Unforgettable moments from the Paris Olympics: Simone Biles was the star but the spotlight reached many faces
PARIS: Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a captivating performance that had everyone watching her every move inside and outside the gym.
All eyes were on Biles after her four medals, but the spotlight was bright enough to highlight new names, new faces and some unexpected new stars. The Paris Olympics will be remembered for the stunning venues, unprecedented accessibility and Snoop Dogg starring in NBC’s record-breaking coverage.
Paris gave the world “The Pommel Horse Guy” and “The Real John Wick” as well as a meme performance by an Australian professor in the Olympics’ first-ever dance-to-music show.
French swimmer Leon Marchand had a great time at his country's Olympics, winning five medals, four of them gold. Ilona Maher also made a point of appearing on the reality TV show “Love Island” after leading the United States to a stunning last-minute win that gave them their first ever medal, a bronze, in the rugby sevens.
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 favourite event since the Tokyo Olympics three years ago — he revealed he had tested positive for coronavirus. 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 100m.
The United States won the medal count – 121 of them before the final day of competition on Sunday, including 37 gold – and the Americans again prevailed in men's basketball and women's soccer.
Here's a look at some of the biggest moments from the Paris Olympics:
Biles soars 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.
Biles was the most popular tennis player in Paris, competing in front of a crowd of celebrities. Those who couldn’t sit in the stands with Tom Cruise, Spike Lee, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga watched from afar, with NBC saying 34.7 million viewers across its platforms watched Biles lead the United States to gold.
The next stage for the greatest gymnast in Olympic history is a 30-stop “Gold Over America Tour” for GOAT.
Swimming struggles
Nine days of competition ended with the Americans narrowly claiming the top spot in the swimming gold medal standings, needing to win the final race of the Olympics to do so.
The United States finished the Games with just eight gold medals, its fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games, and one gold behind its biggest rival, Australia.
“This was one of the worst performances in the history of the U.S. team,” said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time.
The rest of the world had more wins (20) than the United States and Australia combined, the first time that had happened since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Path problems
The Americans' 34 medals and 14 golds were their best performance in track and field at a Games not boycotted since the early 20th century, when there were more events and fewer countries.
This came despite the disappointment of Richardson not winning gold in the 100m, Lyles missing the 200m after being diagnosed with COVID-19, and the men's 4x100m relay faltering and being disqualified.
The relay performance was so poor that Carl Lewis, a nine-time gold medalist, called for sweeping changes to the U.S. track and field program.
But the United States finished strongly: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke another world record by winning the 400m hurdles again, and then was part of the 4x400m relay team that she and Gabby Thomas led to a landslide victory on the final night at the Stade de France.
The American men won the gold medal in the same race in a very close finish with about 15 minutes to go.
The United States' 14 gold medals is the most gold medals in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1968.
USA gets another gold medal
Stephen Curry added more accomplishments to his legacy when he finally won the Olympic gold medal.
Curry scored 24 points and led the United States 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 all-time appearances for the Americans at the Games.
Kevin Durant, the first man to win four men's basketball gold medals in Olympic history, scored 15 points for the United States, as did Devin Booker. LeBron James, wearing metallic gold sneakers, scored 14 points for the United States, winning 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.
US Women's Soccer Team Back on Top
The U.S. women's soccer team won its fifth Olympic gold medal, beating Brazil 1-0 in the final. The Americans have not won gold since the 2012 London Olympics.
The gold medal capped an unbeaten run to the title in their first international appearance under new coach Emma Hayes.
At the final whistle, the USA players celebrated by playing Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA” on the field.
Boxing controversy
Women's boxing has been dragged into the culture wars due to gender misconceptions involving two of its competitors.
Algerian Iman Khelif and Taiwanese Li Yu-ting have come under intense scrutiny after the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified them from last year's world championships, claiming they failed an eligibility test for women's competition that IBA officials refused to answer basic questions about.
Khalif faced intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world due to misconceptions about her femininity, but she still won the gold medal in the women's middleweight division.
The following night, Lin won the women's featherweight gold medal, capping off her four-game 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 am qualified,” Khalif said after her victory.
The International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step last year of permanently banning the International Boxing Federation from the Olympics after years of concerns about its governance, competitive integrity and financial transparency. The IOC described the sport’s governing body’s gender tests for boxers as irredeemably flawed.