The Olympics are formally underway after a memorable opening ceremony Friday in Paris.
Saturday’s occasions are headlined by gymnastics, swimming, seashore volleyball and tennis. Males’s basketball has additionally begun, although Group USA would not compete till Sunday.
Katie Ledecky’s quest for her eleventh Olympic gold medal begins Saturday within the 400m freestyle, the place she’s going to compete in opposition to Australian rival Ariarne Titmus, the reigning gold medalist. Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal start their doubles journey at Roland Garros, whereas Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula will do the identical on the ladies’s aspect.
High occasions to look at
2:30 p.m. ET: Swimming — males’s/ladies’s 100m breaststroke semifinals plus medal rounds for males’s/ladies’s 400m freestyle and males’s/ladies’s 4x100m freestyle relay
A full record of the Saturday schedule could be discovered here.
Here is what’s occurring Saturday:
Nadal and Alcaraz advance in doubles
One of many extra extremely anticipated duos within the males’s tennis competitors, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, led to victorious trend. The Spaniards dispatched Argentina’s Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez, the No. 6 seeded workforce, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Nadal and Alcaraz will play the winners of Tallon Griekspoor/Wesley Koolhof vs. Marton Fucsovics/Fabian Marozsan.
Gauff and Pegula deal with doubles opponents
People Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula had a robust begin to their Olympic doubles run. They swiftly defeated Australian’s Ellen Perez and Daria Saville 6-3, 6-1.
The No. 1 seeded workforce, Gauff and Pegula will play the winners of Ekaterina Alexandrova/Elena Vesnina vs. Karolina Muchova/Linda Noskova.
A dominant begin!
Coco Gauff and Jessical Pegula get the win in Paris. pic.twitter.com/oQfCzuYpKv
— USTA (@usta) July 27, 2024
Ledecky grabs bronze in 400m freestyle
With an opportunity to win her first medal of the 2024 Paris Video games, American Katie Ledecky completed behind Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer season McIntosh for bronze.
It is the eleventh all-time Olympic medal for Ledecky and her first bronze. Ledecky will compete once more within the 800m freestyle, 1,500m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle.
Titmus accidentally lined up in Ledecky’s lane earlier than the race and moved to the right one after Ledecky pointed it out. The 2 shared a hug after the race.
Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky embrace after the 400m freestyle last 🤝 pic.twitter.com/jaOHhhm1Ou
— ESPN (@espn) July 27, 2024
Gretchen Walsh units an Olympic document
OLYMPIC RECORD for Gretchen Walsh within the 100m butterfly semis! 😤
📺 NBC & Peacock | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/64eStjRYl0
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
It took all of 1 race throughout the opening evening session at La Protection Enviornment for an Olympic document to be damaged.
American Gretchen Walsh, who set the world document within the ladies’s 100m butterfly final month on the Olympic trials in Indianapolis, was simply shy of her greatest Saturday, however nonetheless made historical past with a 55.38 throughout the first semifinal warmth. Realizing the mark was inside attain throughout the latter levels of her swim, the gang turned more and more extra vocal with each stroke till she touched the wall. When her document was introduced, the 21-year-old Walsh smiled and waved from her lane within the pool.
Walsh, who will even be competing within the 4x100m freestyle relay later Saturday, can have an opportunity to win her first particular person Olympic medal Sunday within the last. Her 4x100m teammate Torri Huske certified with the second-fastest time (56.00) from the evening’s second semifinal warmth. — D’Arcy Maine
France halts Fiji’s streak
“It is INCROYABLE!” 🇫🇷
France pulls off a surprising rugby sevens gold medal triumph in entrance of an ecstatic crowd on the #ParisOlympics! pic.twitter.com/rbNjV6qeGR
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
Previous to Saturday, just one nation had ever taken residence gold in rugby sevens for the reason that sport made its Olympic debut on the 2016 Rio video games: Fiji.
Nonetheless, Fiji’s run of dominance got here to an finish Saturday, as host nation France — led by Antoine Dupont — captured a 28-7 victory. The loss marked Fiji’s first within the competitors’s quick Olympic historical past.
Billie Jean King within the crowd
There was a couple of tennis legend on middle court docket at Roland-Garros on Saturday evening.
Minutes earlier than 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal graced the clay, Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Famer Billie Jean King took to the stage.
As Olympic followers had been nonetheless filling the stands inside roof-covered the Philippe-Chatrier Courtroom, King emerged from a tunnel. The sight of her energized the already-buzzing crowd.
