2024 Paris Olympics: Biles takes silver on floor; Thomas and Lyles advance in 200-meter races

The U.S. won two gold medals, four silvers and two bronze medals on Day 10 of competition at the Paris Games, bringing its total medal count to 79.

The USA leads nations in total medals, but that has been the case throughout these Games.

The U.S. is tied for first with China when it comes to gold medals. Each country has 21 of those.

France and Australia each have 13 golds, and Great Britain has 12.

Don't expect a new “Jimmer Rule” to come out of Paris 2024.

The U.S. men’s 3x3 basketball team didn’t medal, and a key factor was the loss of scoring machine Jimmer Fredette — who went down with a serious injury early in the tournament, forcing America to play with no bench.

Asked whether rules might be changed to allow for an alternate fifth player, world basketball chief Andreas Zagklis said today that’s been discussed but that “in principle, we don’t have it in our plans to add a substitute player.” 

A more likely scenario is the tournament’s expanding from the current eight teams so pool play could divided into at least two divisions. That would lead to fewer games per team, so a squad dealing with injury could better manage the workload, Zagklis said.

An expanded field could also allow more nations — not known for their basketball but fielding strong 3x3 teams — to make it. Such teams that didn’t qualify for Paris but came close include Mongolia, Austria, Belgium and Japan.

PARIS — For athletes and audiences, these have been the Olympics when raucous crowds have roared once again following years of lockdown restrictions.

But outside the din of the stadiums, it’s impossible to ignore that Paris is relatively quiet.

The International Olympic Committee promises that hosting the Games “generates powerful economic benefits.” And Paris 2024 has vowed that tourism, hotel and catering sectors “will benefit first and foremost from the influx of visitors.”

This does not appear to have happened.

Business is significantly down for shops, restaurants and cafés, according to trade data and dozens of interviews by NBC News. Taxi drivers sit idle at their ranks, some blaming the Olympics for driving away fares. Major streets and attractions are remarkably calm — and even the “Mona Lisa” is less mobbed than usual.

Read the full story here.

Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record for an incredible ninth time after securing gold at the Paris Olympics, clearing a height of 6.25 meters. 

Aly Raisman knows exactly how Jordan Chiles was feeling today.

The six-time Olympic medalist faced an identical situation in the balance beam finals at the 2012 London Games. After losing an all-around bronze medal in a heart-wrenching tiebreaker, Raisman thought she was fourth again on the beam.

But her coach, Mihai Brestyan, knew something was not right. He appealed her score and, like Chiles a dozen years later, it made the difference between the bronze and no medal at all.

“I remember my coach was rushing to put in the inquiry and just making sure that he was writing everything down correctly,” Raisman told NBC News. “So it’s definitely a race against the clock, and it’s a lot of pressure. It was just so emotional and so special when it went my way.”

Read the full article here.

The U.S. men’s water polo team defeated Croatia today to finish pool play with a win and head to the quarterfinals with momentum as the No. 3 finisher in Group A. 

The team's next match will be against Australia on Wednesday as the U.S. seeks its first semifinal appearance since 2008, when it brought home silver in the event. Head coach Dejan Udovicic said he believed in this team.

"In my more than 25-year coaching career, this is one of the most talented teams I have ever coached," Udovicic said.

Many athletes are living out their Olympic dreams in Paris — while others on TikTok are showing off why they didn’t make the cut.

In what’s become a viral trend, dozens of people online are posting videos of times when their various athletic endeavors have gone awry, joking it’s “why I didn’t make it to the Olympics.”

Those taking part in the trend have often used a remixed version of the American national anthem called “Star Bangled (Bass Boosted)” as the sound to accompany their videos. More than 250,000 people have used the audio as of Monday afternoon, though not all videos are linked to the trend itself.

Many have placed text over throwback videos of themselves partaking in various sports that are part of the Games, joking that they are “sorry to announce” or “sad to report” before the video why they very obviously were not selected to compete.

Read the full story here.

Biles closed out her competition in Paris with a silver in today's floor final, which will accompany her three gold medals back to the States.

"More than my wildest dreams," Biles, now an 11-time Olympic medalist, said in an Instagram post. All those medals might need their own suitcase.

While some people might think the chance at gold is the best perk of the Olympics, Team USA's Ariana Ramsey is enjoying a benefit very foreign to her: free health care.

Ramsey has posted a series of TikTok videos telling fans how she is taking advantage of the free medical care in the Olympic Village now that her rugby sevens tournament is over. So far, Ramsey says, she's gotten a dental exam, an eye exam, glasses and a pap smear all without cost.

Apparently, Ramsey’s videos have made the rounds of French media, as she says some of the health care workers at her eye exam told her that they’ve seen her videos on the news and thanked her.

"Anyway, America needs to do better with their health care system," Ramsey said in a video today. "There is no reason that me, an American girl, should be so amazed by free health care.”

Skateboarder Jagger Eaton won silver in the street event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

He reflects on the “out of body experience” and the music that pumped him up for his victory.

Team USA's Caroline Marks brought home a gold medal in surfing, beating Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb by one-tenth of a point.

The women's final was plagued by lulls in surf, as was the rest of the day's competition, but Marks made the most of it, using high-performance moves to dance on the walls of Teahupo'o, a spot better known for its hallow tubes.

The match-up could have gone either way, but Marks' final wave clenched the gold medal. Fellow Americans draped Marks in a U.S. flag as she emerged from the water.

Marks' victory wasn't a surprise. She was the 2023 pro surfing champion. Many expected fellow American Clarissa Moore to be the one standing atop the podium today, but she was knocked out of medal contention in the quarterfinals.

Likewise, men's pro John John Florence, another American hope, was out of the competition in the third round. Marks took the opportunity to carry the team.

Weston-Webb, who never seemed to give up in her battle to the final, took home a silver medal for Brazil.

Valarie Allman won her second consecutive Olympic women’s discus gold medal, becoming the first U.S. woman in history to win back-to-back golds in the event. 

U.S. wrestler Amit Elor defeated her semifinal opponent, Pak Sol-Gum of North Korea, by technical superiority in less than two minutes. Elor, 20, is now headed to the women’s freestyle 68kg final at the Paris Olympics.

After initially being disqualified in today’s women’s 5,000-meter final, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon has been reinstated and awarded the silver medal after an appeal by the Kenyan federation.

With just more than two laps to go in the race, there was upper-body contact among several runners in the lead pack. Most notably, gold medal contenders Kipyegon and Gudaf Tsegay, of Ethiopia, who were at the very front, were involved.

Kipyegon went on to cross the line second behind Beatrice Chebet but was disqualified shortly after the race. That meant third-place finisher Sifan Hassan, of the Netherlands, was awarded silver, and fourth-place finisher Nadia Battocletti, of Italy, was awarded bronze. No other athletes were disqualified. Tsegay finished ninth.

