Simone Biles and the U.S. women took the gold the gymnastics team final on day 4 of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Follow here for the live updates:
Great Britain Wins Gold in 4×200 Meters Freestyle Relay
Swimmers James Guy, Matt Richards, Duncan Scott, and Tom Dean defended their Olympic title, touching the wall in a winning time of 6:59.43.
The win marks Great Britain’s fourth gold medal in Paris following Nathan Hales’ win in trap shooting.
The reigning champions entered the Paris games as strong favorites, securing Britain’s first gold medal in the pool at this year’s Olympics.
Guy’s opening leg set the tone, and Scott anchored the team to victory.
USA’s Finke Wins Silver in Men’s 800-Meter Freestyle
American swimmer Bobby Finke was slightly outpaced by Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen coming in at 7:38.19. 24-year-old Finke finished with a time of 7:38.75 for the silver while Italy’s Gregorio Paltinieri claimed the bronze.
Finke, a two time Olympian, will return to the pool for the men’s 1,500 with an aim to defend his Olympic title. The distance swimmer will compete in the heats on Aug. 3, with the finals scheduled for Aug. 4.
Team USA Men’s Soccer Moves Into Quarterfinals After Win Against Guinea
Team USA nabbed a 3-0 win over Guinea in men’s soccer securing their spot in the quarterfinals.
In the 14th minute, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic opened the scoring, before Kevin Paredes, a 21-year-old Virginia native added two goals.
Despite enjoying more possession, Guinea struggled to find a breakthrough, and ultimately failed to captilaize on the opportunity.
Team USA will face off against Morocco in the quarterfinals on Aug. 2.
Australia’s McKeown Wins Gold in Women’s 100-Meter Backstroke
Australia’s Kaylee McKeown took first place in the women’s 100-meter backstroke, shattering the Olympic record with a time of 57.33 seconds.
McKeown engaged in a fierce battle with American rivals Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff, the trio virtually inseparable as they turned for the final lap.
McKeown managed to pull ahead in the last 30 meters, edging out her competitors.
Smith secured silver in 57.66 seconds while Berkoff claimed bronze with a time of 57.98.
Simone Biles and Team USA Win Gold in Women’s Gymnastics
Simone Biles and the U.S. women took the gold the gymnastics team final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, completing their “redemption tour” after taking second in the 2021 Tokyo games.
The American gymnastics star and her singular brilliance powered a dominant U.S. women’s team in the finals inside a raucous Bercy Arena on Tuesday night.
With Biles at her show-stopping best, the Americans’ total of 171.296 was well clear of Italy and Brazil and the exclamation point of a yearlong run in which Biles has cemented her legacy as the greatest ever in her sport, and among the best in the history of the Olympics.
The outcome—the Americans on top with the rest of the world looking up—was not in doubt from the moment Jordan Chiles began the night by drilling her double-twisting Yurchenko vault.
By the time Biles, the left calf that bothered her during qualifying heavily taped, stepped onto the floor for the final event—a floor exercise set to music by Taylor Swift and Beyonce—her fifth Olympic gold medal was well in hand.
The 27-year-old provided the exclamation point anyway, sealing the Americans’ third gold in its last four trips to the Games.
The Americans remain peerless (if not flawless, this is gymnastics after all) when at their best.
And over two hours in front of a crowd that included everyone from tennis great Serena Williams and actor Natalie Portman to Biles’ husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles left little doubt about anything.
US Women Win First Olympic Medal in Rugby Sevens
The U.S. women’s rugby team secured a bronze medal in rugby sevens. They defeated Australia with a 14–12 victory.
This is the first ever Olympic rugby medal for the United States.
Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman Attend Simone Biles’ Latest Attempt at More Olympic Glory in Paris
Celebrity spotting has become part of the event at Bercy Arena when Simone Biles competes.
A-listers Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Serena Williams gathered at the Olympic gymnastics venue to watch the superstar during the team final.
Spike Lee, Michael Phelps and former ace gymnast Nadia Comaneci were also in the crowd.
Biles’ husband was also in the stands after he reached the French capital city in time for the women’s team final. Jonathan Owens, an NFL player with the Chicago Bears, was granted leave from training camp to be here.
Owens sat alongside Biles’ mother and father, Nellie and Ron Biles.
Simone Biles and Team USA on the Floor
Biles and the Americans start on vault with Italy. The U.S. have an opportunity to take an early lead thanks to a lineup that includes Biles doing her Yurchenko double pike vault, the hardest one currently being done in competition by a female gymnast.
USA Men’s Water Polo Nets First Win
Team USA defeated Romania for its first water polo win on Tuesday. The teams were tied until the second quarter, when USA held Romania off from scoring for much of the remainder of the match, winning 14-8.
The team will play Greece on Aug. 1, and Romania will play Croatia.
Representing Team USA are Adrian Weinberg, Drew Holland, Dylan Woodhead, Johnny Hooper, Marko Vavic, Alex Obert, Hannes Daube, Luca Cupido, Ben Hallock, Alex Bowen, Chase Dodd, Ryder Dodd, and Max Irving.
