Memorable Paris Olympics moments: Simone Biles was the star, but the spotlight fell on many faces
PARIS: Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a thrilling comeback that had everyone watching her every move both in and out of the gym.
All eyes were on Biles as she won four medals, but the spotlight was bright enough to highlight new names, new faces and some unlikely new stars. The Paris Games will be remembered for breathtaking venues, unprecedented accessibility and Snoop Dogg starring in NBC's record-breaking coverage.
Paris introduced the world to “The Pommel Horse Guy” and “The Real John Wick” and a meme-making performance by an Australian teacher in breaking's Olympic debut.
French swimmer Leon Marchand played his home Olympics with a Michael Phelps-like performance, winning five medals, four of them gold. Ilona Maher headed to the reality TV show “Love Island” after leading the USA to a stunning late victory that gave the USA its first medal, a bronze medal, in rugby sevens.
Noah Lyles was crowned the fastest man in the world for winning the 100 meters, but after finishing third in the 200 – his first defeat in his favorite event since the Tokyo Olympics in three years ago – revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19. . Sha'Carri Richardson chased down two competitors in the rain to end her first Olympics with a relay gold after settling for silver in the 100.
The U.S. won the medal count — 121 of them heading into Sunday's final day of competition, 37 of them gold — and the Americans dominated again in men's basketball and women's soccer.
Here's a look at some of the top moments from the Paris Olympics:
The balls rose to gold
Biles returned to the Olympics three years after withdrawing from several events at the Tokyo Games for mental health reasons and won four medals, three of them gold.
She was the most popular attraction in Paris and competed in front of celebrity-filled crowds. Those who couldn't sit in the stands with Tom Cruise, Spike Lee, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga chimed in from afar as NBC said 34.7 million viewers on its platforms watched Biles drive United States to team gold.
Next up for the greatest gymnast in Olympia history is a 30-stop “Gold Over America Tour” for the GOAT.
Swimming fights
Nine days of competition ended with the Americans narrowly missing out on leading the swimming gold medal standings, needing a win in the final race of the Olympics to do so.
The U.S. finished with just eight gold medals, its fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games and one ahead of arch-rival Australia.
“It's one of the worst performances in history as a U.S. team,” said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever.
The rest of the world has accumulated more victories (20) than the USA and Australia combined for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Track issues
The Americans' 34 medals and 14 golds were the best track and field results in a non-boycotted Games since the early 20th century, when there were more events and fewer countries.
And that came despite the disappointment of Richardson not winning gold in the 100, Lyles missing the 200 after his COVID-19 diagnosis and the men's 4×100-meter relay racing its way to disqualification.
The relay's performance was so poor 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-Levrone set another world record in winning the 400 hurdles again, and then she was part of the 4×400 relay team that she and Gabby Thomas led to a victory fugitive last night at the Stade de France. .
The American men won gold in the same race in a much closer finish about 15 minutes earlier.
The USA's 14 golds are the most in a non-boycotted Olympic Games since 1968.
American girls get another gold
Stephen Curry added more hardware to his legacy when he finally won an Olympic gold medal.
Curry scored 24 points to lead the USA to a 98-87 victory over France in the men's basketball final. It was the fifth consecutive gold medal for the US – and the 17th in 20 all-time appearances for Americans at the Olympics.
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, wearing metallic gold sneakers, scored 14 for the U.S. as he won his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.
Victor Wembanyama, in his first Olympic final, scored 26 points for France and was in tears after the game.
The American women's soccer team is on top again
The US 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.
Gold completed an unbeaten title run in their first international campaign under new coach Emma Hayes.
At the final whistle, the American players celebrated as Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA”. played in the stadium.
The boxing controversy
Women's boxing has been dragged into the culture wars due to gender misconceptions involving two of the competitors.
Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Li Yu-ting have come under scrutiny following the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association's decision to disqualify them from last year's world championships, claiming they both failed an eligibility test for women's competition to which the IBA officials refused to answer the basic. questions about.
Khelif endured intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world due to misconceptions about her femininity and went on to win gold in the women's welterweight division.
Lin won a gold medal in the women's bantamweight division a night later to end her four-fight unbeaten run through Paris, winning 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 am qualified,” Khelif said after her win.
The International Olympic Committee last year took the unprecedented step of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics after years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The IOC called the sex tests the sport's governing body imposed on the two boxers irreparably flawed.
