kicks in elimination games at the World Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup final.
You can put Hope Solo and Briana Scurry’s career stats together and they don’t match that.
Yet one big gap still remains in that résumé because, for all she’s accomplished, Naeher never has won an Olympic gold medal. She’ll take a shot at changing that beginning Thursday, the day before the Paris Games officially open, when the U.S. faces Zambia in its first group-play match in the French Riviera city of Nice.
Is it an Olympic logo? Or a coquettish scamp?
As if there wasn’t enough to argue about in the world today, the logo for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has sparked a voluble and often hilarious debate.
The Art Deco-inspired design combines three images: a gold medal, the Olympic flame and a pair of lips meant to evoke Marianne, the French national icon.
At least that’s what Paris 2024 organizers say.
Poop protests and political turmoil: Paris facing many messes as Olympics nears
With all the tumult surrounding the 2024 Summer Olympics — problems both large and small — it isn’t entirely surprising that Parisians have threatened to stage a “poop protest.”
Their anger focuses on a plan to have triathletes and marathon swimmers compete in the Seine River, which has been fouled by sewage and trash for centuries.
It didn’t help when Mayor Anne Hidalgo offered to take a dip in the iconic waterway. A website with a poop emoji as its mascot sprang up to coordinate hundreds, if not thousands of people defecating along the banks on the day of her swim.
While it remains to be seen if the mayor — and her constituents — will make good on their respective pledges, the Paris 2024 organizing committee has plenty more issues to address. With the opening ceremony less than two weeks away, the list includes budget increases and worrisome poll numbers, a government investigation and political upheaval both at home and abroad.
Paris Olympics sells a record 9.7 million tickets, but more tickets are available.
PARIS — After getting off to a rocky start last year, Olympics 2024 organizers said the Paris Games have broken the record for the most number of tickets sold or allocated in the event’s history. And yet, tickets are still available.
Organizers say 9.7 million tickets were sold or allocated for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 8.7 million sold for the former and 1 million for the latter.
For Paris, a total of 10 million tickets were put on sale for the Olympics — meaning that despite the historic popularity of the sporting events and unprecedented scale of this year’s competitions, there will still be many empty seats remaining.
The total ticketing figure will, however, likely rise because tickets are still on sale for some of the 45 sports.
The previous ticket sales record was held by Atlanta in 1996, when 8.3 million tickets were sold.
Team USA House in Paris gives athletes and customers a chance to relax
Los Angeles Times reporter David Wharton gives us a quick tour of the Team USA House at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is where athletes, their families, officials and the paying public can come, have a beer, watch sports and buy expensive merchandise.
U.S. men’s soccer already in must-win mode after opening loss
MARSEILLE, France — The Paris Olympics don’t officially open until Friday. The Games, however, already have begun.
And that’s not necessarily a good thing for the U.S. men’s soccer team, which returned to the Olympics after a 16-year absence Wednesday, falling 3-0 to France before a crowd of 67,000 at the Orange Velodrome, the largest attendance for an Olympic soccer match since Brazil’s opening match at home in 2016.
The goals, all in the second half, came from Alexandre Lacazette, Michael Olise and Loic Bade. But for the U.S. coach Marko Mitrović, the game wasn’t so much a loss as it was an opportunity.
LeBron James and Coco Gauff selected as U.S. flagbearers for Paris Olympics
LeBron James is set to compete in his fourth Olympics.
Like the previous three times, the Lakers superstar will participate in the opening ceremony.
But for the official start of the Paris Games on Friday night, James will have a role that neither he nor anyone else who has played for the U.S. men’s basketball team has held before.
James and Coco Gauff, the 20-year-old tennis star participating in her first Olympics, were selected by their fellow American athletes as the U.S. flagbearers for the opening ceremony, which will take place in boats along the Seine toward the Eiffel Tower.
Rain is in the forecast for the Olympics opening ceremony
PARIS — Will weather wreak havoc with the grandiose opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the Seine River?
According to the latest weather forecasts, there is a chance of rain Friday.
Meteo-France, the French weather service, is forecasting overcast skies from midday onward, with light rain anticipated in the morning. The weather should improve in the afternoon, but the weather service warned Thursday that showers could hit the Paris region in the evening, when the cermony takes place.
If it rains, the ceremony is expected to go on as planned. It starts at 10:30 a.m. PDT and should last more than three hours.
“For the moment, the risk of showers during the opening ceremony cannot be ruled out,” Meteo France said. “Forecasts have yet to be confirmed.”
There was some good news, though, with a balmy summer evening looming. Temperatures will be close to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 10,500 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 3.7 miles. Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as the athletes float by.
Three-time major winner Angelique Kerber to retire after Olympics
PARIS — Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber announced Thursday that she will retire after the Paris Olympics.
The 36-year-old German player won majors at every tournament except for the French Open at Roland Garros — on the same clay courts where she will bid farewell to tennis after the Paris Games. She faces four-time major winner Naomi Osaka of Japan in the first round.
“Before the Olympics begin, l can already say that I will never forget Paris 2024, because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player,” Kerber posted on Instagram. “And whereas this might actually be the right decision, it will never feel that way. Simply because I love the sport with all my heart and l’m thankful for the memories and opportunities it has given me.”
Kerber later confirmed her retirement when speaking briefly on stage after the Olympic tennis draw. Men’s and women’s first-round play begins Saturday.
Kerber won the Australian Open and the U.S. Open in 2016 — the year she reached No. 1 in the rankings — and won Wimbledon two years later.
Britain’s Andy Murray withdraws from singles tournament
PARIS — Two-time Olympic tennis gold medalist Andy Murray pulled out of singles competition at the Paris Games on Thursday and will compete only in doubles, with Dan Evans.
Murray, a 37-year-old from Britain, has said these Olympics will be the final event of his career.
He’s dealt with a series of injuries, including a hip replacement in 2019, and most recently needed surgery last month to remove a cyst from his spine.
Murray pulled out of singles at Wimbledon this month and played one match in doubles alongside his older brother, Jamie.
“I’ve taken the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan. Our practice has been great and we’re playing well together,” Murray said Thursday. “Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time.”
Murray won singles gold medals at London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016, making him the only tennis player with two.