The Kenyan federation appealed the disqualification, and the ruling was overturned. The Jury of Appeal agreed that there was “significant contact between, and by the two athletes” but that “the incident did not warrant a disqualification.” The decision means Kipyegon is awarded the silver medal and Hassan the bronze, leaving Battocletti off the podium.

Kipyegon and Tsegay are expected to meet again in the women’s 1,500 meters. The first round begins tomorrow, with the final coming up Saturday.

 

While the U.S. continues to dominate in Olympics basketball, the French teams are also in contention as the sport grows increasingly popular in France. 

Everyone loves watching a proposal, but not everyone approves when you mix diamonds with Olympic gold. 

Viewers have had mixed reactions to athletes who have gotten engaged during the Paris Games. The recent proposal from Chinese singles badminton player Liu Yuchen to badminton mixed doubles gold medalist Huang Yaqiong just after her big win Friday, for example, drew nearly as many boos online as it did cheers. While some feel the grand gesture makes Olympians’ big moments even bigger, others say the proposals steal the spotlight from female athletes in particular. 

This year, many others used the international event to cement their love, including French women’s skiff sailors Sarah Steyaert and Charline Picon — both of whom clinched the bronze medal before they were surprised onshore with proposals — and Argentine handball player Pablo Simonet, who proposed to fellow Team Argentina athlete Maria Campoy, a hockey player, moments before the opening ceremony as their respective squads took a group photo together. Indeed, popping the question at the Games has become somewhat of a trend. A Chinese social media site even jokingly shared a post featuring an added engagement ring column alongside the medal counter.

Read the full story here.

 

Italy claimed top honors in the inaugural mixed team skeet event in shooting over the U.S.

For any parents who have ever sacrificed everything humanly possible to see their children succeed, this will resonate.

Today, the Ramirez family watched their daughter, Daniella, compete for Team USA in artistic swimming.

She is a “third-generation artistic swimmer” whose grandmother performed the sport when it was called water ballet and whose mom and dad both competed for the Venezuelan national team. They moved to America in the late 1990s with the hope their kids could fully realize the American dream.

Daniella separated from her family in Miami when she was 15 to train in California for seven years in the hope this day may come.

The fact that Team USA finished outside the top three after the first round is an afterthought.

Her father, Fernando, told NBC News this week that it was “a great achievement for her and for us as immigrants and in this beautiful country that has given us the opportunity to be who we are. And for her to get that flag and represent the United States — bring back the United States to where it belongs [in the sport] ... I couldn’t be more thankful and proud.”

Team USA’s 68kg/149lb wrestler Amit Elor ceded nothing in a “masterful” 8-0 quarterfinal victory over Poland’s Wiktoria Chołuj in the Grand Palais Éphémère. 

Much-anticipated swell arrived at Teahupo’o late in the day, but it was just on time for the men’s final, which pitted Kauli Vaast of France against Jack Robinson of Australia.

The two came out swinging, with Vaast achieving the highest score of the day on his first wave. Robinson paddled for the same wave and forced Vaast, who had priority, to drop in deep and stay there as the wave covered him completely. Robinson may have done him a favor.

In a magical moment, Teahupo'o local Vaast emerged from the tube on his feet. It should have consumed him. He earned a 9.50 and set the tone for a final that was a proper tube-riding battle.

Robinson followed with his own clean barrel, which scored 7.83. And Vaast was up again, pulling into another liquid cyclone, coming out unscathed and then hitting the lip and floating down without falling for punctuation. It scored 8.17.

The flurry of waves — the day’s best, with scores among its highest — seemed to come to an abrupt end, leaving competitors sitting atop their shortboards and watching the clock as a wind-whipped sea seemed to move beneath them for several minutes.

The clock ran out. And that’s how the 2024 Paris Olympics surfing competition ended, a Zen moment of placid seas. 

France emerged from the surfing competition with two medals — gold and bronze, the latter earned by Johanne Defay — and a venue that will be hard for any future host nation to beat.

Ángel Barajas’ silver on high bar tastes like gold for Colombia. Barajas’ medal is the country’s first of these Games, and its first medal ever in artistic gymnastics.

The silver also makes Colombia one of only two Latin American countries to have medaled in artistic gymnastics at the Games.

Barajas got the same score on his routine as gold medalist Shinnosuke Oka of Japan; however, Shinnosuke scored a higher execution score, giving him the gold and Barajas the silver.

Barajas earned his first Olympic medal before he became an adult. He will turn 18 one day after the closing ceremony Aug. 11.

Cries of “allez les blues” and spontaneous singing of “La Marseillais” have filled sports venues and the streets here in the French capital for more than a week now.

Coming shortly after a bitter national election and years of local skepticism over the Olympics, the joyful waving of the tricolor seems to have taken some locals by surprise.

“We are just one nation for this moment, from this moment. There is no politics,” architect Jérémy Boutier told NBC News outside a 3x3 basketball game. “It is very particular.”

Read the full article here.

Johanne Defay of France earned a bronze medal in surfing at Teahupo'o in French Polynesia by beating Brisa Hennessy of Costa Rica in challenging conditions.

A wave forecast of 4- to 6-foot waves was late to the reef break, and the day's heats were held in typical contest surf — head high with the occasional barrel. Defay attacked the tallest set waves by carving and bashing and, most important, landing without falling.

Defay set the tone early with a showcase of shredding, earning relatively high scores that proved difficult for Hennessy to match before the clock ran out.

After the horn sounded, the two congratulated each other and Defay's coach paddled over to celebrate in the water.

France will earn another surfing medal as Kauli Vaast takes on Australia's Jack Robinson in the men's final.

American sprinter Gabby Thomas posted a 21.86-second semifinal in the women’s 200 meters to book her spot in a second consecutive Olympic final.

But gold is just one of Thomas' missions. She is also an advocate for equity in health care.

Thomas, a Harvard graduate, wants to close the gap in disparities in the American system, and she volunteers at an Austin, Texas, clinic for people with no insurance. 

Forty-eight hours after winning 100-meter gold, the very first for St. Lucia, sprinter Julien Alfred opened her quest to achieve the 100m-200m double in Paris.

Shouting over the pulsating beats of DJ Sumit Shenoy, sipping an authentic Indian mango spritz cocktail and chowing down some freshly cooked dosa with spicy chutney, it’s easy to forget that the world’s largest sporting event happens to be playing out elsewhere in the city.

This is the Parc des Nations in northern Paris, an open space where more than a dozen countries have set up “houses” where people can come and watch competition and, perhaps most importantly, sample the cultural delights of their host countries. Among the most impressive is India House, which combines an air-conditioned pavilion, where people can learn about Indian athletes and Kashmiri textiles, with a miniature music festival out back, where dancers jam with DJ Shenoy to entertain the imbibing masses at sunset.

“It’s so great,” shouted Clara Rouiller, 23, a costume designer who lives near Paris and bought a 5-euro ticket for the spectacle, which quickly sold out. “I love the energy here. I feel transported to India, which is amazing because I’ve always wanted to go there.”