Hannah Roberts, Perris Benegas Advance to BMX Freestyle Finals
Team USA’s Hannah Roberts, 22, took the highest qualifying score and will advance to the BMX freestyle finals with teammate Perris Benegas for a shot at a medal.
Roberts is the favorite to win gold in the event. She won silver in the Tokyo 2020 with a torn ligament.
Team USA revealed last week that to train for the event, they built a secret facility in Utah with every ramp they could have encountered at the Olympics.
Danielle Collins Advances to Tennis Quarterfinals
Team USA’s Danielle Collins will advance to the women’s singles quarterfinals after beating Camila Osorio of Colombia.
This will be Collins’s first and last Olympics, as she is set to retire at the end of the year.
Team USA’s Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro were both defeated in women’s singles matches.
USA Women’s Rugby Set for Bronze Round
Team USA lost to New Zealand, reigning champions defending their gold, and will proceed to the bronze match against either Canada or Australia.
New Zealand advances to the gold round after their 24-12 win.
USA Men’s Volleyball Team Defeats Germany
Team USA beat Germany 3-2 in men’s team volleyball, remaining first in the pool. The team’s next game is against Japan on Aug. 2.
After winning gold in the 2008 Beijing Games and bronze in the 2016 Rio Games, Team USA suffered a disappointing defeat during the pool stage in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Team USA won the first two sets against Germany, but Germany made a comeback and won the next two, setting up a tiebreaker fifth set where USA won 15-11.
Representing Team USA are Matt Anderson, TJ DeFalco, Aaron Russell, Jeff Jendryk, Micah Christenson, Max Holt, Micah Ma’a, Thomas Jaeschke, Garrett Muagututia, Taylor Averill, David Smith, and Erik Shoji.
USA’s Taylor Fritz Advances in Men’s Tennis Singles
Taylor Fritz beat Jack Draper of Great Britain in singles and is advancing to the third round.
Later today, Fritz will also play in mixed doubles with Coco Gauff, who ranks No. 2 in the world in singles and No. 1 in doubles.
Gauff earlier in the day lost her tennis match to Donna Vekic of Croatia after a controversial call, and was seen in tears.
After the match, she told NBC she was disappointed but looking forward to doubles.
Gauff’s Singles Hopes Melt Away in Defeat by Vekic
American Coco Gauff’s hopes of singles gold at the Olympics evaporated in the third round as she fell to a 7-6(7) 6-2 to Croatia’s Donna Vekic in furnace-like conditions at Roland Garros on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old United States’ second seed marched into a 5-2 lead in the opening set but Vekic responded in inspired fashion to turn the match on its head with some stunning ground strokes.
Gauff was left in tears as she went 4-2 down in the second set following a disputed line call after which she argued with the umpire and referee for several minutes before continuing.
The Philippe Chatrier crowd got behind the American but the ice-cool Vekic, seeded 13th, sealed the win as Gauff’s game disintegrated. Olympic debutant Gauff will now focus on mixed doubles and women’s doubles.
Australian Medal Hope Pallister Tests Positive for COVID
Australia’s Lani Pallister, a medal hope in the women’s 1,500 meters freestyle, has withdrawn from the event after testing positive for COVID-19 at the Paris Olympics, the team said on Tuesday.
A team spokeswoman said the decision had been made to save Pallister’s energy for the 4x200m freestyle relay which starts on Thursday.
The 1,500 heats started on Tuesday morning at La Defense Arena.
Pallister took bronze in the 1,500m freestyle at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest and was a member of Australia’s world-title winning 4x200m freestyle team at Fukuoka last year.
She is also entered in the 800m freestyle in Paris starting on Friday.
Lanister’s blow follows Briton Adam Peaty testing positive for COVID-19 early on Monday, hours after missing out on a third successive gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
What to Watch for the Paris Olympics: Monday, July 30
Biles makes her second appearance at the Paris Games in the women’s team final, where she hopes to win a fifth Olympic gold medal for the United States.
American Bobby Finke defends his 800 metres freestyle gold medal from Tokyo in the final at La Defense Arena, before Britain look to go back-to-back in the men’s 4×200 freestyle.
Australian champion Kaylee McKeown and American Regan Smith will battle for the women’s 100 backstroke gold.
The 3×3 basketball tournament begins at the iconic Place de la Concorde, with eight pool matches being played.
The US women’s team, the Tokyo champions, kick off the competition against Germany, while men’s title holders Latvia start an hour later against Lithuania.
The Serbia and United States men’s teams, seeded first and second respectively, face off to test their gold medal ambitions in the day’s final match.
The last day of action in a hugely successful rugby sevens programme features the semis and finals of the women’s event, with powerhouses New Zealand and Australia expected to be battling with France – seeking to match their men’s gold – on what should be another noisy night in the Stade de France.
Katie Ledecky is back in the pool to compete in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle. The qualifying heats start at 11:44 a.m. CEST (5:44 a.m. EDT). The women’s 100 backstroke final will take place at 8:56 p.m. CEST (2:56 p.m. EDT), followed by the men’s 800 free final. The last swimming final Tuesday is the men’s 4×200 free relay at 10:01 p.m. CEST (4:01 p.m. EDT).
Catherine Yang, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.