Follow live coverage of day two of the 2024 Paris Olympics, including dedicated gymnastics coverage

Action around France continues with a slate of noteworthy stars set to make their 2024 Olympic debuts on Sunday.

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team, headlined by Simone Biles, competes in qualifications early in the day. Later, the U.S. men’s basketball team, led by LeBron James, plays Serbia and Nikola Jokić in a matchup of top NBA talent.

Elsewhere, the U.S. women’s national soccer team faces Germany as both teams aim for the top spot in their group, a French swimming sensation could go for gold and the surfing competition rolls on in Tahiti.

In addition to swimming, medal events in archery, kayaking, cycling, fencing, judo, shooting and skateboarding will take place.

Here’s what we’re following.

Events to watch

Biles makes Olympic return

Time: 5:40 a.m. ET, 11:40 a.m. in Paris
TV: E!/NBC and Peacock (live)

What to watch for: Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist, returns to the Games after withdrawing from most of her events at the Tokyo Olympics due to the twisties, a mental block that can affect gymnasts while performing an aerial maneuver.

She enters the Paris Games as the primary gymnast to beat, while the United States is aiming for gold in the team events. (Russia — the defending champion in both the men’s and women’s team all-around — is banned from participating in team sports at the Paris Olympics.)

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Biles is joined by Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee, reigning floor exercise champion Jade Carey, 2021 silver medal winner Jordan Chiles and 16-year-old Hezly Rivera on the U.S. team.

Women’s team qualifying begins at 3:30 a.m. ET at Bercy Arena, with the U.S. up at 5:40 a.m. ET along with China and Italy. The women’s team final is set for 12:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

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U.S. men’s basketball vs. Serbia

Time: 11:15 a.m. ET, 5:15 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock (live)

What to watch for: Stop us if you’ve heard this before: The U.S. men’s basketball team is loaded with talent — with James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant just some of the notable names on the roster — as the U.S. goes for a fifth straight Olympic gold. But the American team isn’t the only one with an NBA pedigree. Three-time NBA MVP Jokić and Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanović star for Serbia, the first team the U.S. faces in group play.

The U.S. looked dominant against Serbia in a pre-Olympic exhibition game earlier this month, but only beat South Sudan by one point in a similar tune-up.

One more thing: Durant — a three-time Olympic gold medalist — might finally play after a calf injury sidelined him through the team’s summer exhibitions.

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U.S. women’s soccer vs. Germany


Trinity Rodman scored the first goal of the tournament for the United States. (Photo: Valery Hache / AFP via Getty Images)

Time: 3 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. in Paris
TV: USA/Telemundo and Peacock (live)

What to watch for: Both the Americans and the Germans won their first games in Group B, with the U.S. beating Zambia 3-0 and Germany beating Australia by the same score. Both the U.S. and German sides are also seeking redemption in a major international tournament.

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Germany (No. 4 in the world in FIFA’s rankings) failed to qualify for the last Olympics in 2021 and didn’t advance past the group stage at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history. The United States (ranked No. 5) finished with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games and crashed out of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in the round of 16, a major disappointment for the four-time tournament champions that prompted a coaching change.

The winner of Group B will face the second-place finisher in Group C (Spain, Brazil, Japan or Nigeria) in a quarterfinal on Aug. 3. The U.S. women’s team wraps up group play with Australia on Wednesday.

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A first Olympic medal for the ‘French Michael Phelps’?

Time: 2:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock (live)

What to watch for: Swimming continues Sunday with finals for the men’s 400-meter individual medley (2:30 p.m. ET), the women’s 100-meter butterfly (2:40 p.m.) and the men’s 100-meter breaststroke (3:44 p.m. ET) at Paris La Défense Arena.

Headlining the men’s 400-meter IM with the best odds for gold is Léon Marchand, or as some have dubbed him, the “French Michael Phelps.” Marchand, who trains with Phelps’ former coach and competes in the same events as the swim legend, shattered Phelps’ 400-meter IM record by more than a second last summer.

The 22-year-old Frenchman is also competing in the 200-meter IM, 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter breaststroke at the Paris Games.

In the women’s 100 butterfly, two 21-year-old Americans — Gretchen Walsh, who holds the world record, and Torri Huske — have the best odds, per BetMGM. In the men’s 100 breaststroke, China’s Qin Haiyang, Great Britain’s Adam Peaty and the United States’ Nic Fink have the best odds.

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Olympic surfing in Tahiti

Time: 1 p.m. ET, 7 a.m. local
TV: Peacock (live)

What to watch for: While most athletes are competing in and around Paris for the Olympics, on the other side of the world, the Olympic surfing competition is being held on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti. The second rounds of the men’s and women’s events are Sunday (with the men’s starting at 11:48 p.m. ET/5:48 p.m. local after the women’s at 1 p.m. ET/7 a.m. local), weather permitting.

The fields, which began with 24 competitors on each side, will be whittled down through three rounds before the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals scheduled for Wednesday. There are also reserve days to account for poor wave and wind conditions.

U.S. athletes to watch include 22-year-old sensation Caroline Marks and Carissa Moore, the defending Olympic gold medalist, on the women’s side. For the U.S. men, John John Florence, a 31-year-old Hawaii native, is a notable name.

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View the full day’s Olympic schedule here.

Saturday’s highlight

The United States’ first gold medal of the Olympics came in the pool.

Chris Guiliano, Jack Alexy, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel combined to lead the U.S. to a dominant victory in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay, beating Australia (silver) and Italy (bronze). It’s the third consecutive Games in which the U.S. has won gold in the event.

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Honorable mention goes to Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish tennis players who won their first match as doubles partners.

More on the 2024 Paris Olympics

(Photo: Naomi Baker / Getty Images)





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