Joseph Johnson, 30, from Kerala, India, could barely hear NBC News’ questions over the music. “I’m having such a great time!” he yelled, or at least that’s what it sounded like he said.

Just as lively was Casa Brasil, a few hundred yards away, where kids and adults played beach volleyball and street soccer while others sipped tiny, 7-euro beers with wedges of lime, while a ukulele-led band played the samba.

Slovenia’s area was less ambitious but nonetheless well-attended (it was free and had shade, and the beer was ice cold). And others with areas here include the U.S., France, Ukraine and Mexico. Some countries have houses in other parts of the city, such as the Danish Pavilion on the Champs-Élysées or Great Britain in Pavillon d’Armenonville, an 18th century hunting lodge. But here at Parc des Nations, which is spread across Parc de la Villette, a former slaughterhouse turned into a green public space, is where the main action is.

Of course this cornucopia of sun, booze and good times is not without ulterior motives. India’s area is sponsored by the Reliance Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the business empire owned by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. A quote from India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is on the wall, and it forms part of his push for India to host the Olympics in 2036, a prestigious prize for the world’s most populous country.

And not everyone is entirely happy. As in the rest of the Games, Taiwan is unable to use its preferred name but must instead call its area “Chinese Taipei House.” 

“Our name and flag is part of our identity,” said Yu Tsing Lin, 25, who is originally from Taiwan but currently works in sales in London. “Politics shouldn’t be mixed up with sports like this.”

Three-time world champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil exited the 2020 Tokyo Olympics without a medal, and it looked like he might do the same in French Polynesia for the 2024 Games.

Team Peru's Alonso Correa seemed to be in front before the second half of the bronze medal heat at Teahupo'o, but the judges' call to let Medina keep a score on a wave that Correa clearly believed was snaked through interference changed the tone.

After that, Medina displayed his champion's resolve and surfed like the last waves on Earth were before him, displaying power moves that almost seemed to make judges forget this was a tube-riding spot.

Medina and Correa got barreled when they could, but the heat came down to small-wave, skateboarding-style maneuvers, and Medina just couldn't be beat.

After one of the juiciest tubes of the day, Medina punctuated the ride with an aerial 360 but fell when he landed nose-heavy. It was a relatively high-scoring wave anyway, and Correa never caught up.

Viktor Axelsen of Denmark defended the men’s singles badminton title that he won in Tokyo to win the men’s singles gold medal. Axelsen topped Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in straight games to take home his second gold medal. 

Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb advanced to the surfing final after capitalizing on a mistake by competitor Brisa Hennessy of Costa Rica, penalized for taking off on a wave that should have gone to Weston-Webb.

The interference happened earlier in the semifinal heat at Teahupo'o, and Hennessy never seemed to recover after she lost priority wave choice as a result.

On the other hand, Weston-Webb put on a workshop in high-performance surfing, making the most of head-high, so-so waves that rarely opened up for the spot's trademark, high-scoring barrels.

She didn't seem to care as she charged aggressively and painted the horizon with rooster tails of spray, carving up head-high walls with cool precision and taking the win via back-to-back, mid-scored waves.

Weston-Webb faces the U.S.' Caroline Marks in the gold medal final. Hennessy will head to the bronze medal round against Johanne Defay of France.

Worthy de Jong hit an overtime buzzer-beating jumper to stun France, 18-17, in overtime, dramatically winning the 3x3 basketball gold medal and ending a magical run by the host squad.

De Jong's hoop with a second left in regulation tied it, 16-16, and forced a first-to-2 OT.

Timothé Vergiat's bucket gave France a brief 17-16 edge before de Jong's jumper walked it off for the Netherlands. France had to settle for silver after barely getting into elimination rounds on the last day of pool play and then making it all the way to the tournament's final game.

Lithuania beat Latvia, the champs of Tokyo, for bronze.

In the women's tournament, Germany edged Spain, 17-16, hours after the Spaniards went into OT to beat the bronze-winning Americans.

U.S. hopes for a gold medal in surfing were kept alive by Caroline Marks, who beat Johanne Defay of France in a wave-for-wave women's semifinal battle that came down to a virtual tiebreaker.

The Surfline wave forecast of 4 to 6 feet and rising continued to disappoint as competitors spent time on "paddle battles" for wave choice priority and ended up with walls instead of Teahupo'o's trademark tubes.

Defay came out ahead early and posted the highest-scoring wave, shredding every last drop. But Marks responded with excellent wave choice, dropping into a rare barrel before using the rest of the walled-up wave as a canvas to rip.

The score of 7.0 put her in a virtual tie, but because it was the highest-scoring wave, Marks took the victory and heads to the gold medal final. Defay will get to battle for bronze in a heat against the loser of the second semifinal, which features Brazil's Tatiana Weston-Webb and Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy.

France defeated Egypt 3-1, earning a spot in the gold medal final against Spain.

After a scoreless first half, Egypt scored in the 62nd minute with a goal from Mahmoud Saber.

But France was resilient, scoring the equalizer in the 83rd from Jean-Philippe Mateta. A few minutes later, Mateta helped France capitalize on Egypt's going down to 10 men because of a red card, scoring a powerful header for his second goal of the match. Michael Olise extended France's lead in the 108th minute for its third goal.

France led in shots on target and controlled possession.

Despite the loss, Egypt has a chance to win its first soccer medal in the bronze match against Morocco.

Brazil's Gabriel Medina, a three-time world champion and a favorite to take home a top prize, was beaten in the semifinal round today.

His foe, Australia's Jack Robinson, won basically on one wave, a beautiful overhead barrel that covered him like vital shelter before he emerged to tag the lip and land on his feet.

Perhaps a bigger foe was Mother Nature, as a rising swell failed to fill in for Medina, and he was left to watch the horizon for anything. Nothing emerged. The clock ran out. It sounds like a cruel fate, but the variable of wave conditions can be an overshadowing factor in the sport.

Robinson was wise to get the most out of that barrel. He'll face France's Kauli Vaast in the men's final. Medina, who also lost in the semifinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will face Peru's Alonso Correa in the bronze medal heat.

France has extended its lead 3-1 in the 108th minute, courtesy of Michael Olise.

His second goal of the Paris Olympics came when a deflection off Egypt defender Shehata Mohamed fell right to Olise, scoring a powerful left-footed kick.

France's Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a header, his second goal of the match, in the 99th minute. France now has a crucial 2-1 lead over Egypt in extra time.

France's Kauli Vaast advanced to the surfing final amid so-so surf at Teahupo'o in French Polynesia today.

The matchup with Peru's Alonso Correa, who qualified for the Games by performing well at the International Surfing Association World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico, was even, and both had a clear shot at victory among head-high waves.

The growing swell didn't fill in fast enough as the two paddled for waves at the notorious left-breaking spot, and the competitors had to use small-wave moves like lip-bashing and cutting back to get numbers on the scoreboard.

Correa was behind after Vaast, a virtual Teahupo'o local who caught his first wave at the reef when he was 8, pulled into a few improbable barrels, but he battled back by grabbing every wave he could.