Whereas slamming down a cane-like object, mimicking actions demonstrated on an enviornment videoboard simply earlier than she got here out, spectators began clapping in unison with the beat she was thumping.
Then, after King waved and took a bow, Nadal and his doubles accomplice for the evening, fellow Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz, had been proven on the videoboards, ready to make their entrance from the tunnel. Minutes later, they started their match in opposition to Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni. — Coley Harvey
The U.S. males’s nationwide workforce off to a flying begin
IT’S TWO. 😲
America are off to a flying begin in opposition to New Zealand. #ParisOlympics
📺 USA Community and Peacock pic.twitter.com/5EuQ33jiRV— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
Coming off a 3-0 loss to France within the workforce’s first sport, the USMNT wanted a robust response in its second group stage match in opposition to New Zealand — and obtained one.
The U.S. scored three targets within the first half-hour (together with the workforce’s first Olympic aim in 16 years), with three completely different gamers getting on the scoresheet.
A possible heavyweight battle looms in males’s tennis
The Olympics have solely simply begun, however in mere days, we may have a tennis ending for the ages.
With Rafael Nadal, 38, again competing for presumably the ultimate time at a venue the Spaniard has virtually owned, the stage may very well be set for one more doable final: a gathering between Nadal and fellow Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
To ensure that that to occur, Nadal has to win his opening-round Olympics singles match Sunday afternoon at famed Roland-Garros Stadium, the place the place he has received a document 14 French Opens.
“If we get to face one another,” Djokovic stated of Nadal, after profitable his opening-round match Saturday over Australia’s Matthew Ebden, “it’ll be presumably the final time we will face one another on an enormous stage. So I am positive that individuals would take pleasure in it.”
Djokovic presently holds a 30-29 lead within the all-time head-to-head sequence with Nadal. The final time they performed, nevertheless, Nadal earned the victory, advancing out of the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open within the course of.
“Enjoying him is like finals, in any event,” Djokovic stated. “Significantly right here, realizing what he has achieved and what he is performed for our sport, however significantly right here at Roland-Garros, his document speaks for itself.”
Throughout Nadal’s final match on the French Open this previous Might, Djokovic spectated as a “fan” to soak up the expertise of watching him play.
The second spherical in Olympic males’s singles is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. — Coley Harvey
Gymnastics qualifiers roll on
After two qualifying classes, the U.S. males sit in fifth place within the workforce standings behind China, Japan, Nice Britain and Ukraine. Almost 10 factors separates first and fifth locations, however solely 3.332 separates the U.S. from a bronze medal.
The excellent news: Scores reset for Monday’s workforce last and Group USA has the scoring potential to battle for bronze with Nice Britain and Ukraine.
In particular person competitors, it is now protected to say that College of Michigan teammates Frederick Richard and Paul Juda, in ninth and eleventh within the all-around after two subdivisions, will advance to the all-around last and specialist Stephen Nedoroscik will contest the pommel horse last. His 15.2 is the highest rating to this point. Asher Hong continues to be within the combine to make the rings last.
The third and last qualifying session takes place at 2 p.m. E.T. and contains Italy and Spain. — Alyssa Roenigk
Late drama in handball
AT THE BUZZER. 🚨
Croatia males’s handball got here again from 5 targets down at halftime to beat Japan within the last seconds. ELECTRIC. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/KRUhC2nAwo
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
Croatia males’s handball saved the most effective of its opening sport in opposition to Japan for final.
After trailing by 5 targets on the midway level, Croatia stormed again into the competition with a ferocious late rally — capped by an emphatic match-winning aim with simply seconds remaining within the contest. The late winner gave Croatia an early, however essential, leg up in Group A contest.
A highschool connection
From Dr. Holliman’s Freshman English Class to the Paris 2024 @Olympics. Loopy how far we have come @__coleman A lot love bro! @westlakelions pic.twitter.com/9GOsYqKPB4
— Christopher Eubanks (@chris_eubanks96) July 27, 2024
Of the roughly 334 million folks dwelling in the USA, simply 592 are on the Olympic workforce in Paris.
And but, two of them — tennis participant Chris Eubanks and sprinter Christian Coleman — had been in the identical freshman 12 months English class collectively at Westlake Excessive College in Atlanta throughout the 2010-2011 educational 12 months.
Whereas we’re not solely positive what the chances of that taking place are, we all know they’re extremely slim. The previous classmates went from searching for symbolism in “The Catcher within the Rye” to parading down the Seine in Paris throughout the Olympic opening ceremony collectively.
