Memorable Paris Olympic moments: Simone Biles was the star but the spotlight reached many faces
PARIS: 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 gym.
All eyes were on Biles as she won four medals, but the spotlight was strong 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-breaking 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 Leon Marchand delivered in his home Olympics with a Michael Phelps-like performance, winning five medals, four of them gold. Ilona Maher starred on reality TV show “Love Island” after leading the United States to a heart-stopping late victory that gave the United States its first ever medal, a bronze, in rugby sevens.
Noah Lyles was crowned the fastest man in the world for winning the 100 metres, 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 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 – 121 of them entering Sunday's final day of competition, 37 of them gold – and the Americans were victorious again in men's basketball and women's soccer.
Here's a look at some of the best moments during the Paris Olympics:
The galls rose to gold
Biles returned to the Olympics three years after withdrawing from several events at the Tokyo Games for mental reasons and won four medals, three of them gold.
She was the most popular attraction in Paris, competing in front of celebrity-filled crowds. Those unable to 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.
The next step for the greatest gymnast in Olympic history is a 30-stop “Gold Over America Tour” for the GOAT.
Swimming competitions
Nine days of competition ended with the Americans narrowly taking the lead in the gold medal in swimming, needing a victory in the final 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 the history of an American team,” said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever.
The rest of the world combined for more victories (20) than the United States and Australia combined, the first time that has happened since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Track problem
The 34 medals and 14 golds for the Americans was their best showing in track and field in a non-boycotted game 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 4x100m relay fumbling its way to a disqualification.
The relay performance was so poor that Carl Lewis, a nine-time gold medalist, called for top-to-bottom changes within the US track and field program.
But the US finished strong: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set another world record in winning the 400 hurdles again, and she was then part of the 4×400 relay team that she and Gabby Thomas led to a runaway win on the final night at the Stade de France.
The American men won gold in the same race in a much closer finish about 15 minutes earlier.
The USA's 14 golds are the most in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1968.
USA hoops gets another gold
Stephen Curry added more hardware to his legacy when he finally won an Olympic gold medal.
Curry scored 24 points to lead 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 games all-time 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 points for the United States 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.
US women's soccer team back on top
The US women's soccer team claimed its fifth Olympic gold by defeating Brazil 1-0 in the final. The Americans had not won gold since the 2012 London Olympics.
Gold completed an unbeaten run to the title in their first international campaign under new coach Emma Hayes.
At the final whistle, the American players celebrated like Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA”. played at the stadium.
Boxing controversy
Women's boxing was drawn into the culture wars over gender stereotypes involving two of the competitors.
Imane Khelif of Algeria and Li Yu-ting of Taiwan came under heavy scrutiny over a Russian-dominated International Boxing Federation'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 refused to answer on basic questions about.
Withstanding intense scrutiny in the ring and abuse online from around the world over misconceptions about her femininity, Khelif still won gold in the women's welterweight division.
Lin won a gold medal in the women's featherweight division a night later to end her four-fight unbeaten run through Paris by winning Taiwan's first Olympic boxing gold.
“I'm a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I live as a woman and I'm qualified,” Khelif said after her victory.
The International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step last year of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics after years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The IOC has called the sex tests the sport's governing body imposed on the two boxers irretrievably flawed.
