On Thursday, Simone Biles can twist and twirl to another medal at the 2024 Paris Games.
Biles will compete in the women’s gymnastics all-around final where she earned gold in Rio eight years ago. Her fellow teammate and defending gold medalist in the competition, Suni Lee, will also be looking for another medal. Biles and Lee were key members of the U.S. group that won gold in the women’s team final.
The U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team continues group play with a matchup against Belgium. Team USA handled Japan in its first matchup of these Olympics, winning 102-76 behind 24 points from A’ja Wilson and 22 from Breanna Stewart.
A handful of swimming heats and finals are set to take place, including the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Most notably, Caeleb Dressel returns to action in the men’s 50m freestyle.
Golf makes its 2024 Olympics debut in individual stroke play. Players such as Scottie Scheffler and reigning gold medalist and Open Championship winner Xander Schauffele are set to tee off early in Paris.
Here is Thursday’s schedule.
Simone Biles lands her Yurchenko double pike
Simone Biles, the overwhelming favorite, started her campaign for her sixth gold medal in a big way on Thursday.
Looking to become the first woman in history to win non-consecutive Olympic all-around titles — and just the third to win it more than once — Biles looked poised to do just that during her first rotation on vault with her Yurchenko double pike. She took a big hop and step back on her landing, but otherwise wowed the crowd with her height and power.
Cleared for takeoff. 🫡
Simone Biles gets her day started on vault. #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/qOtAzKDP3P
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024
She earned a 15.766, and celebrated with a high five with teammate Sunisa Lee. Despite an impressive Cheng vault from Rebeca Andrade that earned a massive 9.500 execution score, Biles leads the way by .666 because of the huge difficulty rating of her vault.
Biles now heads to bars. Will she perform her new skill to get it named after her in the code of points? It’s her last chance — here in Paris anyway — and we’ll find out soon enough. — D’Arcy Maine
Suni Lee starts off on vault
Two days after winning team gold, 2016 Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles and reigning Olympic all-around champ Suni Lee are back for the all-around final. This is the first Olympic all-around final to feature two Olympic gold medalists.
The women are rotating together, started with vault and will finish on floor. Two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles, who finished fourth in qualifying but will not compete due to a rule that only allows two gymnasts per country to qualify into the all-around final, is in the stands supporting her teammates. Their other teammates, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, are in the stands as well.
Lee led off the rotation and landed a double-twisting Yurchenko (DTY) with a hop back. The judges took quite a while to determine Lee’s score of 13.933, and Lee paced, put on her warmup jacket and cut the tape off her left ankle while she waited. — Alyssa Roenigk
Simone and Suni are ready
Simone Biles and Suni Lee arrived earlier today for the women’s all-around competition (noon ET), with teammate Jordan Chiles also there as an alternate. Biles qualified in first with a 1.866 lead over second-place qualifier Rebeca Andrade of Brazil. Lee, the 2021 Olympic all-around champion was third. All scores are wiped clean for today, though those three are all medal favorites, with Biles the clear front-runner for gold.
Simone Biles and Suni Lee are ready to go for the women’s all-around individual final. 💪 #ParisOlympics
📺 12P ET on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/Yoxk9B8C0q
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024
Alcaraz advances to the semifinals of men’s singles
Carlos Alcaraz is taking his skills to the next level of the Olympic singles bracket after cruising past Tommy Paul in the quarterfinal 6-3, 7-6 (7), allowing the 21-year-old to reach the semifinals. Alcaraz’s victory over Paul makes him the youngest man to reach the singles semifinal since Novak Djokovic in 2008. — READ MORE
Silver medal with no gear
Focus and determination was all Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec needed. The Olympic Games are nothing new for the 51-year-old, as he’s participated in every Olympics since the 2008 Beijing Games. En route to a silver medal in the 10 meter Air Pistol event, Dikec went without gear — no headphones or protective glasses. Dikec and Sevval Ilayda Tarhan won Turkey’s first-ever Olympic medal in the event.
No fancy lenses. No headphones. Just vibes.
Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec was cool as a cucumber en route to silver in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team. 😎 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/p7yu1hXl5x
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024
The inside to Jewell Loyd’s experience in Paris
For Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd, particpating on a stacked Team USA roster featuring A’ja Wilson, Diana Tarausi and Breanna Stewart brings on new responsibilities differentiating from her role of playing in the WNBA. Loyd sits down with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears about the competition comparison in the Olympics opposed to the WNBA, and her personal and playing experience in part 3 of her diary. — More from Andscape here.
‘This ain’t no mystery!’
It has been three days since the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won a bronze medal in artistic gymnastics, and they’re still hyped up. Frederick Richard, also known as Frederick Flips, met up with rapper Flavor Flav, where he was praised by one of Public Enemy’s founding members. Richard let Flav wear the medal, and Flav put the big clock around the gymnast’s neck.
goated moment: Flavor Flav meets Frederick Flips pic.twitter.com/V3QjptMjlm
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 1, 2024
Swiatek’s Olympic singles journey comes to an end
All that Poland’s Iga Swiatek needed was two solid sets to play her way into a chance for gold. But China’s Zheng Qinwen ended the world No. 1’s hopes after upsetting her in straight sets (6-2, 7-5) to reach the Olympic final. — READ MORE
U.S. men’s rowing wins first gold in 64 years
Team USA rowing hasn’t won a gold medal in men’s fours since the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Rowers Liam Corrigan, Nick Mead, Michael Grady and Justin Best ended the 64-year drought with a win over New Zealand and Great Britain with a time of 5:49:03.
Team USA surges past New Zealand for GOLD in men’s four rowing! 🇺🇸🔥 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/tCQm7Rk52z
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024
Trick shots … in badminton?
India’s Lakshya Sen and Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie had an intense sequence in their badminton match — and you’ll have to see how Sen won the point to believe it.
OH HE WENT BEHIND THE BACK ON ‘EM. 😳
Elite badminton trickery on display from India’s Lakshya Sen. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/pmBssSzgRA
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 1, 2024
Scheffler off to strong Olympic debut
Golf’s first outing at the Olympic Games was in 1900, coincidentally in Paris. American Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, is making his debut at the Games and is off to a strong start.
Scheffler made a birdie on his first hole and is currently tied in ninth at 2-under.
Scottie Scheffler birdies the first hole of his OLYMPIC DEBUT! 🇺🇸🔥
📺 #ParisOlympics on Golf Channel and Peacock pic.twitter.com/h1Rp6Oc8q8
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 1, 2024
U.S. men’s water polo falls short of victory to Greece
Team USA men’s water polo came into their match against Greece 1-1 after a 14-8 win over Romania and a 12-8 loss to Italy. With no losses in their Olympic showing, Greece is playing some of the best water polo of the Games. In a tough duel against Greece, teams traded goals to keep the game within one. But Greece took advantage in power plays to beat the U.S., 13-11. The United States is now 1-2 with two games left in group play.