“Loopy how far we have come,” Eubanks wrote on X, alongside two footage of the duo within the Ralph Lauren matches. — D’Arcy Maine
Allyson Felix’s distinctive mission
Allyson Felix has seven gold medals and 11 whole Olympic medals to her title throughout 5 completely different Video games. However the now-retired observe and area star is not performed making her mark on the Olympic stage. Felix will not be on the observe this 12 months, however she shall be in Paris — launching the first-ever Olympic Village nursery. The mission hopes so as to add some “comforts of residence” to the Olympic expertise for athletes who’re additionally moms.
Heartbreak within the metropolis of affection
Serving as his nation’s flag-bearer on the Opening Ceremony got here with a bittersweet commerce off for Italian excessive jumper Gianmarco Tamberi. Tamberi, a gold medalist on the 2020 Tokyo video games, took to Instagram to substantiate that he lost his wedding ring within the Seine River whereas carrying Italy’s tricolor.
Tamberi stored optimistic in regards to the state of affairs, although, writing “Might it’s an excellent omen to return residence with a good larger gold!”
Swiatek notches opening-round win
High-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland is stellar on clay, and he or she secured an opening-round victory over Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania on Saturday morning to kick off her quest so as to add a gold medal to her 4 French Open titles at Roland Garros. Swiatek received the final 4 video games of the match en path to a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
Tom Daley’s healthful aspect quest
Tom Daley is within the French capital to defend the Olympic diving title he famously received in Tokyo. First, although, he has a aspect quest to finish.
Daley produced one of the crucial healthful moments of the Tokyo Video games when he introduced his knitting needles and his yarn to the stands above the diving pool in a bid to take his thoughts off the competitors. The exercise helped produce his first Olympic gold medal — at his third try — in addition to an Instagram web page known as “Made With Love By Tom Daley” the place he has knitted gadgets starting from a patchwork sweater vest to a knitted bag.
The web page has offered a neighborhood for different knitters ever since. Extra not too long ago, although, it revealed Daley’s inspiration for his newest Olympic jumper.
Final week, he posted a video of him sketching the design for his Paris 2024-themed crew neck jumper, in addition to him knitting the primary stitches. “Watch this area!” he wrote within the caption. He is made gentle work of the mission.
On Saturday, the primary official morning of competitors, Daley was noticed within the stands as he knitted the seemingly near-completed jumper, emblazoned with “DALEY” on the again in daring white letters and a purple collar.
After that, he can get on with the business-side of his actions right here in Paris, as he competes alongside accomplice Noah Williams within the males’s synchronized 10m platform on Monday. — Connor O’Halloran
Gymnastic qualifying will get underway
PARIS — A fast refresher on Saturday’s gymnastics qualifying.
The way it works: Groups are damaged up into three subdivisions on Saturday and the U.S. males competed within the first, alongside Canada, Germany and Nice Britain, the workforce they bumped from the rostrum at 2023 world championships in Antwerp.
The great: The U.S. completed second of their subdivision behind Nice Britain and can seemingly qualify into workforce finals within the high 5. Additionally they will seemingly ship two athletes to the all-around last: Fred Richard, who received U.S. trials final month, and his College of Michigan teammate, Paul Juda, who had the meet of his life. Richard completed third within the group, Juda completed fourth and the highest 24 athletes (with a most two per nation) make the all-around last.
All of the feels for Paul Juda on the primary day of competitors. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/B21wwhWcw1
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
Juda led the U.S. lineups on 5 of six occasions and hit six-for-six. “I knew I used to be going to be first on a minimum of one occasion and have been coaching with that mindset,” Juda stated. After every efficiency, Juda switched roles and have become his workforce’s greatest cheerleader.
Richard anchored three of six occasions and was stable, however left room for enchancment. “We have been preaching, ‘Simply do common,’ and I feel there’s nonetheless some crumbs left on the desk, completely, for everybody, together with myself,” Juda stated.
The nice: Stephen Nedoroscik is in Paris to do one job: hit pommel horse routines. The U.S. began on the occasion and Nedoroscik delivered the highest-scoring routine of the session on any equipment, a 15.2, and sure made the occasion last. [The top eight athletes make event finals.] “As quickly as I obtained down and was giving the blokes high-fives, Paul pointed to my arm and stated, ‘You may have goosebumps.’ The second was surreal,” Nedoroscik stated. “I am so pleased with what I did.
