Paris Olympics Memorable Moments: Simone Biles was the star but the spotlight reached many faces

AP National Writer

PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a captivating comeback that had everyone watching everything she did both in and out of the gymnasium.

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 taking a starring role in NBC’s record-smashing coverage.

Paris introduced the world to “The Pommel Horse Guy” and “The Real John Wick” and a meme-making performance by an Australian professor in the Olympic debut of breaking.

French swimmer Léon Marchand delivered in his home Olympics with a Michael Phelps-like performance, winning five medals, four of them gold. Ilona Maher angled for a shot on reality TV show “Love Island” after leading the United States to a heart-stopping late victory that gave the U.S. its first ever a medal, a bronze, in rugby sevens.

Noah Lyles was crowned the fastest man in the world for winning the 100 meters, but after he finished third in the 200 — his first loss in his favorite event since the Tokyo Olympics three years ago — he revealed 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 United States won the medal count — 126 in total and the women’s basketball team closed the Games by winning gold to tie China with an Olympic-best 40. The Americans again prevailed in both men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s soccer, too.

Here’s a look at some of the top moments of the Paris Olympics:

Biles soared to gold

Biles returned to the Olympics three years after she pulled out of multiple 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-packed crowds. Those who couldn’t 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 across 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.

Swimming struggles

Nine days of competition wrapped up with the Americans barely pulling off the lead in the gold-medal standings in swimming, needing a victory in the last race of the Olympics to do so.

The U.S. finished with just eight golds, its fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games and one ahead of its biggest 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 totaled more victories (20) than the United States and Australia combined, the first time that’s happened since the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Track troubles

The 34 medals and 14 golds for the Americans were their best showing 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 losing the 200 after his COVID-19 diagnosis and the men’s 4×100 meter relay fumbling its way to a disqualification.

The relay performance was so bad that Carl Lewis, a nine-time gold medalist, called for top-to-bottom changes within the American track and field program.

But the U.S. closed out strong: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set another world record in again winning the 400 hurdles, and she then was part of the 4×400 relay team that she and Gabby Thomas led to a runaway win on the final night at Stade de France.

The American men won gold in the same race in a much closer finish about 15 minutes earlier.

The 14 golds by the U.S. are the most in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1968.

USA hoops sweeps gold

Stephen Curry added more hardware to his legacy as he finally 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 on Saturday. It was the fifth consecutive gold medal for the U.S. — and the 17th in 20 all-time appearances for the 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, in his first Olympic final, scored 26 points for France and was in tears after the game.

The women’s team followed up Sunday by winning the last gold medal of the Games with a 67-66 victory over France.

It was the eighth straight gold for the women, who broke a tie with the American men’s program that won seven in a row from 1936-68. The women’s victory came less than 24 hours after the U.S. men’s team also beat France in the title game, marking the first time in Olympic history that both gold-medal games featured the same two teams.

American women’s soccer team back on top

The U.S. women’s soccer team won its fifth Olympic gold medal by beating Brazil 1-0 in the final. The Americans had not won gold since the 2012 London Olympics.

The gold closed out an undefeated run to the title in their first international campaign under new coach Emma Hayes.

At the final whistle, the U.S. players celebrated as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” played in the stadium.

Boxing controversy

Women’s boxing was dragged into the culture wars over gender misconceptions involving two of the competitors.

Imane Khelif of Algeria and Li Yu-ting of Taiwan were heavily scrutinized because of a Russian-dominated International Boxing Association’s decision to disqualify them from last year’s world championships, claiming both failed an eligibility test for women’s competition that IBA officials have declined to answer basic questions about.

Khelif endured intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world over misconceptions about her womanhood and still won gold in the women’s welterweight division.

Lin won a gold medal in the women’s featherweight division one night later to cap her four-fight unbeaten run through Paris by winning Taiwan’s first Olympic boxing gold medal.

“I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman and I am qualified,” Khelif said after her victory.

The International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step last year of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics following years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The IOC has called the sex tests that the sport’s governing body imposed on the two boxers irretrievably flawed.

___

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games