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Returning US Olympians are excited to have fans back at Paris Games

The stands at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics were empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning Olympians headed to the Paris Games are eager to have fans back.

The 2024 Paris Olympics roll right into the first medal events today. Superstar U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky goes for her first medal of these Games in the 400m freestyle, as well as seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel, who will compete in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Jagger Eaton and his U.S. skateboarding teammates had their men’s street postponed until Monday due to weather.

At least seven U.S. squads are competing across six team sports, 24 sports in total are in action, and USA TODAY Sports will bring you live results, medal count, highlights, and more throughout the day. Follow along.

USA Soccer is off to a red-hot start, with Gianluca Busio scoring in the 30th minute, to take a 3-0 lead over New Zealand. 

The score total, just 30 minutes into the game, matches USA Soccer’s all-time high for goals scored in an Olympic game. They beat Costa Rica 3-0 in the group stage at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. –Safid Deen

To outsiders it looks like Brittney Griner has moved on quickly from her 10-month detention in Russian custody, a terrifying and isolating stretch of time that would’ve broken most people. When she poses for photos with fans, easily banks in an eight-footer, it looks like things are back to normal. But they’re not, and she’s not. 

“What BG’s gone through in the last couple years is obviously unprecedented,” said Diana Taurasi, Griner’s teammate both in the Olympics and with the Phoenix Mercury. “To be able to put this jersey back on, to be at opening ceremony last night, Obviously I’m pretty close with BG and I know she feels grateful, thankful … for her to be able to come back, to get on that flight to come overseas, it was a big moment for her in a lot of ways. But I’m glad she did it, because she’s a remarkable person."

Read more from Lindsay Schnell here.

Walker Zimmerman was in the right place at the right time, in front of the net to score in the 12th minute to help USA Soccer take a 2-0 lead on New Zealand.

The goals are the first for USA Soccer since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. – Safid Deen

USA soccer looks to avenge a 3-0 loss to host country France in group play on Saturday in a tilt vs. New Zealand. USA TODAY Sports is providing live updates, highlights, scores and more from the Stars and Stripes' quest for gold on the pitch.

Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi went viral at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when he shared gold in the men's high jump. Less than 24 hours into the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tamberi has found himself back in the headlines — but this time for a different reason.

The three-time Olympian on Saturday issued an apology via social media to his wife, Chiara Bontempi, after losing his wedding ring during Friday's opening ceremony on the Seine river, where he was the Italian flag bearer.

"I'm sorry my love, I'm so sorry. Too much water, too many kg lost in the past few months or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing," Tamberia said. " .... I followed her with a glance until I saw her bouncing inside the boat. A Glimmer of Hope ... But unfortunately the bounce was in the wrong direction and floating more than a thousand times in the air I saw her dive into the water like that was the only place she wanted to be."

Read Bontempi's full (hilarious) apology.

PARIS — Paul Juda will forever be an Olympian and that in itself is a cool thing.

As is U.S. men's gymnastics teammate Frederick Richard always tells him, however, why do the cool thing when you can do the cooler thing? And there are few things cooler than having the meet of your life at the Olympics.

“Today would have been one of those things where I got to say, 'I got to do the all-around at the Olympics.’ But then to be making the all-around final, I think that’s the cooler thing,” Juda said. “And, you know, the coolest thing is yet to come.”

Read more from Nancy Armour here.

Belgium was the big winner in the men's cycling individual time trial, taking home two medals Saturday. Remco Evenpoel, 24, became the youngest man to win an Olympic gold medal in the event, finishing with a time of 36:12.16 on the 32.4-kilometer (20-mile) course. Evenpoel was coming off a third place overall finish in the Tour de France earlier this month.

Italy's Filippo Ganna took the silver, finishing 14.92 behind Evenpoel, while Wout van Aert, who finished 25.63 seconds back, gave Belgium a bronze medal in addition to gold.

American Brandon McNulty came home fifth, 1 minute, 4.44 seconds behind Evenpoel. – Ellen Horrow

Victor Wembanyama made his name overseas, and he's reminding everyone just how he did it.