The less-than-great: The U.S. completed greater than three factors behind Nice Britain, a surprisingly giant deficit contemplating the U.S. workforce’s scoring potential and the way shut the groups had been at worlds. However this was not Group USA’s greatest day — removed from it — and the scores fortunately don’t carry over into workforce finals. Brody Malone, the one returning Olympian from Tokyo, had a tough afternoon. He fell off pommel horse and excessive bar, his signature occasion, and won’t make the all-around last. He completed eleventh within the group and third within the U.S.
“Brody is our chief. He is calm, collected and is that headstrong person who brings us again to actuality,” Richard stated. “Once I watched him miss right this moment, I wasn’t frightened as a result of I do know he is the kind of one who learns from his errors. He’ll come again stronger within the workforce last. I am not too frightened. I consider in all of us, and I feel we’re gonna be lethal in two days.” — Alyssa Roenigk
The First Fan
PARIS — The U.S. males’s gymnastics workforce had fairly the cheering squad throughout workforce qualification Saturday afternoon. First Girl Dr. Jill Biden was within the stands, sitting with Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, South Carolina ladies’s basketball coach Daybreak Staley and 1984 gymnastics gold medalist Bart Connor. The group was decked out in purple, white and blue and cheering loud for Group USA.
“I do not take into consideration who’s watching as I am performing,” Stephen Nedoroscik stated. “I simply lock into what I am doing. However afterwards, I can recognize who was there and that is actually cool.
After the meet, because the gymnasts started their interviews within the combined zone, the U.S. workforce was whisked away briefly to satisfy Dr. Biden. “That was fairly sick. I didn’t anticipate right this moment that I’d meet the First Girl,” Frederick Richard stated after the meet-and-greet. “However I am grateful for the chance and I am glad they had been watching. [Dr. Biden] stated that she’s very pleased with me and was impressed. Meaning so much.” — Alyssa Roenigk
Anthony Edwards’ cross-sport confidence
First it was claiming he’d tackle any of his teammates within the swimming pool. Now it is turn out to be a challenge in table tennis. Whatever the sport, no one can query the self-assurance of Group USA males’s basketball guard Anthony Edwards. From stating he is nonetheless the No. 1 option on a stacked Group USA roster to dunking on Kevin Durant in follow, Edwards has made loads of headlines already in Paris. However pulling off an upset with a paddle in his fingers could be his most noteworthy second but.
Group USA battling sickness forward of males’s basketball opener
Group USA boasts a stacked males’s basketball roster, however the squad hasn’t been at full power because it prepares for its opening sport Sunday in opposition to Nikola Jokic and Serbia. Each Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis have missed time over the previous few days with an undisclosed sickness, according to coach Steve Kerr. Kerr says, nevertheless, that he is ‘assured’ the complete roster shall be prepared for Sunday’s sport.
Cyclists critique venue
Biking trials started Saturday, however the outcomes weren’t the one factor from the occasion that generated buzz. A variety of rivals offered criticism of the respective venues for each biking and mountain biking.
Belgian bicycle owner Remco Evenepoel famous that whereas the Parisian view was stunning, stretches of street left one thing to be desired by way of high quality, whereas Group Switzerland’s Nino Schurter famous that the man-made nature of the mountain biking paths created a slippery aspect.
Swimming will get underway
PARIS — Olympic swimming formally obtained underway at La Protection Enviornment with six preliminary occasions. There was a big — and very spirited — crowd readily available full with air horns, drums, flags and even an inflatable kangaroo.
Maybe no occasion obtained the followers extra fired up than the qualifying heats for the ladies’s 400m freestyle — and particularly the ultimate warmth that featured American Katie Ledecky, the 2016 gold medalist within the race and the Olympic document holder, and her Australian rival Ariarne Titmus, the 2020 champion and present world document holder. Titmus led for a lot of the race earlier than Ledecky picked up the tempo within the last 100 meters and overcame her.
Katie Ledecky making it look straightforward on Day 1 in Paris. 😤
She wins her 400m freestyle warmth to advance to the ultimate. #ParisOlympics
📺 USA Community & Peacock pic.twitter.com/sR5ImMm7QR
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024
New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather and Canada’s Summer season McIntosh — the opposite two favorites to medal in Saturday evening’s last — competed within the second warmth and certified in third and fourth, respectively. Protected to say, this race is already dwelling as much as the hype and tonight may very well be epic. Was Titmus simply preserving herself for the ultimate? Will Ledecky be capable of discover that different gear once more when the stakes are highest? We’ll discover out quickly sufficient.
Within the males’s 400m freestyle, Lukas Maertens of Germany recorded the most effective qualifying time (3:44.13). Aaron Shackell was the lone American to qualify for Saturday evening’s last with the sixth-fastest time of the morning.
