Memorable moments from Paris Olympics: Simone Biles was the star but the spotlight shifted to many faces
Paris: Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a stunning comeback that had everyone watching everything she did inside and outside the gym.
All eyes were on Bills as he won four medals, but the spotlight was bright enough to highlight new names, new faces and some potential new stars. The Paris Games will be remembered for the exciting venues, unprecedented access and Snoop Dogg's role in NBC's record-smashing coverage.
Paris introduced the world to “The Pommel Horse Guy” and “The Real John Wick” and an Australian professor made a meme-making performance in breaking's Olympic debut.
French swimmer Leon Marchand won five medals, four of them gold, in a Michael Phelps-like performance at his home Olympics. Ilona Maher gave the U.S. its first rugby sevens medal, a bronze, after leading the U.S. to a heartbreaking late win after angling for a shot on the reality TV show “Love Island.”
Noah Lyles was crowned the world's fastest man after winning the 100 meters, but after finishing third in the 200 — his first loss in his favorite event since the Tokyo Olympics three years ago — he revealed he tested positive for Covid-19. . Sha'Carri Richardson followed two competitors in the rain to finish her first Olympics with relay gold after settling for silver in the 100.
The United States won the medal count — 121 of them heading into the final day of competition Sunday, including 37 gold — and the Americans were victorious again in men's basketball and women's soccer.
Watch some of the best moments from the Paris Olympics here:
Bile rose to gold
Biles returned to the Olympics three years after withdrawing from several events at the Tokyo Games due to mental health issues and won three of those gold medals.
She was the most popular attraction in Paris and competed in front of a celebrity-filled crowd. Those unable to sit in the stands with Tom Cruise, Spike Lee, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga tuned in from afar as NBC said 34.7 million viewers on its platforms watched Biles lead the United States to team gold.
Next up for the greatest gymnast in Olympic history is a 30-stop “Gold Over America Tour” for the GOAT.
Struggle to swim
Nine days of competition ended with the Americans just ahead of the swimming gold medal spot, needing a win in the final race of the Olympics to do so.
The US won a total of eight golds, the fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games and one more than arch-rival Australia.
“This is the worst performance in history as an American team,” said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian.
The rest of the world has won more (20) than the United States and Australia combined, the first since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Track problems
The 34 medals and 14 golds for the Americans were their best performance in track and field 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 4x100m relay falling on the way to disqualification.
The relay performance was so poor that Carl Lewis, a nine-time gold medalist, called for top-to-bottom changes within the U.S. track and field program.
But the U.S. closed strong: Sydney McLaughlin-Levron again won the 400 hurdles to set another world record, and she was then part of the 4×400 relay team that she and Gabby Thomas led to a sprint win on the final night at the Stade de France. .
The American men won gold in the same race about 15 minutes earlier.
America's 14 golds are the most in an Olympics without a boycott since 1968.
USA Hoops gets another gold
Stephen Curry finally added more hardware to his legacy when he won an Olympic gold medal.
Curry scored 24 points and led the U.S. to a 98-87 win over France in the men's basketball final. It was the fifth consecutive gold medal for the U.S. — and the 17th out of 20 all-time appearances 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, wearing metallic gold sneakers, scored 14 for the U.S. as he won his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.
Victor Wembanyama scored 26 points for France in his first Olympic final and cried after the game.
The US women's soccer team is back on top
The U.S. women's soccer team defeated Brazil 1-0 in the final to win its fifth Olympic gold medal. The Americans have not won gold since the 2012 London Olympics.
Swarn closed an unbeaten run to the title in her first international campaign under new coach Emma Hayes.
At the final whistle, the American players celebrated Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA”. It was played in the stadium.
Boxing Controversy
Women's boxing has been dragged into a culture war over gender stereotypes involving two competitors.
IBA officials refused to give a basic answer, saying Algeria's Imane Khelief and Taiwan's Li Yu-ting had been disqualified from last year's world championships by the Russian-dominated International Boxing Federation, claiming they had failed the qualification test for the women's event. Questions about.
Khalifa endured intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world due to misconceptions about her femininity and still won gold in the women's welterweight division.
Lin won gold in the women's featherweight division a night later, capping a four-fight unbeaten run in Paris with the first Olympic boxing gold medal for Taiwan.
“I'm a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman and I deserve it,” said Khalif after her win.
The International Olympic Committee last year took the unprecedented step of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics, citing concerns over its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency over the years. The IOC said the sex-testing of the two boxers by the sport's governing body was irretrievably flawed.
