American Simone Biles shines in gymnastics; Nadal sets up blockbuster clash against Djokovic – Firstpost
The second day of the Paris 2024 Olympics saw some big stars shine on Sunday. American gymnast Simone Biles shone despite a calf injury during the warm-up for the floor exercise.
Rafael Nadal then beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, setting the Spaniard up for a high-profile second-round clash with Novak Djokovic. Britain’s Andy Murray teamed up with Dan Evans to claim a first-round victory in the men’s doubles.
Paris Olympics: news, schedule, medal tally and more
Simone shines
Biles made her Olympic return three years after withdrawing from several finals at the Tokyo Games to protect her safety, sparking an international debate about mental health, by overcoming discomfort in her calf 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 in early qualifying, though Chiles will miss the all-around final because of rules that limit countries to two athletes per competition.
Chiles has a chance to advance to the floor exercise finals if she finishes in the top eight. Lee is all but assured of advancing to the beam and bars finals, with 2020 floor exercise champion Jade Carey in position to join Biles in the vault final.
But all eyes were on Biles, who briefly scared a nation when she left the arena after her floor routine and received medical attention. She had twisted her calf during warm-ups, but U.S. coach Cecile Landi said it was a minor injury.
She performed in front of a star-studded audience that included Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, Snoop Dogg, Anna Wintour and Lady Gaga, who wrote on social media of Biles: “She did it, what an honor to be so close!”
Tennis veterans win
Rafael Nadal wasn’t even sure he’d be able to play the men’s singles on Sunday the day before his 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 the way to a successful confrontation against his rival Novak Djokovic.
It will be the 60th meeting between these two greats, more than any other men’s duo has ever played each other in the sport’s Open era, which began in 1968. Djokovic, a 37-year-old Serbian, leads the head-to-head series 30-29, and his 24 Grand Slam titles make him the only man in tennis history to have more than Nadal’s 22.
Andy Murray’s tennis career was extended by at least one more match when he and British partner Dan Evans saved five match points in a first-round doubles victory. Murray and Evans beat Japanese pair Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9.
The British trailed 9-4 in the deciding tie-break, which took place in place of a third doubles set.
Murray, 37, had announced before the Summer Games that it would be the final event of his career, then retired from singles competition, remaining only in doubles.
Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion and the only tennis player to win two Olympic singles gold medals, in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
LeBron James leads Team USA
Two of the most experienced Olympians on the U.S. men’s basketball team, James and Kevin Durant, began the team’s quest for a fifth straight gold medal with a nearly flawless performance.
Durant made his first eight shots and scored 23 points, James added 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the United States cruised to a 110-84 victory over Serbia in the Olympic opener for both teams.
James and Durant shot a combined 18 of 22 from the field – Durant went 8 of 9, James went 9 of 13 – as the United States had no trouble with the reigning World Cup silver medalists.
Jrue Holiday scored 15, Devin Booker had 12 and Anthony Edwards and Stephen Curry each added 11 for the United States.
Pool party
Torri Huske beat world record holder Gretchen Walsh in the women’s 100m butterfly, using a strong finish to put her hands on the wall just ahead of her teammate in a 1-2 finish for the United States
The favourite followed her usual strategy: start fast and try to hold on. It worked in the US qualifiers, where she set her world record of 55.18 last month, and she was under the record pace at the turn.
GOLD STRUCK 🇺🇸🥇
Torri Huske wins 100m butterfly at the #ParisOlympicGames! pic.twitter.com/CMb3mrM7p7
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 28, 2024
But Huske caught up to her in the race that really mattered. The winner touched down in 55.59 seconds, about a finger’s width ahead of Walsh’s time of 55.63 seconds.
When Huske saw the “1” next to her name on the scoreboard, she reached over the hallway rope to give Walsh a hug while breaking down in tears.
Marchand, meanwhile, lived up to his countrymen’s expectations at the Olympics, with a crowd cheering him on with every stroke. He was under the world record in the final turn, but faltered a bit as he came home, clocking 4 minutes, 2.95 seconds, an Olympic record but just under his own world mark of 4:02.50.
Marchand set the record at last year’s world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, breaking a record that had stood for 15 years, held by Michael Phelps.
And, in a surprise, Italian swimmer Nicolo Martinenghi upset record holder Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke.
Peaty, a gold medallist in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, had taken a long break to deal with mental health issues. Upon his return, he bounced back and qualified for the final as the top qualifier, but settled for silver, his quest for a third consecutive gold medal over.
United States Football Team Victory
Sophia Smith scored twice as the United States beat Germany 4-1 and put the team in good position to advance from its group at the Olympics.
Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams also scored for the Americans, who beat Zambia 3-0 in the opening match but will not know their fate in the round of 16 until the final Group B games on Wednesday.
The Americans will face Australia in Marseille to conclude the group stage.
Mountain Bike Medals
Batten broke a rule but still came away with the best finish in American mountain biking history by winning silver.
Batten was penalized by Olympic mountain bike judges for breaking a rule on the final lap of her race. She was battling for second place when she took a lane reserved for food and drink stops or mechanical pit stops.
After reviewing the footage, the judges decided that Batten had done neither and that she had broken one of the rules of the race. She was fined 500 Swiss francs, or about $565, for “failure to comply with the instructions of the race organization or the stewards,” although the judges apparently decided that the infraction was not serious enough to warrant disqualification.
Batten finished ninth at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
With contributions from the Associated Press