The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year put on a show in the second quarter of the France vs. Brazil Olympic basketball matchup, scoring 11 of his 14 points in the period to help push the host team ahead of Brazil.

Most notably, "Wemby" used all of his eight-foot wingspan to extend and throw down a "Space Jam"-esque dunk. (No secret stuff needed here.)

PARIS — The men’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay world record is one of swimming’s oldest, and it could go down Saturday. 

After watching the men’s 100 freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials in June, Jason Lezak predicted the 4x100 free relay world record will fall at the 2024 Paris Olympics, saying someone will take the lead and never look back. 

Cullen Jones — who swam third on the relay before Lezak’s epic anchor leg — agrees. 

“I think this is the year,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports about the 16-year-old world record. “I got to see Phelps in trials, and we text from time to time. But I'm like, ‘The 4x100 [freestyle] relay is looking like it's in peril with these four guys.’” – Michelle R. Martinelli

Maria Laborde reached the round of 16 in the women's 48-kg division with two victories Saturday. Fighting China's Guo Zongying in the day's first match, Laborde scored a waza-ari 1:07 into the bout and earned another waza-ari at the 3:11 mark to clinch the victory.

Her victory over Zongying earned Laborde a match against the top-seeded Assunta Scutto of Italy. Laborde and Scutto battled for over three minutes before Scutto was able to pin Laborde for an ippon 3:23 into the bout. – Roxanna Scott

The U.S. women's water polo team opened up the 2024 Paris Olympics with a big win and a bigger audience.

First Lady Jill Biden and rapper Flavor Flav, the team's official hype man, took in the team's 15-6 win over Greece in in Group B, embracing on the pool deck at the Aquatics Center. Jenna Flynn scored four goals and added two assists to lead the three-time defending Olympic gold medalist to the opening win.

Tara Prentice, Maggie Steffens and Jovana Sekulic each scored two goals. The team next plays Spain in a Group B preliminary match on Monday (9:35 a.m. ET). – Lindsay Schnell

Argentina’s first game was memorable for the wrong reasons, but they’re back on track at the Paris Olympics. Thiago Almada, Luciano Gondou and Ezequiel Fernández each scored goals to help Argentina beat Iraq 3-1 on Saturday. 

It was a far cry from the dramatic, 2-1 loss they endured to Morocco earlier this week after fan interference and a two-hour VAR disallowing a goal and draw. Argentina, Morocco and Iraq each have three points in Group B, ahead of Ukraine (zero points).

Spain cruised to a 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic – with goals by Fermín López, Álex Baena and Miguel Gutiérrez – to take command with six points in Group C ahead of Egypt, Uzbekistan and DR. – Safid Deen

Samoa national boxing coach Lionel Elika Fatupaito died after suffering a cardiac arrest Friday while at the Paris Olympics.

The International Boxing Association confirmed the news with the following statement:

“We at the International Boxing Association (IBA) extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Lionel Elika Fatupaito. Lionel’s dedication and passion for the sport have left an indelible mark on the boxing community. His legacy will continue to inspire future generations. Our thoughts and prayers are with Team Samoa and all those affected by this profound loss.”

Fatupaito, 60, has one boxer in Paris, Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali, whose first fight in the 92 kg weight class is Sunday. – Casey Moore

"YA YA." Beyoncé is teaming up with Team USA for the Paris Olympics.

The music megastar introduced American athletes set to compete at the 2024 Olympic summer games during NBC's primetime coverage of the opening ceremony, which took place on the southern bank of the Seine River.

“That pride, and that joy, that’s what gets me about this team. And that’s what makes me believe in this team. And that’s why I can’t wait to see what they pull off over these next 16 days. America, give it up for Team USA, the very best of who we are," the "Texas Hold 'Em" crooner said in her narration. – Jay Stahl

Olympic soccer is well underway, with eight matchups kicking off on Saturday. The USMNT takes the stage in a quest for gold this afternoon at 1 p.m. ET vs. New Zealand.

