What to watch for at the Paris Olympics: Simone Biles leads USA in gymnastics final on Tuesday

Simone Biles leads the U.S. women’s team in the gymnastics team final, a part of an action-packed program Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Here’s a guide on what to look out for:

Biles in the final of the gymnastics team despite injury

Biles, 27, is in the lineup to compete in all 4 events of the team final despite a calf injury. Biles strained her left calf while warming up for floor exercises during qualifying on Sunday. She still topped the all-around with top scores in the freestyle and vault.

The competition will begin at 18:15 CEST (12:15 EDT) at Bercy Arena. The Americans are favorites to win gold after ending second to Russia in 2021.

Biles’ teammate Jordan Chiles may also compete in all 4 events. Chiles finished fourth in the all-around during qualifying behind Biles, Brazilian Rebecca Andrade and 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee.

US Women Begin Defending 3×3 Basketball Title

The U.S. team will begin defending its 2021 Olympic 3×3 basketball title when competition begins Tuesday. WNBA players Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard will join Texas Christian University collegiate basketball player Hailey Van Lith and former WNBA player Cierra Burdick on the team as they face Germany at 5:30 p.m. CEST (11:30 a.m. EDT) at La Concorde.

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Later, the U.S. men’s 3×3 team will face Serbia. The American men didn’t qualify for the 2021 Olympics.

Katie Ledecky returns to the pool as swimming finals proceed

Ledecky returns to the pool to compete in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle, certainly one of her signature events, with qualifying starting at 11:44 a.m. CEST (5:44 a.m. EDT) at Paris La Defense Arena. Ledecky is the world and Olympic record holder in the event and is a favourite to defend her 2021 title.

The women’s 100 backstroke final shall be at 20:56 CEST (14:56 EDT). The men’s 800 freestyle final will follow. Daniel Wiffen of Ireland qualified first in the heats with a time of seven:41.53.

The final swimming final on Tuesday is the men’s 4 × 200 freestyle relay, which can start at 10:01 p.m. CEST (4:01 p.m. EDT).

Women’s Rugby 7s Gold

The gold and bronze medal matches for women’s rugby sevens add excitement to Tuesday’s schedule. The bronze medal match at the Stade de France will start at 7:00 p.m. CEST (1:00 p.m. EDT), followed by the gold medal match at 7:45 p.m.

New Zealand, the defending champions, will face the United States for a spot in the final. New Zealand beat China 55-5 in the quarterfinals, while the United States beat Great Britain 17-7. Canada beat Tokyo runner-up France 19-14 and can play Australia in the other semifinal.