On the first sunny day of Paris OlympicsStars from the United States shine brightly.
Simone Biles and LeBron James The U.S. women’s soccer team was overwhelmed, too. Torri Huske attracted some attention, and Haley Batten made a name for herself by winning the silver medal in mountain biking, the best finish ever by an American rider.
Although French swimmer Léon Marchand got the biggest cheers as he beat out his rivals to win gold in the men’s 400-meter individual medley, the U.S. team also had a great Sunday on Day 2 of the Games.
Simone shines
Biles returned to the Olympics after three years of withdrawing from multiple finals at the Tokyo Games to protect her safety, which prompted an international discussion about mental health, by overcoming calf discomfort to lead the U.S. women’s gymnastics team to the final.
Biles, Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles finished 1-2-3 in the all-around qualifying round, although Chiles will not compete in the all-around finals due to regulations limiting each country to two athletes per competition.
Chiles is likely to reach the floor exercise final if she makes the top eight. Lee is almost certain to reach the bars and parallel bars finals, while 2020 floor exercise champion Jade Carey has a good chance of joining Biles in the vault final.
But all eyes were on Biles, who briefly sent a nation into a panic when she walked off the floor exercise and received medical attention. She had twisted her calf during the warm-up, but U.S. coach Cecile Landi said it was a minor injury.
She performed in front of a star-studded crowd including Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, Snoop Dogg, Anna Wintour and Lady Gaga, who wrote of Biles on social media: “She did so well, it was an honor to be so close!”
LeBron James leads the US team
Two of the most experienced Olympians on the U.S. men’s basketball team, James and Kevin Durantbegan the team’s quest for a fifth consecutive gold medal with a near-perfect performance.
Durant made his first eight shots and scored 23 points, James added 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the United States won. 110-84 win over Serbia in the Olympic opening match for both teams.
James and Durant combined to make 18 of 22 shots — 8 of 9 for Durant, 9 of 13 for James — as the U.S. team had no trouble against the defending World Cup champions.
Jrue Holiday scored 15 points, Devin Booker had 12 points and Anthony Edwards and Stephen Curry each added 11 points for the United States.
Pool party
Huske beat world record holder Gretchen Walsh in the women’s 100m butterfly, using a powerful stroke to put her hand on the wall just ahead of her teammate in a 1-2 win for the United States.
The favourite went with her usual strategy: start fast and hold on. It worked at the US trials, where she set a world record of 55.18 last month, and she was running at sub-record speeds on the corner.
But Huske caught up with her in the race that really mattered. The winner crossed the finish line in 55.59—about a finger’s breadth faster than Walsh’s time of 55.63.
When Huske saw the number “1” next to her name on the scoreboard, she reached through the track’s barrier to hug Walsh while crying.
Marchand, meanwhile, lived up to the high expectations of his home Olympics, with a flag-waving crowd cheering his every stroke. He was under world-record pace in the final leg but slowed down a bit toward the finish, crossing the line in 4 minutes, 2.95 seconds—an Olympic record, but just off his own world record of 4:02.50.
Marchand achieved the feat at last year’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, breaking a record held by Michael Phelps for 15 years.
And, in a surprising turn of events, Italian swimmer Nicolo Martinenghi shocked record holder Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke.
Peaty, who won gold in both Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, had a lengthy layoff to deal with mental health issues. He returned to form and reached the final as the most qualified man but was only able to settle for silver, ending his bid for a third straight gold.
The US soccer team won
Sophia Smith scored a pair of goals to take the lead USA beat Germany 4-1 and put the team in a good position to qualify for the group stage at the Olympics.
Mallory Swanson And Lynn Williams also scored for the United States, who beat Zambia 3-0 in their opening match but will not know for sure their fate in the knockout stages until after Wednesday’s final Group B match.
The US team will play Australia in Marseille to conclude the group stage.
Mountain bike medal
Batten broke a rule but still delivered the best result for American mountain biking when she won the silver medal.
Batten was penalized by the Olympic mountain bike referee for a rule violation on the final lap. She was vying for second place when she passed through the lanes meant for food and drinks or stopping for mechanical problems.
After the judges reviewed the footage, they decided that Batten had done nothing and had violated one of the race’s rules. She was fined 500 Swiss francs, or about $565, for “disrespecting the instructions of the race organizer or commissioner,” although the judges apparently decided that the violation was not serious enough to warrant disqualification.
Batten finished ninth at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Victory of tennis veterans
Rafael Nadal was unsure if he would be able to play men’s singles on Sunday, a day before the match, but he showed up at Roland Garros and beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round.
This victory opens up a fierce confrontation with opponent Novak Djokovic.
This will be the 60th meeting between the great pair, more than any other encounter between two men in the sport’s Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic, 37, of Serbia, leads 30-29, and his 24 Grand Slam titles make him the only man in tennis history to have more than Nadal’s 22.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray’s tennis career was extended by at least one more match as he and British partner Dan Evans saved five match points in their first doubles victory. Murray and Evans overcame Japanese pair Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori 2-6, 7-6(5), 11-9.
England were 9-4 down in the deciding tie-break, held in place of a third set in the doubles.
Murray, 37, announced before the Summer Olympics that it would be the last event of his career, then withdrew from the singles event, leaving only the doubles event.
Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion and the only player to have won two Olympic men’s singles gold medals — in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
According to The Associated Press.
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