The clock ended up beating Correa as Vaast's higher-scoring waves stood and he advanced to the final.

Correa still has a shot at bronze when he'll battle the loser of the semifinal heat pitting former world champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil against Jack Robinson of Australia.

The U.S. men's volleyball team won three sets against Brazil, advancing into the semifinals to fight for a chance at a medal.

These Games have been a redemption for the men's volleyball team, which failed to make it to the quarterfinals in Tokyo but won bronze in Rio eight years ago.

It was a hard-fought win as the Brazilian men knew they had to push to stay alive.

But in the end, the American men led in both sets and points, winning 104 — 92.

Egypt is down to 10 men in extra time after a sliding tackle from Omar Fayed. He received his second yellow, resulting in a red card.

The match remains 1-1 in the 96th minute.

With the game tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes, France and Egypt will play extra time in the men's semi.

France's Jean-Philippe Mateta scores a perfectly placed goal to tie the game at 1-1 in the 82nd minute.

Egypt is ahead 1-0 in the 61st minute after Mahmoud Saber blasted a powerful kick past the keeper.

Saber's goal came just minutes after France missed a great opportunity in the 59th minute, when Alexander Lacazette put a wide-open shot just wide of the net.

Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, the overwhelming favorite in men’s pole vault, won gold in the event today, setting a new world record in the process.

In his final vault of the day, Duplantis cleared a 6.25-meter pole vault on his third attempt, setting the record after securing the gold by clearing 6.00 meters. He earlier set an Olympic record by clearing 6.10 meters.

American Sam Kendricks won silver, and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis won bronze. Kendricks topped out at 5.95 meters, and Karalis at 5.90.

Duplantis, who is Swedish-American and was born in Louisiana, has dominated the sport for years. He’s won gold in the last three European Championships, the last two World Indoor Championships, the last two World Championships, and now, the last two Olympics.

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon, who placed second in the women's 5,000 meter race, has been disqualified for obstruction.

It appears the disqualification stems from a moment in the race when she and Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay seemed to be shoving each other as they led the pack of runners.

The silver medal now goes to Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, and Nadia Battocletti of Italy will go home with the bronze.

Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson has surpassed the rest to secure her first gold medal in the women's 800 meter race after finishing second in Tokyo.

After they crossed the finish line, Hodgkinson embraced fellow runner Mary Moraa of Kenya. In tears, she then went over to hug her mother in the stands.

The silver medal went to Tsige Dguma of Ethopia, and Moraa took the bronze.

After 45 minutes, France and Egypt remain scoreless in the men's semifinal.

Egypt is arguably the better side thus far, controlling possession and having more shots on target. But France had a header from Loic Bade in the 40th minute that went off the goalkeeper's post.

An anxious second half awaits for both teams, as they seek to break the deadlock.

Kenyan Beatrice Chebet pulled ahead to take the gold medal in the women's 5,000-meter race, or 3.1 miles.

Her teammate Faith Kipyegon took silver as she and Chebet both pushed ahead of the pack of runners in the final few seconds. Chebet finished at 14 minutes and 28 seconds, while Kipyegon was roughly 1 second behind her.

Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands came in third for the bronze.

The U.S. women’s 3x3 basketball team, which claimed gold in Tokoyo, had to settle for bronze in Paris.

The U.S. defeated Canada 16-13 in the third-place match. The women trailed 12-9 before finishing the game on a 7-4 run. Hailey Van Lith led the team with six points.

It was an ugly, defensive battle. The U.S. didn’t hit any 2s, scoring entirely from 1-point range and the free-throw line.

Germany will play Spain in the gold medal game later today.

American Brittany Brown finished first in the third heat of the first round of the women's 200 meter, beating Great Britain’s Daryll Neita by .12 seconds.

Finishing at 22.12, Brown will advance to the semi-finals but will be behind her Team USA colleague Gabby Thomas.

McKenzie Long of the U.S., who finished third in the first heat of the day, also qualified for the next round based on her time.

Thomas had the best time in the first round, surpassing by St. Lucia's Julien Alfred by .12 seconds. If Thomas can maintain that speed in the finals, she'll likely bring home the gold.

Team USA's Gabby Thomas flew across the track once again to finish first in her heat of the first round in the women's 200 meter.

She led with a 21.86 time, floating ahead of Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith and France's Helene Parisot.

Thomas won a bronze in this event at the last Olympics in Tokyo and is considered a favorite at the Paris Games.

A final spot in the men's gold medal final is up for grabs, with France taking on Egypt at 3 p.m. ET.

The winner will face Spain, who defeated Morocco 2-1.

Gold medalist Julien Alfred moves forward in the women's 200 meter race after placing first in her semifinal heat.

The runner, who gave St. Lucia it's first Olympic medal, was followed by Nigerian Ofili Favour. Coming in third was American McKenzie Long.

Riders competed in the qualification round of the equestrian individual jumping qualifier. Julien Epaillard of France, Shane Sweetnam of Ireland and Karl Cook of the U.S., all rode perfect courses to top the scores and make the final. 

Noah Lyles, a favorite among the American runners, kept his momentum from yesterday's 100 meter race by giving the best time in his heat during the men's 200 meter round today.

Lyles finished with a time of 20.19, putting him in first place for his heat but just behind the two other Americans who ran today.

He was followed by the reigning Olympic champion, Canada's Andre De Grasse in second place and Japan's Towa Uzawa in third.

Spain defeated Morocco 2-1, in a come-from-behind performance with two goals in the second half, clinching their spot in the gold medal match.

Despite Morocco getting on the board first with a 37th-minute penalty goal from Soufiane Rahimi, Spain controlled the second half, scoring in the 66th minute from Fermin Lopez and Juanlu Sanchez scoring the go-ahead goal in the 85th.

The match was even throughout, with both teams controlling possession at different points and having similar shots on target. The main difference was Spain having more possession in the crucial final 45 minutes.

Spain's win secures their consecutive appearance in the men's final, after winning silver in the 2020 Olympics. Spain will face the winner of France versus Egypt.

The gold medal match will take place Friday at 12 p.m. ET.

Team USA's Erriyon Knighton dominated heat five of the men's 200 meter run with a time of 19.99, putting him first place and allowing him to move into the next race of the qualifying rounds.

His time was just a three seconds shy of American teammate Kenny Bednarek, who has had the best time of the day, so far.

After falling off the balance beam in Monday's apparatus final, Biles appeared to receive a deduction for failing to salute the judges properly after her routine.

Biles did make an effort to salute, but it was rather brief and perfunctory. The judges seemed to decide it was insufficient and took three tenths off her score. It had no impact on the medal standings, but Biles made a show of holding her salute for a comically long time after her next routine, in the floor final.

Her arms were still in the air as she walked off the stage.

"Making sure they don’t miss it this time!!!!! I love you so much baby, so proud," her husband Jonathan Owens said in a post to X, making light of her exaggerated salute.

Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis is looking to repeat as a gold medalist in men’s pole vault.