The ladies’s 100m butterfly heats kicked off the motion with Yufei Zhang of China notching the quickest time (56.50). People Torri Huske (56.72) and Gretchen Walsh (56.75), who earned the world document at trials final month, certified for the semifinals with the third- and fourth-best occasions.
Saturday morning closed out with the qualifying races for each the ladies’s and males’s 4x100m freestyle and each occasions had the followers on their toes all through. The American ladies (which included the resurgent Simone Manuel within the second leg) simply received their warmth with a 3:33.29 end — 2.84 seconds higher than second-place Nice Britain. Nonetheless, it was Australia, competing within the second warmth, that recorded the most effective time (3:31.57) forward of Saturday evening’s last, establishing one more conflict between the 2 nations with a gold medal on the road.
The American males (3:12.61) completed second of their warmth behind — you guessed it — Australia and had the fourth-best qualifying time general. China (3:11.62) recorded the most effective time of the morning and shall be within the coveted fourth lane within the last.
Saturday’s night session will get underway at 8:30 p.m. native time/2:30 p.m. ET. — D’Arcy Maine
First medals of the Video games are confirmed
The ultimate dive that secured Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook dinner’s silver medal! 🥈
📺 USA Community and Peacock #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/FloT7b556k
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) July 27, 2024
It did not take lengthy for the primary Olympic {hardware} to be awarded. Kazakhstan earned bronze within the combined air rifle last simply after 5 a.m. ET, making it the primary workforce to medal in Paris. In that very same occasion, China and South Korea received the first gold and silver medals of the Video games, respectively. Group USA captured its first medal later within the morning when Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook dinner took silver in ladies’s synchronized 3m springboard.
Suboptimal climate
After a rainy opening ceremony, circumstances in Paris have not improved a lot coming into the Video games’ first official day of competitors. Saturday’s forecast requires rain all through the day, affecting the occasion schedule. Males’s road skateboarding, deemed too unsafe to compete in throughout Saturday’s rain, has been pushed again two days to July 29.
New expertise
PARIS — Simply how excessive does Simone Biles fly on her triple-double tumbling move?
After her efficiency on ground at Olympic trials in Minneapolis final month, “SportsCenter” tried to seek out out with a put up on Instagram. The graphic measured the highest of Biles’ head to be 12 toes from the bottom, offering sufficient room for 7-foot-4 NBA middle Victor Wembanyama to suit beneath her.
There have been no measuring gadgets on the Goal Heart throughout trials, so ESPN’s measurement served as an approximation based mostly on a photograph.
In Paris, followers will study precisely how excessive Biles flies.
Omega, the official timekeeper of the Olympics, is debuting expertise throughout sports activities that makes use of cameras, movement and positioning sensors and AI to seize the biomechanical motion of athletes and generate exact measurements like top, response time and airtime.
“In tennis, we’ll lastly be capable of see if response occasions have an affect on the standard of returns,” Alain Zobrist, CEO of Omega Timing advised ESPN earlier this week.
For sports activities with a end line like observe and area, Zobrist says upgraded photo-finish cameras will seize 40,000 pictures per second and ship rapid outcomes.
In gymnastics, the tech shall be utilized throughout males’s and ladies’s competitions for storytelling functions in stay broadcasts and to help head judges when there are discrepancies. Whereas this expertise was not used to create the “SportsCenter” put up from trials, that’s exactly the kind of content material Zobrist stated could be generated throughout meets.
The cameras and sensors shall be positioned round solely the ground train and the information that is generated in actual time — resembling top and airtime of expertise — shall be offered to tv broadcast crews. Extra subtle knowledge that takes a number of seconds to generate — like physique positioning all through a move — shall be offered to move judges, in addition to to athletes, their coaches and delegations for coaching functions.
Zobrist stated the tech has been examined at native and worldwide meets for about 4 years to make sure judges had been comfy with them earlier than the Paris Video games. He additionally stated that whereas the sensors can detect when an athlete steps out of bounds on a move, they won’t substitute people for this job, for now.
“We’re nonetheless working strictly based on the principles of the federation and the principles require for judges to be round,” Zobrist says.
Nonetheless, sooner or later that might change — for extra than simply out-of-bounds choices.
“We’re going to see main evolution within the expertise for gymnastics within the subsequent couple of years,” he stated. “It is troublesome to say after we shall be extra correct than people to identify variations within the performances of athletes, although. Will probably be attention-grabbing to ask me that query once more earlier than the Olympics in Los Angeles [in 2028]. I’ll have a greater reply to provide you then.” — Alyssa Roenigk