USA TODAY Sports is tracking scores, results and more for today's Olympic soccer tilts, including full updates and highlights for Team USA vs. New Zealand later today.

PARIS — Team USA cyclist Chloe Dygert earned a bronze medal Saturday in the individual time trial of the road cycling event with a time of 41:10.70. Other medalists were Australian Grace Brown (gold, 39:38:24) and Great Britain's Anna Henderson (silver, 41:09.83).

Dygert crashed on a left turn on a cobblestone stretch just before the second time check, but recovered well enough for the third-place finish. The medal marked Dygert's third in Olympic competition, but her first in the individual time trial. She has also won a silver (2016, Rio de Janeiro) and a bronze (2021, Tokyo) in the women's team pursuit.

For Dygert, medaling in Paris marked a remarkable comeback from assorted injuries and health-related issues that includes a gruesome crash in 2020 that required multiple surgeries to her left leg, knee and Achilles injuries, heart surgery, a bout with Epstein-Barr virus, and most recently, a bout with COVID during her Olympic training. — Chase Goodbread

PARIS — The American men’s beach volleyball duo of Miles Partain and Andy Benesh had the privilege of being the first match in the stadium in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Unfortunately for the Americans, it didn’t go their way.

The Cuban partnership of Jorge Luis Aloyo Moliner and Noslen Diaz Amaro swept them in two sets, 21-18, 21-18.

The crowd quickly turned on the U.S. early in the first set. They had built a lead in the first but a rally at 16-16 put the Cubans back in front and they controlled the remainder of the match.

Beach volleyball is self-proclaimed party sport and the atmosphere certainly met that standard despite a consistent rain.

Diaz Amaro finished with a math-high 16 attack points. Partain committed eight attack errors, while Cuba committed four total. — Chris Bumbaca

Holding a 14-12 lead late in stoppage time, Team USA just needed a stop following an Ireland penalty. Instead, Ireland's Terry Kennedy took the lateral pass and converted the try for the victory, handing Team USA a gutting loss, costing the Eagles an opportunity at the fifth-place playoff. — Joe Rivera

The next medals to be awarded will be in the women's cycling time trials. That is ongoing despite wet and slippery conditions in Paris.

The men's time trials are set to be staged at 10:34 a.m. ET

Jock Landale (Houston Rockets) and Patty Mills (Miami Heat) helped Australia jump out to a big first quarter lead and the Aussies kept the pace the rest of the way in a 92-80 victory.

Landale scored 20 points and Mills added 19, while Spain's Santi Aldama led all scorers with 27.

NBC’s Peyton Manning attended the U.S. men’s basketball practice in Paris on Saturday and said hello to a few players, including LeBron James. Manning watched the entire men's practice and exited the Metropolitans 92 gymnasium with the team. James and Manning have teamed up, along with Barack and Michelle Obama, to produce an NBA show similar to Netflix's "Quarterback" documentary series. — Jeff Zillgitt

Abbey Weitzel, Simone Manuel, Erika Connolly and Kate Douglass were dominant Saturday morning in finishing their 4x100 relay in at 3.33.29, almost three seconds ahead of Great Britain in second place.

Australia, the reigning Olympic champions, won the other heat and finishing with the best overall time of 3:31.57.

The finals are set for Saturday afternoon at 3:37 ET.

While organizers for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are making plans to move shooting events outside of the city, current members of Team USA said they hope the venue is close enough that they still can enjoy the Olympic Village experience.

All shooting events at the 2024 Paris Olympics are being held at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, about a 2 ½-hour train ride from Paris in the middle of France.

"I’m hoping in L.A. that shooting can stay in the main village as everybody else cause I'd love to get to know the rest of Team USA and all those people," Rylan William Kissell said Saturday. "I mean, 3 ½ hours out. We’re all the way down here." — Dave Birkett

U.S. teams in the men's and women's double sculls have advanced to the semifinals, which will be held Tuesday. The men's team of Sorin Koszyk and Ben Davison finished third in their heat, as did the women's team of Sophia Vitas and Kristi Wagner.