Duplantis is the dominant force in the sport—the last time he won anything less than gold at an Olympics or world championship was in 2019.

So far in the final, Duplantis did not jump at 5.50 or 5.80 meters, with 5.85 and 5.90 still to come. American Sam Kendricks cleared his first three vaults, and is currently tied for first place.

Miles Partain and Andy Benesh of the United States knocked out Italy’s Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai in straight sets, advancing to the Olympic men’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.

Kenny Bednarek of Team USA advanced in the men's 200 meter race with a time of 19.96, the fastest time of the day so far.

He's the first American to compete in the first round of qualifiers, running in the fourth heat.

Bednarek was joined by Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic and Joshua Hartmann of Germany in second and third place of the heat.

Spain's Juanlu Sanchez scores a powerful kick on the right side after making a darting run into the box in the 85th minute.

Spain is potentially minutes away from securing their spot in the men's final.

The U.S. women’s 3x3 basketball team’s bid for a second straight gold fell agonizingly short today, as Spain scored the only two points of overtime to send Team USA to the bronze-medal game.

Kenneth Rooks is the only American to qualify for the men's 3,000m steeplechase final in the last and slowest heat of the qualifying round.

Rooks started the first lap in third place, falling back to fourth for a brief moment before a final surge to finish in second place behind Ethopian Lamecha Girma.

Third place went to Kenyan Simone Koech and fourth place went to Tunisian Mohamad Amin Jhinaoui, who finished the first 1,000 meters far behind the rest.

Canadian Jean-Simon Desgagnes stayed steady in the fifth place, the last qualifier for the third heat.

The men's semifinal is tied at 1-1 in the 66th minute, after Spain's Fermin Lopez stole the ball from Morocco's Zakaria El Ouahdi in the box to beat the goalkeeper.

Team USA's Matthew Wilkinson placed sixth in the second heat of the men's 3000m steeplechase, missing the qualifying slot by roughly one second.

Morocco once again took the top slot with Mohamed Tindouft leading the pack, followed by Ethophia's Samuel Firewu.

Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot made up for his teammate's failure to qualify in the first heat, coming in third and quickly followed Japan's Ryuji Miura. Avinash Sable, running for India, took the fifth and final qualifying spot despite leading the group after the first 1,000 meters.

It was a disappointing race for Kenya's Amos Serem after the runner had to redo a jump in the first heat men's 3000m steeplechase, knocking him out of the top five.

Serem kept himself solidly in the fifth slot the entire race until the final water jump, where he landed on the outside of the track. The Kenyan had a quick recovery, turning back and jumping again but ultimately failed to make up the final few meters.

Tunisia's Ahmed Jaziri moved up to make the fifth qualifying race. The rest of the top four qualifiers in order were: Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali, Uganda's Leonard Chemutai, Ethiopia's Getnet Wale and Spain's Daniel Arce.

Spain is one away from a women’s basketball 3x3 gold and conquering the mighty United States could be a game changer back home.

“It’s big, huge, huge, huge for Spain,” said Juana Camilión, who played her college ball at Iona. “This is going to be huge, for us, for basketball (in Spain) and for all the little girls watching (back home in Spain).” 

The Americans lost, 18-16, in the semifinals to Spain in OT and will not repeat as Olympic champs.

“We know the United States is such a great team with huge talent,”  said Camilión, a former conference and defensive player of the year for the Gaels. “We knew it was going to be a very tough game and luckily for us, we poured our hearts out, locked it down on defense and got it done.” 

Spain and Germany, a 16-15 semifinal winner over Canada, meet for gold at 10 p.m. local time and 4 p.m. ET. The U.S. will play its northern neighbor for bronze at 9 p.m./3 p.m. ET.

Morocco has 1-0 lead over Spain after 45 minutes, with forward Soufiane Rahimi scoring a penalty in the 37th minute.

The match has been even, with possession and shots on target split between both teams.

Canada beat the U.S. in two sets in the Round of 16 to eliminate them from the women’s beach volleyball competition.

Both sets were tightly contested, as Canada won 21-19 and 21-18.

The U.S. led the first set 14-9 but Canada finished on a furious run to win. In the second set, Canada led 15-11 but the States came back this time, tying the action at 18 before losing three straight points.

Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss, who represented USA, began playing beach volleyball together in college. Paris was their first appearance at the Olympics.

American golfer Scottie Scheffler became emotional during the national anthem after being presented with the individual men’s gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Scheffler also won the Masters Tournament and the Players Championship this year. 

Morocco takes a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute courtesy of Soufiane Rahimi, who calmly scores past the diving keeper.

A penalty was awarded to Morocco from VAR, after Spain's Pau Cubarsi delivered a high kick on Morocco's Amir Richardson in the box.

The team that competed in Rio during the 2016 Games still holds the Olympic medal record for the U.S. women's gymnastics team, with nine medals. The Paris team came close with eight. Notably, Simone Biles was on both teams.

Here's the medal haul for each member of the U.S. team:

Biles: Team gold, all-around gold, vault gold, floor silver

Suni Lee: Team gold, all-around bronze, uneven bars bronze

Jade Carey: Team gold, vault bronze

Jordan Chiles: Team gold, floor bronze

Hezly Rivera: Team gold

Canada is off to a strong start in the round of 16, taking the first set against the U.S., 21-19.

Trailing 20-19, the U.S.’s Taryn Kloth struck the ball into the net, giving Canada the set.

The referee for the match between Spain and Morocco was subbed out after he was inadvertently caught in the leg by a player's sliding tackle.

After a brief delay, a new referee came onto the pitch to resume the match in the 17th minute.

After a tremendous run at the 2024 Paris Olympics that included a bronze medal, Evy Leibfarth exits the Olympics at the quarterfinals in kayak cross. 

Sandra Ygueravide’s free throw gave Spain an 18-16 overtime win over the United States, which will not defend its 3x3 women's basketball gold.

The score was tied at 16 after regulation and Ygueravide’s hoop gave Spain a 17-16 lead in the first-to-2 OT. 

Rhyne Howard missed a jumper that could have won it, opening the door for  Ygueravide to drive to the hoop at Dearica Hamby and picked up the team foul. That sent Ygueravide to the line and she calmly sank the winning free throw.

The men's semifinals take place today, with Morocco taking on 2020 Olympic silver medalist Spain at noon ET.

The second semifinal this afternoon between France and Egypt will kick off at 3 p.m. ET.

It's been a bumpy ride for America's 3x3 women's basketball team, but Team USA has still put itself in prime position to repeat as Olympic champs.

After shocking tournament-opening losses to Germany, Azerbaijan and Australia, the U.S. has since posted consecutive wins against Spain, France, Canada and twice over China to reach today's semifinals.

If the Americans can beat Spain at 11:30 a.m. ET and 5:30 p.m. local time, they'll play for gold at 4:00 p.m. ET (10:00 p.m. local time) against Canada or Germany. The U.S. beat Russia for gold three years ago.

