Memorable moments of the Paris Olympics: Simone Biles was the star, but the spotlight was on many faces
PARIS: Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a stunning comeback that had everyone watching in and out of the gym.
With four medals, all eyes were on Biles, but the spotlight was bright enough to highlight new names, new faces and some unlikely new stars. The Paris Games will be remembered for their stunning locations, unprecedented access and Snoop Dogg's role in NBC's record-breaking coverage.
Paris introduced The Pommel Horse Guy and The Real John Wick and a mime performance by an Australian professor to the world at the first Olympic Breaking Game.
French swimmer Leon Marchand won five medals, four of which were gold, in his home Olympics with a performance similar to that of Michael Phelps. After leading the United States to a surprise late victory to give the United States its first bronze medal in rugby sevens, Ilona Maher was angled for a photo on reality TV show Love Island.
Noah Lyles was crowned the world's fastest man by winning the 100m, but after finishing third in the 200m – his first loss in his favorite event since the Tokyo Olympics three years ago – he revealed he had tested positive for Covid-19. has been . Shakri Richardson chased down two competitors in the rain to finish his first Olympics with relay gold after settling for silver in the 100.
The United States won the medal count — 121 of them headed into Sunday's final day of competition, 37 of them gold — and the Americans won again in men's basketball and women's soccer.
Here is a look at the best moments of the Paris Olympics:
The galls reached gold
Biles returned to the Olympics three years after withdrawing from multiple events at the Tokyo Games for mental health reasons, winning four medals, three gold.
He was the most popular attraction in Paris and competed against celebrity crowds. Those who couldn't sit in the stands with Tom Cruise, Spike Lee, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga tuned in remotely on NBC, and 34.7 million viewers across its platforms watched as Biles led the U.S. to team gold.
Next up for the greatest gymnast in Olympic history is a 30-stop “Gold Tour Over America” for the GOAT.
Fight swimming
Nine days of competition ended with the Americans barely out of the lead in the gold medal standings in swimming, needing a win in the final Olympic race to do so.
The United States finished with just eight golds, the fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games and one more than arch-rival Australia.
“This is one of the worst performances ever as a U.S. team,” said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian.
The rest of the world combined for more victories than the United States and Australia combined (20), the first time that has happened since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Follow up problems
The Americans' 34 medals and 14 golds were their best showing in track and field at a non-sanctioned Games since the early 20th century, when there were more events and fewer countries.
And despite Richardson's disappointment of not winning a gold medal in the 100, Lyles missed the 200 after being diagnosed with Covid-19 and the men's 4x100m relay was disqualified.
The relay's performance was so bad that nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis called for top-down changes to the US track and field program.
But the U.S. finished strong: Sydney McLaughlin-Lauron set another world record in a repeat victory in the 400 hurdles and then was part of the 400×400 relay team as she and Gabby Thomas on the final night at the stadium. de France achieved a runaway victory. .
The American men won gold in the same event in a very close finish, 15 minutes earlier.
The United States' 14 golds are the most gold in a non-sanctioned Olympics since 1968.
USA hoops takes another gold
Stephen Curry added more hardware to his legacy and eventually won an Olympic gold medal.
Curry scored 24 points to lead the USA to a 98-87 win over France in the men's basketball final. It was the fifth straight gold medal for the United States — and the 17th in 20 games all-time for Americans at the Games.
Kevin Durant, the first four-time men's gold medalist in Olympic basketball history, scored 15 for the Americans, as did Devin Booker. And LeBron James, in metallic gold sneakers, scored 14 points for the United States as he won his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.
Victor Wimbanyama scored 26 points for France in his first Olympic final and was in tears after the game.
The American women's soccer team returned to the top of the table
The American women's soccer team won its fifth Olympic gold medal by defeating Brazil 1-0 in the final. The Americans had not won gold since the 2012 London Olympics.
Tala finished undefeated in the first international competition under the guidance of Emma Hayes.
At the final whistle, the USA players celebrated Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA”. He played in the stadium.
Boxing Controversy
Women's boxing has been embroiled in a culture war over gender stereotypes involving two competitors.
Algeria's Iman Khalif and Taiwan's Li Yu-ting have come under intense scrutiny for the decision by the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association to ban them from the world championships last year, claiming that both failed the qualification test for the women's event. IBA officials have refused to respond to them. Questions about
Under intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world for misconceptions about her femininity, Khalif still won the gold medal in the women's middleweight division.
Lin won a gold medal in the women's heavyweight division a night later to end her four-fight unbeaten run in Paris with Taiwan's first Olympic boxing gold medal.
I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I live as a woman and I qualify.
Last year, the International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics following years of concerns about governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The International Olympic Committee has called the sexual tests imposed by the sport's governing body on the two boxers irreparably flawed.
