Simone Biles makes history with second all-around Olympic gymnastics title, 8 years after her first
PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles edged Rebeca Andrade of Brazil during a tense all-around gymnastics final Thursday to become a two-time Olympic champion. Biles’ total of 59.131 was just ahead of Andrade at 57.932. That’s one of the closest calls Biles has ever endured at a major international event. Still, the meet ended just like all the ones Biles has started and finished over the last 11 years: with hugs and gold on the way. American Sunisa Lee, the defending Olympic all-around champion, earned the bronze.
Ledecky wins record 13th medal with a silver. Summer McIntosh and Kate Douglass strike gold
NANTERRE, France (AP) — Another romp for Summer McIntosh. A gold medal for Kate Douglass. And, to cap things off, a record-breaking night for Katie Ledecky. With a silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Ledecky collected the 13th medal of her stellar career to become the most decorated woman in swimming history. She would’ve preferred it to be gold, but that went to an Australian squad led by gold medalists Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus. Still, in her next-to-last event of these games, Ledecky broke the mark she shared with fellow Americans Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin and Jenny Thompson. The 27-year-old now has eight golds, four silvers and one bronze over four Olympics, with every intention of swimming on to Los Angeles in 2028.
U.S. women clinch quarterfinal berth and stretch Olympic win streak to 57 straight
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 26 points and the U.S. beat Belgium 87-74, clinching a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals. A’ja Wilson added 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Americans. They have a 57-game Olympic win streak that dates to the 1992 Barcelona Games. This was one of the closer games during the historic run of seven consecutive gold medals. Only three contests have been single-digit victories. The Americans faced a loud, spirited pro-Belgium crowd among that made up most of the 25,044 in attendance. The arena is about 30 minutes away from the country’s border.
Sunisa Lee’s long road back to the Olympics ended in a familiar spot: the medal stand
PARIS (AP) — Sunisa Lee gave herself the internal validation she needed by earning a bronze medal Thursday night in the Paris Olympics women’s gymnastics all-around finals. Lee was the defending champion in the event, but she dealt with two kidney diseases between Games that caused her weight to fluctuate. She finished behind U.S. teammate Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who were both expected to be on the podium. Lee is the first reigning Olympic champion to medal in the next games since Nadia Comenci did it in 1980.
Andy Murray heads into retirement after Olympic doubles loss to American duo of Fritz and Paul
PARIS (AP) — Andy Murray’s professional tennis career has ended with a Paris Olympics doubles loss in the quarterfinals. The 37-year-old Murray had said the 2024 Summer Games would be the final event of his career. He and partner Dan Evans were beaten by the American duo of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday night. The British pair had managed to stave off a total of seven match points earlier in the tournament — five in the first round and then two more in the second round — to extend Murray’s career. But Murray and Evans could not create that sort of magic again.
Paris Olympics sweetheart: Rugby player Ilona Maher promotes body positivity through social media
PARIS (AP) — Ilona Maher is America’s rugby-playing social media sweetheart. A day after helping the United States win its first Olympic rugby sevens medal, she walked onto the terrace of Team USA House carrying a sandwich and had the bronze medal hanging around her neck. In between a rapid-fire media rotation, she squeezed in bites of her snack and reapplied her trademark red lipstick. It was authentic Maher, who uses the platform she’s built to promote body positivity and the sport she loves, all while insisting women who run, tackle and throw stiff arms can still be feminine.