Danish badminton player Viktor Axelsen successfully defended his title from the Tokyo Olympics, winning gold in the men's singles event.

With his gold, Axelsen becomes the second person to win two gold medals in this event. He joined men's doubles pairing Wang Chi-Lin and Lee Yang from Taiwan, who also defended their title from Tokyo.

Including the Tokyo and Paris Games, Axelsen has gone undefeated, going 12-0 and 24-0 in matches and games played. He also has a point differential across those games of +209, winning each game by an average of 8.7 points.

Reigning 2023 world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand won silver, earning his nation their first badminton medal of any color. 

Lee Zii Jaa won Malaysia's second medal in the Paris Games, earning bronze.

The Paris Olympic floor exercise podium is the first to feature three Black gymnasts.

Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles all tumbled to the music of Beyoncé in their hunt for Olympic floor medals.

American Nikki Hiltz, a trans and nonbinary runner, is blocking out the noise as they prepare to qualify for the women's 1500m race in France.

Hiltz, who came out as nonbinary in 2021, said they've heard it all before as misinformation to discredit Hiltz's success over their gender identity persists. But Hiltz has always run in the women's races through their career and the only significant change has been their pronouns.

"There's so many opportunities to educate people and sure there's people who are ignorant and are never gonna get it, but like, there is people in the middle who maybe just don't know what nonbinary means," Hiltz said.

Just showing up as a queer person on the international stage is an opportunity to educate people, Hiltz said. And Hiltz will have to show up multiple times this week, as runners will have to qualify in three different races before the women's 1500m final Saturday.

"I could stand on the start line and know that no matter what, like, whether I'm first or last, I'm going to have support and love for my community," Hiltz said. "And I think that allows me to run with no expectations and, like, no focus on the outcome and just enjoy being in the moment."

U.S. swimmer Bobby Finke admits he felt the weight of maintaining the United States' 120-year streak of men winning individual gold, before he won gold and set a world record in the men's 1500m freestyle.

Speaking with NBC’s Maria Taylor, Finke stated he entered the competition "stressed" after winning silver days prior in the 800m freestyle.

"I knew going into (the 1500m) I was the last opportunity and I really wanted to not lose that 120-year streak that we had," Finke revealed. "I had that in the back of my mind."

Finke also shared how beneficial having fellow gold Olympian Katie Ledecky as a supporter has helped his performance in the Paris Games.

"I never thought I'd be able to train with Katie Ledecky one day, especially growing up," he said. "To be able to have her as a training partner is truly incredible. She's always pushed me to be my best and I get to see the greatest female swimmer ever in practice and learn from her."

As far as Finke's future, he revealed he will take his swimming career "year by year" but is not ruling out competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Not going to be ruling out any future Olympics, but I do want to make sure I'm still good in the sport."

During the podium ceremony for the women's floor routine, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowed down to Rebeca Andrade, recognizing the greatness of their Brazilian competitor who had won her second gold medal.

Nine-time Olympic gold medalist and Team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky joined "TODAY" to celebrate her fourth consecutive gold medal in the 800-meter free Saturday.

It's a race she won for the first time exactly 12 years ago to the day in London at the age of 15. “I knew it was August 3rd [...] didn’t want August 3rd to be a day that I looked back on [with] anything but great memories. So I’m so glad that I was able to get the gold on that day” Ledecky said.

Now she's wrapping up her time in Paris, where she has won two golds, a silver and a bronze. That haul takes her total to 14 medals and cements her legacy as the most decorated female Olympian in U.S. history. She was able to celebrate her feat with her family who came to Paris to cheer her on.

The champion also takes care of her fans. She revealed that she video-called the little girl in the stands who went viral when Ledecky waved to her, saying she’ll find a way to meet her once she is back in the USA. What about Los Angeles in 2028? "I’m going to take it year by year," she said. "But it would be a dream to compete in front of the home crowd."

The U.S. men's beach volleyball team lost to Norway in straight sets, 2-0 in the round of 16.

Team USA, consisting of former NBA player Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, lost the first set (16-21) and the second set (14-21). Norway led by Berntsen Anders Mol and Sandlie Christian Soerum controlled the matchup, outscoring Team USA in serve, attack and total points.

Budinger and Evans came into the round of 16 having defeated Australia, but couldn't match the attack and coordination of Norway.

With today's result, Norway advances to the quarterfinals.

With the gold in today's floor exercise final, Rebeca Andrade has earned her sixth Olympic medal and is now officially Brazil's most decorated Olympic athlete.

Besting Simone Biles on floor is not an easy task, but Rebeca Andrade has finally got her gold medal.

It's her first gold of these Games and her second gold in total after winning the vault event at Tokyo in 2021.

Jordan Chiles was in fifth upon finishing her routine, but after submitting an inquiry, her score was changed by the judges.

Chiles won the bronze with a 13.766, her first individual Olympic medal.

What a finish to an astonishing final day of artistic gymnastics.

Jordan Chiles needed the floor routine of her life to win her first individual Olympic medal in this floor exercise final, but it wasn't quite enough today.

She had some unstable landings, losing some tenths and moving into fifth place with a 13.666.

The two Romanians, Sabrina Voinea and Ana Barbosu, both scored 13.700 on their floor routines, but Barbosu kept bronze medal position because of her superior execution score.

After a fall in warm-ups on her eponymous triple-twisting double back flip, Biles hit the pass when it counted, but lost the floor gold position to Rebeca Andrade.

She had the most difficult routine in the field, but went out of bounds twice and scored a 14.133, second to Andrade by 0.033.

A 13.600 from newly-minted beam champion Alice D'Amato will move her into bronze medal position.

Simone Biles is still to go, so D'Amato's place on the podium is not secure.

While warming up for her final event of these Games, Biles fell on her eponymous triple-double tumbling pass. She is currently getting her left calf taped more securely by medical staff.

The same calf was bothering her during the qualification round, but she's been competing in Paris since then without visible issues.

China's Ou Yushan went out of bound on one of her tumbling passes, but had an otherwise stunning routine, scoring 13.000.

She maximizes the artistic aspect of artistic gymnastics, but her lower acrobatic difficulty kept her from scoring particularly high.

Away from the gymnastics for a moment, Team USA qualified in second position this morning for the mixed team skeet shooting finals with a total of 148 points. The gold medal event takes place later today.

Training partners Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith represent Team USA in competing for a gold medal at Chateauroux’s Shotgun Range. It's the first such final, with the event making it's Olympics debut in Paris and no starting guns will be necessary when the event gets underway at 9:00 a.m. ET and 3:00 p.m. local time.

Should the pair succeed, Vincent Hancock will win his fifth Olympic gold. Austen Smith herself is no stranger to Olympic medals: She has won the women’s bronze in the individual event at these Games.

Hancock and Smith will have to get past Italy’s team of Diana Bacosi and Gabriele Rosseti who qualified first with 149 points. The Italians each won gold in individual skeet at Rio in 2016. The gold medal match follows the bronze match between China and India.

