The Greatness of Biles and Team USA Gymnastics

Team USA is back on top.

After claiming silver in Tokyo three years ago, the U.S. women's gymnastics team recaptured the gold medal in Tuesday's team final for the 2024 Olympics.

Simone Biles clinched the gold with a dazzling performance in the final floor exercise, which put the U.S. (171.296) well ahead of silver-medalist Italy (165.494) and bronze-medalist Brazil (164.497).

Along with Jordan Chiles, Biles competed in all four events in the final. Suni Lee participated in three events (floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars) and Jade Carey did the vault. Now, they are all gold medalists.

USA Rugby's Historic Moment

Alex Sedrick ran her way into U.S. rugby history.

The Salt Lake City native scored a try and hit the game-winning conversion on the final play to give Team USA a 14-12 victory over Australia in the bronze medal match, giving the U.S. its first-ever Olympic rugby sevens medal.

Australia got its first try just over a minute into the bronze-medal contest thanks to Maddison Levi. The U.S. then equaled the score on an Alev Kelter try and her ensuing conversion.

Team USA's defense held strong early in the second half, holding the score to 7-7 until there was 1:25 remaining. That's when Maddison Levi and her sister, Teagan, combined for a second try.

Medals in the Pool

The U.S. quartet of Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Drew Kibler and Kieran Smith won silver in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. Team USA made the podium in the event after finishing fourth at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games. That ended a streak of four straight Olympic titles for the Americans.

Team USA's Bobby Finke took silver in the men's 800m freestyle, with Ireland's Daniel Wiffen earning gold with an Olympic record.

On the women's side, Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff finished second and third, respectively, in the women's 100m backstroke final.

Australia's Kaylee McKeown repeated as champion with an Olympic record time of 57.33 seconds.

Smith finished in 57.66 seconds to capture her second individual silver medal and her fourth medal overall. Berkoff, who finished in 57.98 seconds, made the podium for the first time.

Team USA's Paralympic Stars

The United States Paralympics team continued its impressive performance in Paris, winning several medals across various sports.

In swimming, Jessica Long won gold in the women's 100m breaststroke SB8 event, setting a new world record in the process. Team USA also took home silver and bronze in the men's 50m freestyle S8 event, with Robert Griswold and Matthew Torres finishing second and third, respectively.

On the track, American sprinter Hunter Woodhall won gold in the men's 400m T44 event. Woodhall, who has a prosthetic right leg, set a new Paralympic record with his time of 49.88 seconds.

Other Notable Performances

• American swimmer Katie Ledecky finished fourth in the women's 400m freestyle final, missing out on a medal for the first time in her Olympic career.
• Caeleb Dressel, the American swimmer who won three gold medals in Tokyo, failed to reach the podium in any of his individual events in Paris.
• The U.S. men's basketball team, seeking its fourth consecutive gold medal, advanced to the semifinals after defeating Spain in the quarterfinals.
• The U.S. women's soccer team also advanced to the semifinals after defeating the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Looking Ahead

The 2024 Paris Olympics are still underway, with several more events to come. Team USA is expected to continue to perform well and add to its medal count in the coming days.

Stay tuned for more updates from the Paris Olympics and the U.S. team's performance.