Sports
Simone Biles Makes Paris Debut, USA Basketball Team Begins Gold Medal Defense Sunday
After several days of rain, it was time for the second full weather on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Sunday’s competition guarantees more excitement in gymnastics, basketball and swimming. Here are the important thing stories to follow:
Gymnastics icon Simone Biles returns to the Olympic stage
Simone Biles and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team take center stage in qualifying at Bercy Arena. Biles is on the lookout for a fifth Olympic gold medal and seventh overall. She won two medals in Tokyo, although she withdrew from the all-around to give attention to her mental health.
Competition will begin at 9:30 a.m. CEST (3:30 a.m. EST) in Subdivision 1. Biles and company can be in Subdivision 2, starting at 11:40 a.m. in Paris. They will start on the balance beam.
Biles will anchor three of the 4 events for the Americans on Sunday: balance beam, freestyle and vault. Her penultimate event can be on the asymmetric bars. Reigning all-around champion Sunisa Lee and Tokyo silver medalist Jordan Chiles may also compete in all 4 events within the qualifiers. The top eight teams from the qualifiers will advance to the team final on Tuesday.
The top 24 individual qualifiers within the all-around will advance to the ultimate on Thursday. The limit is 2 gymnasts from each country.
LeBron James, USA Basketball Team Begins Gold Medal Defense
LeBron James, Stephen Curry and their team of American stars begin their medal defense against Nikola Jokic and Serbia. The game starts at 17:15 CEST (11:15 EST) at Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
Team USA is on the lookout for its fifth consecutive gold medal after beating Serbia 105-79 in an exhibition match earlier this month. Kevin Durant is coping with a calf strain, however the team is hopeful he’ll play.
Also in basketball, South Sudan’s men will face Puerto Rico at 11:00 CEST (5:00 EST), while Serbia’s women will face Puerto Rico at 21:00 CEST (3:00 EST). Serbia’s women’s team finished fourth in 2020 and won bronze in 2016.
Continuation of medal competitions in swimming
The men’s 400-meter medley final will begin at 20:30 CEST (14:30 EST), followed by the ladies’s 100-meter butterfly at 20:40 CEST (14:40 EST). Another gold medal can be awarded in the boys’s 100-meter breaststroke, which is able to begin at 21:44 CEST (15:44 EST).