Beyoncé music will feature heavily in this floor final, with Andrade, Biles and Jordan Chiles all tumbling to her music.

Andrade ended her Olympics on a jubilant note, tumbling like a pro and scoring a 14.166. She donned her glasses to get a good look at the number.

After winning bronze in a beam final riddled with falls, Italy's Manila Esposito fell on her floor routine, scoring a 12.133.

This is the last women's event at these Games, so many gymnasts are likely to be tired after competing for over a week straight.

Although they had an excellent showing in Paris overall, Suni Lee and Simone Biles may be in need of another redemption tour after their balance beam falls.

"I mean we’re both kind of upset just because that’s not how I wanted to end my Olympic Games and I’m sure she didn’t want that either," Lee said.

Biles did not speak with the media as she still has to compete in the floor final. On a potential Olympic comeback, Lee has yet to make a decision.

"I mean, I feel like you never really know. I’m definitely going to take some time off," Lee said.

"And if I come back, then I come back. But if I don’t, then I feel like I had a really good run. I’m super proud of everything that I was able to accomplish," she said.

For the third consecutive Olympics, a gold medal on the balance beam eluded Biles. She fell on her tricky acrobatic series, making her first major beam error in Paris. Biles tied her American teammate, Suni Lee, who also suffered a fall, for fifth place.

Like the balance beam final, the men's high bar took many victims in apparatus finals. Six of the eight athletes in the high bar final fell, with many of the stumbles occurring at the end of routines, on the dismount.

Shinnosuke Oka of Japan won gold and Colombia’s Ángel Barajas took silver.

Despite their falls, Zhang Boheng of China and Tang Chia-hung of Taiwan tied for the bronze, receiving identical difficulty and execution scores. They will share the medal, as the tie cannot be broken when both components of the score match.

Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson joins "TODAY" to break down where Team USA women’s gymnastics came up short in the artistic balance beam final, including Simone Biles’ critical fall that cost her a medal.

The Paris Olympics men's singles tennis tournament finished with a bang yesterday with Serbia's Novak Djokovic winning his first gold medal against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz. That made Djokovic only the third player ever after Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal (whom he beat on his way to the medal) to complete a career Golden Slam and leaving him with no worlds left to conquer.

Italy also made history, it's women’s doubles team capturing the country’s first gold medal in Olympic tennis.

After falling off the beam, Simone Biles has one last chance to win a Paris medal, and she gets to go for it alongside her training mate Jordan Chiles. Both Biles and Chiles will leave it all on the floor today in the individual event final. In that competition, they will also face off against Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, who is well known as Biles' greatest competition.

Still, Biles' Taylor Swift-themed routine (yes, she flips and twists to "...Ready For It?") has a difficulty advantage above Andrade's, and if she performs it like we know she can, she should be a lock for the gold.

Biles posted a qualifiers score of 14.600, but soared even higher in the individual all-around final with a 15.066. She did this routine in the team final, too. Andrade scored 13.900 in qualifiers and Chiles came in a tight third with a 13.866.

Chiles represented the U.S. on floor in the team final, and is most well known for her spunk and ability to have fun on the mat. Chiles' biggest fans will be waiting for her to show off her attitude today as much as they will be cheering on her tumbling passes.

As we reported earlier, Team USA made an epic comeback to win silver in a very closed mixed triathlon relay this morning.

France, one of the event favorites, could only take fourth place after a bike crash in the first leg.

Pierre le Corre was brought down by New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde and then struggled to get his chain back on, ending the hosts’ chances of a medal, despite a strong finish from Cassandre Beaugrand, the gold medalist in last week’s women’s triathlon.

The only Paris souvenir Suni Lee missed on her redemption tour was a gold medal on the balance beam. "I'm so sad about my beam routine," Lee said on NBC after the final. "But it's OK, because I gave it my all, it's okay." Lee added that "the pressure of the atmosphere" contributed to her fall.

"Just knowing that we're so close to being done ... yeah, it was really silent when you get up there," she said. "I don't like that, just because it gives me too much time to like think, and I can hear everything."

It might feel counterproductive to laser focus on the beam, but gymnasts often cite silence as being detrimental to their performance because it creates space for nerves to creep in.

"Having the crowd's energy, especially after you finish a routine, is really helpful," Lee said. "But yeah, it was too quiet. Too quiet. I could literally hear myself breathing."

Now that her Olympics are over, Lee shared her plans to eat something comforting, namely a warm bowl of Vietnamese Pho.

Three American pairs will hit the sand later today at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

Chase Budinger and Miles Evans face defending Olympic champions Christian Sorum and Anders Mol of Norway at 8 a.m. ET. The 36-year-old Budinger is a former NBA player who played for the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns.

Top pairing Miles Partain and Andy Benesh play at 11 a.m. ET against Italy’s Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai. The Americans are ranked fourth in the world. 

Best friends Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth face Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes at 12 p.m. ET. The U.S. pair are two of the most successful and highly-decorated beach volleyball players in NCAA history. 

1. Alice D'Amato, Italy, 14.366
2. Zhou Yaqin, China, 14.100
3. Manila Esposito, Italy, 14.00

The last time the balance beam podium featured no Americans was 24 years ago, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Suni Lee and Simone Biles were both capable of gold here, but did not hit when it counted.

With falls from both Americans today, Alice D'Amato of Italy wins gold on the balance beam. It's the first beam gold for the country and D'Amato's first individual medal.

Andrade's score of 13.933 puts her in fourth.

Her score of 13.100 will prevent Biles from earning a beam medal today. It's the first of her three Olympics where she won't earn a medal in the event.

If her Brazilian rival Rebeca Andrade hits her routine, she's capable of gold.

Like Suni Lee before her, Simone Biles came off on her acrobatic series. She is unlikely to win the gold she's been searching for.

With that routine from D'Amato, Lee is out of podium position.

Italy's Alice D’Amato has been chasing an individual Olympic medal after narrowly missing the all-around podium and a bars medal. She led the Italian team to a historic silver medal in the team event, but has yet to collect a medal of her own.

She hit a stellar beam routine to break a streak of falls in this final, scoring a 14.366 that will put her in first place and guarantee her a medal.

The sun set years ago on the Romanian gymnastics dynasty, but Sabrina Voinea is capable of revitalizing it. She suffered two falls on the beam, scoring a 11.733, which puts her in last place for now.

Nadia Comăneci, the pride of Romania and the first gymnast to earn a "Perfect 10," could be seen lamenting Voinea's mistake in the crowd.

Italy's Manila Esposito dominated the balance beam at European competitions in the lead-up to Paris.

Her 14.000 is slightly lower than her potential but will keep her in the medal conversation. She is currently in second place.

Meanwhile, away from the gymnastics, South Korea’s An Se Young has made her first Olympic medal a gold one, winning the women’s singles badminton. The 2023 world champion won 21-13, 21-16 against China’s He Bing Jiao in two games that she dominated.

