After a busy full day of competitions, big names close out the first weekend of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera will make their Paris debut on the U.S. gymnastics team. Biles, Lee and Chiles will compete in all four events in qualifications on Sunday.
Team USA men’s basketball will face three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia to start group play. It will be LeBron James‘ first Olympic Game since 2012 and Stephen Curry‘s first.
Women soccer’s quest for its record-extending fifth gold medal continues with a matchup against Germany. The U.S. comfortably defeated Zambia 3-0 on Thursday and faces a Germany squad also coming off a win.
Top events to watch
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3:30 a.m. ET: Gymnastics — women’s qualification begins; the U.S. team competes at 5:40 a.m.
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5 a.m. ET: Swimming — men’s/women’s 200m freestyle heats, men’s 100m backstroke heats, women’s 100m breaststroke heats, men’s 400m individual medley heats
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11:15 a.m. ET: Basketball — Olympic men’s team vs. Serbia
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2:30 p.m. ET: Swimming — medal rounds for Men’s 400m individual medley, men’s 100m backstroke, women’s 100m butterfly; semifinals for men’s/women’s 200m freestyle, men’s 100m backstroke, women’s 100m breaststroke
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3 p.m. ET: Soccer — Olympic women’s team vs. Germany
A full list of the July 28th schedule can be found here.
Here’s what’s in store for Sunday:
Heroics from the cap catcher
Who do you call when a swim cap falls in the pool?
“BOB THE CAP CATCHER.” 😂#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/eN5ycGkKjw
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024
The athletes are the stars of the show in Paris, but the support staff is essential to the Games running smoothly as well. Sunday morning proved that after swimmer Emma Weber lost her swimming cap in the pool — thus calling into action a man in a speedo, tasked with clearing the pool of the lost item.
The ‘cap catcher,’ as he was dubbed by the broadcast team, quickly proved to be a fan favorite among spectators, as the crowd roared their approval.
Simone, Suni and U.S. team start off strong
Reigning Olympic all-around gold medalist Suni Lee is off to a solid start in her #ParisOlympics debut. 🙌
📺: NBC, E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/yS71jL2fzo
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024
PARIS — With the stands packed with U.S. fans and A-list celebrities — we see you, Tom Cruise, Anna Wintour and Jessica Chastain! — the U.S. women’s gymnastics team started competition Sunday afternoon at Bercy Arena and after one rotation have more than a one-point lead over Italy and China in their subdivision.
Jordan Chiles brought JORDAN CHILES ENGERY to Paris. ✨ #ParisOlympics
📺: NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/arSXzmHPO3
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024
Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles started the competition for Team USA and set the tone with a solid beam set that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Rookie Hezly Rivera had a few issues, but stayed on and set up reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee, who changed her mount after podium training, and performed well enough to likely earn a spot in beam finals later in the week. And then there was Simone Biles, who nailed one of her best beam routines in recent memory. When she landed, she grabbed her heart and ran to her coach, Cecile Landi. The U.S. leads their subdivision by more than a point over Italy and China. — Alyssa Roenigk
Previewing women’s gymnastics
Simone Biles and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team begin their quest for “redemption” Sunday. It’s no surprise the seven-time Olympic medalist will anchor three of the four lineups during qualifying, which utilizes a four-up, three-count format where teams drop their lowest score on each event.
Reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee will anchor the U.S. on uneven bars and Biles, Lee and two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles will compete in the all-around, a necessity if a gymnast wants a chance to qualify into Thursday’s final. The top 24 gymnasts will make the final, but only two per country are eligible.
Although qualification qualifies teams into team finals and individuals into event finals, the Team USA gymnasts — four of whom competed in Tokyo — say they aren’t turning their minds to individual finals until the work of winning team gold is complete.
“I think when we go out on the floor for the first time, we’re going to be really emotional, really excited and grateful to be back out there because we’ve all wanted it bad for the past three years,” said reigning Olympic floor champion Jade Carey, who competed in Tokyo as an individual. “We’re really driven by that redemption and we want to have a different experience this time around.”
Setting the tone for Sunday’s competition falls on Chiles, who leads off the team in its first rotation on the balance beam at 5:40 a.m. ET (11:40 a.m. Paris time). Carey and 16-year-old rookie Hezly Rivera will each compete in two events during qualifying. Lee will perform the final routine of the afternoon for the U.S. women on uneven bars, her specialty.
The lineups:
Balance beam: Chiles, Rivera, Lee, Biles
Floor: Lee, Chiles, Carey, Biles
Vault: Lee, Chiles, Carey, Biles
Uneven bars: Rivera, Chiles, Biles, Lee
— Alyssa Roenigk
