By Paris
CNN
—
The first week of the 2024 Summer Olympics is very nearly in the books and business is about to pick up.
This opening week in Paris has already seen history made and records shattered and some of the most dramatic performances from the standout American star of these Games so far, gymnastic legend Simone Biles.
And in the second week, it’s time for some of the most iconic events of the Olympic Games on the track, the court and in the various scenic stadiums across Paris that have already etched themselves into Olympic lore.
Here are seven things to make sure you watch this weekend from France:
Simone Biles goes for three more gold medals
Biles has already made history with her incredible comeback from the depths of her withdrawal from key competitions at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Now she’s got her eyes set on coming home with a few more gold medals to put around her neck along with her GOAT necklace.
Biles competes on Saturday in the vault final and then again on Monday in the floor and balance beam finals. She’s already the most decorated American Olympic gymnast ever. Adding more gold to that haul would widen that gap and put the 27-year-old down in the history books.
“It is crazy that I am in the conversation of greatest of all athletes because I just still think: ‘I’m Simone Biles from Spring, Texas, that loves to flip,’” she said on Thursday night.
With a few more of those flips, Biles might set a standard in Paris that is going to be incredibly difficult for any modern gymnast to match.
The fastest race in sports is here
The signature Olympic race is no doubt the 100-meter sprint. And under the bright lights of the Stade de France, two Americans are looking for the opportunity to put their stamp on the closely watched event.
Noah Lyles and Sha’carri Richardson are both looking for their opportunity to wash the bad taste of 2021 out of their mouths. For Lyles, it was a disappointing bronze medal in the 200 meters, his signature race. For Richardson, it was being suspended from the Games for failing a drug test after testing positive for the active ingredient in marijuana – a suspension that garnered huge outrage on Richardson’s behalf.
Lyles, 27, is the world champion in the 100-meter dash but enters Paris as an underdog to Jamacia’s Kishane Thompson, setting up one of the most dramatic editions of the race in years – especially as the American has frequently talked about beating the world record set by Thompson’s countryman, Usain Bolt back in 2009.
Lyles has a full plate this year as he aims for four gold medals, competing in the 100-meter sprint, the 200-meter race, 4×100 relay and 4×400 relay.
Richardson comes into Paris looking to prove she is the fastest woman in the world. She has run well in the build-up to Paris, including setting multiple personal bests in 2023, but she’ll face an uphill challenge taking on her Jamaican rivals who have traditionally dominated sprint races.
The final rounds of the men’s golf tournament
Le National outside Paris is playing host to the men’s golf tournament this year and scores of big names are looking for the gold.
American Xander Schauffele finished his second round as the clubhouse leader after Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was atop the scoreboard following the first round. But with notable names like Spaniard Jon Rahm, Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood, Ireland Rory McIlroy and top-ranked Scottie Scheffler in the field, it’s likely to come down to Sunday’s final round to determine the winner.
Schauffele is looking to defend the gold medal that he won in Tokyo as he is having a career year, winning both the PGA Championship and the British Open in the last few months.
US Women’s National Team in quarterfinal action against Japan
The American women’s soccer team is looking dominant in this tournament as it enters a transitional era following a string of disappointing results in major tournaments.
The USWNT hasn’t won a major tournament since the 2019 World Cup and hasn’t won a gold medal at the Olympics since 2012. This edition of the women’s national team is looking to enter a new phase as its golden generation of stars has largely moved off the team.
For young stars like Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman in their first Olympics and four other players playing making their debut at a major tournament for the US national team, it’s their first big test in what they hope will be a long career in the red, white and blue.
Other veterans like Rose Lavelle and Alyssa Naeher will be looking to redeem themselves from disappointing showings in Tokyo and Australia and New Zealand, where the US suffered its earliest-ever defeat in the World Cup.
The USWNT plays Japan in the quarter finals at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday
Men’s and women’s basketball wrap up group play
The US men’s and women’s basketball team each play at 11:15 a.m. ET this weekend – the men on Saturday, the women on Sunday – as they look to close out group play undefeated heading into next week’s knockout rounds.
LeBron James and the men’s team have so far dominated their opponents. An initially tight game against Serbia turned into an one-sided affair as the Americans asserted themselves in their opening game. Against South Sudan, the national team – a collection of stars that simply vastly outshines the rest of the tournament’s teams – looked to remove all doubt about their chances in this tournament after a close game against the same team in exhibition play before the Games.
On Saturday, it’s Jose Alvarado and Puerto Rico up next. The Puerto Ricans have dropped their first two games of the Olympics and are hoping to be more than just a speed bump in front of the James and the rest of the American stars.
For the women, two different games have brought two different performances. They dominated the first against Japan, winning by 30. The second was much more of a test. Playing in northern France just across the border from Belgium, the Americans were strongly tested by their Belgian opponents and eventually pulled away late to win by double digits.
Next up is Germany, which has also defeated Belgium and Japan in their first two group games. FIBA’s 19th ranked team, the Germans will be looking to do the near-impossible and end the women’s basketball team’s Olympic undefeated streak that stretches back to the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona.
Track and field heats up
The star of the second week of the Summer Olympics, track and field competition takes the stage this weekend.
Gold medal events on Saturday include:
4x400m mixed relay (Team USA set the world record in the event during qualifying) Women’s 100m final
Women’s triple jump
Men’s shot put
Men’s decathlon 1,500m
And on Sunday:
Women’s high jump
Men’s hammer throw
Men’s 100m final
Swimming wraps up
Usually a first-week sport, the swimming competition goes into the second weekend of the Games on Saturday and Sunday with key performers taking the stage for their last swims of the competition.
Here are key races and participants we’ll be watching this weekend:
Saturday
Men’s 100m butterfly, which was expected to feature American Caeleb Dressel who failed to qualify.
Women’s 200m individual medley, expected to feature Americans Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh along with teenage Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh.
Women’s 800m freestyle with Americans Katie Ledecky and Paige Madden along with Australian superstar Ariarne Titmus.
Mixed 4x100m medley relay, featuring the American team of Regan Smith, Charlie Swanson, Dressel and Abbey Weitzeil.
Sunday
Women’s 50m freestyle, expected to feature American Gretchen Walsh and Swedish world record holder Sarah Sjoestroem.
Men’s 1500m freestyle, expected to feature American Bobby Finke.
Men’s 4×100 medley relay.
Women’s 4×100 medley relay.