An screamed with joy and was cheered by the crowd as she won. Her win gives South Korea its first gold medal in women’s singles badminton since 1996 and it's the country’s 10th medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

He Bing Jiao’s silver is her first Olympic medal.

The third gymnast up is the third gymnast with a major mistake.

Júlia Soares of Brazil came off on a leap right after Suni Lee suffered a rough fall. Mistakes like this tend to compound in balance beam finals, the one event where adrenaline is counterproductive for gymnasts.

Soares' score of 12.333 is the lowest score so far.

Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady attends the artistic gymnastics men’s horizontal bar final at the Paris Olympics today.

Lee came off the beam on her acrobatic series after a near-flawless routine. She won't get the beam gold she's been chasing today, but received some encouragement from Biles afterwards.

Her score of 13.100 puts her a full-point behind Zhou Yaqin.

China's Zhou Yaqin lost control on a jump and touched the beam, which will be a half-point deduction. She'll lose any edge she had over Simone Biles after entering as the favorite.

A 14.100 is still an excellent score, but may keep her out of the gold medal position once Biles performs.

Biles is poised to become the first woman to ever win three balance beam medals today. She is a four-time world champion in the event, but has often lamented being unable to put together the routine she rehearses in practice under the bright lights of competition.

She won the bronze at her two previous Olympics, but has long been chasing the top of the podium.

The apparatus is only 4 inches wide, about the length of an iPhone, so even the greatest of all time can succumb to nervous errors.

Ukraine’s track-and-field super star Yaroslava Mahuchikh won gold in women's high jump last night in a victory that's about much more than a medal.

Forced to leave the country to continue her training abroad, Mahuchikh, 22, is one of Ukraine's athletes whose careers have been drastically changed by the Russian invasion in early 2022. She told NBC News that she would be honored to represent her country’s soldiers battling Russian forces on the front lines. “It’s only because they protect us I have the opportunity to jump,” Mahuchikh said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Mahuchikh on her victory and two fellow track-and-field athletes who also won medals yesterday in a post on X, saying “Ukrainians know how to be strong and how to win.”

Ukraine, which despite the war has managed to qualify 140 athletes for Paris, has so far won 7 medals, including two golds — one won by Mahuchikh yesterday, and another in women’s team saber the day before.

Read the full story on what's driving Ukraine's Olympians in Paris.

So far, Simone Biles has won gold in every final she qualified for. Today, she'll aim to win the Olympic balance beam gold that has eluded her in her 11-year career.

Biles is the reigning world champion, but does not have the highest scoring potential. Her intended difficulty score is two tenths lower than that of Zhou Yaqin and she qualified to the beam final in second behind the Chinese gymnast.

However, Biles has the edge that matters most on the beam: she's very good at staying on.

Defending gold medalist Zou Jingyuan is once again Olympic champion in the men’s parallel bars.

Zou, the Simon Biles of the parallel bars, scored a huge 16.200 with an incredible routine.

Ukraine’s Illia Kovtun, who fled his country when Russia invaded and moved around Europe to train, took the silver medal. Shinnosuke Oka from Japan came third. 

Simone Biles and Suni Lee will attempt to add another medal to each of their personal collections at the beam final today.

Biles sits in second place with a qualifiers score of 14.733 and Lee in fourth with a 14.033.

The No. 1 spot heading into the final goes to China's Zhou Yaqin who scored 14.866 in qualifiers. Third place is held by Rebeca Andrade from Brazil with a 14.500.

Beam is considered to be one of Lee's best events, and she'll have to show off the routine of a lifetime with very few small mistakes if she wants to bring home a medal in this event.

Both Biles and Lee executed beam routines in the team final (where they won gold) and the all-around final (where Biles won gold and Lee won bronze).

Go below the surface to take a look at Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom win the 50-meter freestyle splash-and-dash. 

Congratulations to Team USA’s Payton Otterdahl and Maddy Nilles.

The shot putter proposed on bended knee in front of the Eiffel Tower, posting on Instagram “Meanwhile, in the City of Love…I love you forever, Maddy Nilles!”  

The 28 year-old came fourth in Saturday’s final. 

After winning bronze in the uneven bars at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA gymnast Suni Lee discussed with NBC News how she felt about her performance, as well as her path to her second Games.

She competes in the balance beam finals later today.  

What a thrilling race! Going into the anchor leg, USA’s Taylor Knibb was in third place, 13 seconds behind leader Great Britain, with Germany 12 seconds behind Team GB. Any of the three teams could have taken gold in the final sprint finish on the Alexandre III bridge. 

In the end, it was Germany’s Laura Lindemann who crossed the line first, just ahead of Taylor Knibb and Beth Potter of Great Britain who crossed together for a photo finish, something that rarely happens in this event.

After the teams of four athletes (two men, two women) competed in a relay format with each athlete completing a swim, bike and run, just one second separated first and third place.

Seth Rider, Taylor Spivey, Morgan Pearson, and Taylor Knibb all take home silver medals for Team USA, which also finished second at Tokyo in 2021.

After thrilling fans during its Olympic debut in Tokyo, sport climbing is back in Paris.

NBC's Steve Kornacki is at the big board to explain how it all works.

Simone Biles has two more chances to make history today.

If Biles reaches the podium for the balance beam, she will be the first woman to medal three times in the event. She took the bronze at Rio and Tokyo.

She is also competing in the floor exercise, which she won in Rio. If Biles wins both events, she'll be the first woman to win five gold medals at a single Olympics.

Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas is on a mission to help promote equity in health care. The Harvard graduate wants to close the gap in disparities in the American health care system and with that in mind she volunteers at an Austin, Texas, health care clinic for people with no insurance.

Today, she races in Round 1 of the 200-meter, an event she got bronze in at the Tokyo Games and won at U.S. Olympic Trials.

The U.S. has won the silver medal after a dramatic photo finish.

Gold medalists Germany, the U.S. and the third-placed Great Britain team all finished within a second of each other.

Wow.

Americans Yared Nuguse and Hobbs Kessler came first and second in their 1500m semifinal yesterday. They finished with the top two times of 3:31.72 and 3:31.97, respectively. Now, they'll go on to face favorites Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Team Great Britain's Josh Kerr tomorrow. 

Noah Lyles was crowned the world's fastest man late yesterday, winning gold in the men's 100m sprint with a time of 9.784 seconds — just five-one-thousands of a second quicker than Jamaica's Kishane Thompson, who took silver.

U.S. climber Jesse Grupper remembers when he was 16 and experienced pain in his abdomen for the first time.

“I thought it was either food poisoning or just a reaction to stress from finals period,” he said on NBC’s “My New Favorite Olympian” podcast. “When the first one ended, I was like, ‘OK, that’s it. I’m not going to have these symptoms again.’ But then when it came back, I realized that there was something more fundamentally wrong.”

Grupper was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the large intestine. Symptoms, including abdominal pain and fever, can unexpectedly flare up under stress, which caused Grupper to reflect on his competitive climbing. 

Read the full story here.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock.

Full primetime coverage begins tonight on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET.