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On a day that featured 16 medal events, illustrious U.S. gymnasts Simone Biles and Suni Lee aimed to make history in Thursday's individual all-around final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Here's what you should know from Day 6 of competition.
Women's Gymnastics: Simone Biles cements 'GOAT' status
After winning team gold on Tuesday, Simone Biles and Suni Lee represented the U.S. in the individual all-around final on Thursday.
Team USA has dominated the event in recent years with the last five gold medalists being American (Carly Patterson, 2004; Nastia Liukin, 2008; Gabby Douglas, 2012; Biles, 2016; Lee, 2020). Entering the event, both Biles and Lee had the opportunity to etch their names into the history books again if either repeated as a gold medalist. Only two women have ever have won two individual all-around gold medals: Larisa Latynina (1956 and 1960) and Vera Caslavska (1964 and 1968). Furthermore, only twice in Olympic history have two American women finished on the podium in the all-around event at the same Games.
In the end it was Biles (59.131) edging out Brazil's Rebeca Andrade (57.932), who replicated her silver medal from the Tokyo Games, and Lee (56.465), who will take home the bronze.
"I just couldn't believe that I did it," Biles said. "I know that I did it, but I don't think it's hit me just yet. It will probably hit me whenever I go back to the village."
At 27 years old, Biles is also the oldest female gymnast to achieve the feat in 72 years — Maria Gorokhovskaya won the title at age 30 during the 1952 Games.
"I'm just ecstatic with my performances tonight," Biles said. "We still have three finals left for me. Now it's time to have fun and the hard part is over."
Biles will compete in the vault, balance beam and floor exercise, while Lee is set for the uneven bars and balance beam for individual honors.
Results: Women's All-Around Final
🥇 Simone Biles (USA)
🥈Rebeca Andrade (BRA)
🥉 Suni Lee (USA)
Swimming: U.S. silver gives Katie Ledecky historic 13th medal
Katie Ledecky made history once again on Thursday night in Paris.
The U.S. women's 4x200m freestyle relay team won silver, giving Ledecky her historic 13th medal. She is now the most decorated female Olympic swimmer in history. Eight of Ledecky's 13 medals are gold.
Ledecky, along with teammates Claire Weinstein, Paige Madden and Erin Gemmell, finished second in the relay behind Australian team of Mollie O'Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Brianna Throssell and Ariarne Titmus who took gold in a time of 7:38.08.
Results: Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay
🥇 Australia
🥈 United States
🥉 China
In the women's 200m breaststroke, American Kate Douglass claimed her first Olympic gold medal, adding to her budding collection of hardware. Douglass joins Ledecky and Torri Huske as the third female American swimmer to win an individual event in Paris.
Results: Women's 200m Breaststroke
🥇 Kate Douglass (USA)
🥈 Tatjana Smith (RSA)
🥉 Tes Schouten (NED)
Rowing: U.S. men's four wins first gold in 46 years
The U.S. team of Liam Corrigan, Michael Grady, Justin Best and Nick Mead won gold in men's rowing, the first gold in men's four since 1960. The finish also gives the U.S. its first medal in a rowing event since 2016 and is the second medal in the men's four in the 21st century (the U.S. won bronze in 2012).
This victory is the first Olympic medal for Corrigan, Grady, Best and Mead in their second Olympic appearance. Grady is the only returner from the men's four in Tokyo, while Corrigan, Mead and Best competed in the men's eight in Tokyo.
This was the United States' 13th medal and third-ever gold in this event.
Results: Rowing Men's Four
🥇 United States
🥈 New Zealand
🥉 Great Britain
Fencing: U.S. women triumph in team foil final
The U.S. women's fencing team, comprised of Lee Kiefer, Lauren Scruggs, Jackie Dubrovich and Maia Weintraub, made history in Thursday's team foil finale.
The Americans were unmatched, besting Italy 45-39 for the gold medal — the country's first-ever gold in a team fencing event (men's or women's).
Kiefer now has the most career fencing Olympics golds of any U.S. athlete (three). The U.S. is now tied with Hong Kong and South Korea for the most fencing golds at the Paris Games (two).
Results: Women's Team Foil
🥇 United States
🥈 Italy
🥉Japan
In case you missed it...
- China's Zheng Qinwen defeated top women's tennis player Iga Swiatek in straight sets at the Paris Games. Zheng is now guaranteed to become the first Chinese tennis singles player to win a medal in the Olympics.
- Second seed Carlos Alcaraz cliched his first Olympic semifinal berth in his debut at the Games. The Spaniard ousted American Tommy Paul in a straight-set victory.
- Olympic men's golf opened competition on Thursday and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama took an early lead on Day 1 with American Xander Schauffele two shots behind.
- The U.S. women's basketball team defeated Belgium behind Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson's combined 49 points on 16-of-26 shooting to go with 20 rebounds and six assists. The Americans next face Germany on Saturday, Aug. 3, in a game that will decide Group C.
- U.S beach volleyball duo Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss outlasted China's Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi in three sets. Action was delay soon after the start of the third set due to lightning in the area. However the match resumed about an hour later.
- The U.S. men's basketball 3x3 team lost to Lithuania 20-18 and later lost to Latvia 21-19, in the pool round.
- Team USA women's basketball 3x3 lost to Australia 17-15, but defeated Spain 17-11.
Have a day, Team USA
On Day 6 of competition, 16 medal events were contested after men's and women's sailing skiff events were postponed until Aug. 2 due to inclement weather.
The United States won seven medals on Thursday, the most by any nation that day, including six of medals earned by female athletes.
American gold medal winners include the men's four boat (rowing), Simone Biles (gymnastics individual all-around), Kate Douglass (swimming, women's 200m breaststroke) and women's foil fencing team.
Place | Country | Total |
---|---|---|
1 | United States | 37 |
2 | France | 27 |
3 | China | 24 |
4 | Great Britain | 20 |
5 | Australia | 18 |
6 | Japan | 16 |
7 | Italy | 16 |
8 | South Korea | 12 |
9 | Canada | 8 |
10 | Germany | 6 |