The women's quad sculls crewed by Grace Joyce, Emily Delleman, Teal Cohen and Lauren O'Connor placed fourth in their heat and will move into the repechage round, which will be held Monday.

Brody Malone had at one point been considered the best chance for the U.S. men's gymnastics team to win an individual all-around medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But after a few critical mistakes on the first day of competition at Bercy Arena, including on his signature event, he will miss out on the individual all-around final altogether.

Malone, the reigning U.S. national champion and only returning member of the 2021 Olympic team, finished third among the U.S. all-arounders, and only two gymnasts per country are allowed to advance to the 24-person final, which is Wednesday.

Paul Juda and Frederick Richard will represent Team USA in the final instead, though it remains to be seen which American men will for apparatus finals. Only the top eight qualifying scores in each event advance to the final. — Tom Schad

The U.S. men’s gymnastics team kicked off the 2024 Paris Olympics with a star-studded cheering section watching.

First Lady Jill Biden and Olympic gold medalists Dawn Staley and Bart Conner were in the crowd for the U.S. men’s qualifying session Saturday morning. Denise Campbell Bauer, the U.S. Ambassador to France, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass were also with Biden.

Biden also made it to gymnastics when she was at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. But then she was one of the few people in the stands, with strict COVID regulations prohibiting fans. This time, she got to experience the entire atmosphere, with the crowds oohing and aahing over Frederick Richard’s high bar routine and gasping when Brody Malone fell of high bar.

Biden got into it, too, clapping several times during Richard’s floor exercise routine. — Nancy Armour

Americans Anne Cebula and Hadley Husisian advanced to the table of 16 in individual epee. Cebula defeated 2016 Olympic silver medalist Rossella Fiamingo of Italy, 15-14, while Husisian edged Pauline Brunner of Switzerland, 12-11. Husisian is a two-time junior world champion competing in her first Olympic Games.

U.S. men’s basketball star Kevin Durant is expected to play against Serbia on Sunday in the Group C opener at the 2024 Paris Olympics after missing the team’s five exhibition games with a sore calf.

Durant, the men’s all-time leading scorer who is trying to become the first men’s basketball player to win four gold medals, practiced Wednesday, participated in a scrimmage Thursday and planned to practice Saturday.

"We’ll see how things go in practice (Saturday)," U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr said. "So far so good. He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well. … Having coached him before, he’s one of the few guys I’ve been around who can step back out on the court and look like Kevin Durant, a player of his caliber. Most players it would take some time to get your rhythm back, and it will, too, for him to a certain extent. But he’s pretty special." — Jeff Zillgitt

(All times Eastern)

• Shooting: 10m air rifle mixed team final (5 a.m., CNBC)
• Diving: women's synchronized 3m springboard final (5 a.m., NBC)
• Cycling road: women’s time trial (9 a.m., NBC), men’s time trial (10:45 p.m., USA Network)
• Judo: three medal events for women’s -48kg, three medal events for men’s -60kg (11:18 a.m., Peacock)
• Rugby Sevens:  men’s gold medal match (1:45 p.m., NBC), men’s bronze match (1 p.m., CNBC)
• Swimming: men’s 400m free final, women’s 400m free final, women’s 4x100m free relay final, men’s 4x100m free relay final (2:30 p.m., NBC)
• Fencing: women’s épée individual finals, men’s sabre individual finals (2:40 p.m., Peacock)

The United States is on the board!

After nearly retiring from diving three years ago, USA's Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook seized the silver medal in the 3-meter synchronized springboard.

Had Bacon, 27, made the 2020 team for Tokyo, she would have retired from the sport. Instead, she and Cook, 29, stayed together all the the way to the medal stand in Paris. This was Bacon's Olympic debut and Team USA's first medal in women's synchronized springboard since Kelci Bryant and Abby Johnston won silver in London in 2012. — Gentry Estes

There are no surprises in the U.S. women’s gymnastics team lineup for qualifying at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles joining Simone Biles in doing the all-around.

That means Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, at 16 the only member of the team who isn’t a returning Olympian, will each do two events Sunday.

• Balance beam: Chiles, Rivera, Lee, Biles.
• Floor exercise: Lee, Chiles, Carey, Biles.
• Vault: Lee, Chiles, Carey, Biles.
• Uneven bars: Rivera, Chiles, Biles, Lee.

In her qualifying heat for the 400-meter freestyle, Katie Ledecky won with a time of 4:02:19 and will go for the gold in the event final later today.

Swimming alongside her top rival in the event, Australian Ariarne Titmus, Ledecky swam a consistent race as Titmus pulled out to an early lead. But Ledecky outkicked her over the final 50 meters to pull out the win by 0.1 seconds.

The USA's Paige Madden also qualified for the final by swimming the sixth-fastest time in her heat. — Steve Gardner

American rowers Jacob Plihal and Kara Kohler each advanced to the quarterfinal round of the single sculls.Rowing in the fourth heat of the men's single sculls, Plihal covered the course in 6:54.95, 3.5 seconds behiind Yauheni Zalaty, an Independent Olympic Athlete as Russians are being called in Paris. Fourth at the 500-meter mark, Plihal steadily worked his way up, passing Brazil's Lucas Verthein Ferreira for the second-place finish. Kohler won the sixth heat with a time of 7:32.46.

The quarterfinal round of the men's and women's single sculls is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

CHATEAUROUX, France —Team USA will have to wait for its first medal of the Paris Olympics.

Both American pairs entered in the 10-meter air rifle mixed competition failed to advance past the qualifying stage Saturday at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

Mary Tucker and Rylan Kissell finished 13th in the qualifying round with a combined score of 626., and Sagen Maddalena and Ivan Roe were 18th with a score of 624.9.

Tucker was part of Team USA's silver medal performance in 10-meter mixed at the Toyko Games, along with Lucas Kozeniesky.

All four American shooters have two events remaining in this year's games, the 10-meter rifle individual and 50-meter rifle three position. — Dave Birkett

PARIS — The rain didn’t stop Friday night’s opening ceremony, but the gloomy conditions that continued into Saturday impacted at least one sport’s competition. 

The men’s street skateboarding preliminaries and finals – both scheduled for Saturday – have been postponed to Monday due to the inclement weather. It will be held Monday, July 29. 

The U.S. has a pair of medal contenders in six-time world champion Nyjah Hutson and Tokyo bronze medalist Jagger Eaton. Chris Joslin is the other American competing in men’s street. 

The women’s street preliminary and final rounds are scheduled for Sunday at Place de la Concorde. — Chris Bumbaca

Here are some Olympic schedule highlights (all times Eastern). Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds in Paris.

• Swimming heats start at 5 a.m. The finals for the men’s and women’s 400m free and men’s and women’s 4x100m free relay start around 2:40 p.m. NBC is airing the finals. Katie Ledecky is looking for her first medal of these Games.
• Qualification in men’s gymnastics is in three subdivisions, the first at 5 a.m., the second at 9:30 a.m., the third at 2 p.m. The U.S. is in subdivision 1. NBC is airing qualification.
• The men’s street final in skateboarding was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. However, with a gentle rain falling Saturday morning and more in the forecast throughout the day, organizers decided to postpone the men’s street skateboarding competition until Monday. 
• Men’s basketball has four group stage games throughout the day.
• Men’s soccer has eight group stage matches — including the U.S. — throughout the day.
• Other sports in action: Tennis, fencing, boxing, beach volleyball, badminton, canoe slalom, cycling road, diving, handball, field hockey, judo, rowing, rugby sevens, shooting, surfing, table tennis, volleyball, water polo.

NBC is airing and streaming the Paris Olympics from all angles: Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds; NBC, USA Network, CNBC and E! are carrying various live events and replays throughout the day. Here are 6 tips and tricks for getting the most out of Peacock during the Olympics.

The first medals of the 2024 Paris Olympics will be won in shooting. We’ll be updating our medal count tracker throughout the Games.

(All times Eastern)

• The U.S. men’s gymnastics team competes in qualification starting at 5 a.m. NBC airs it.
• The U.S. competes in men’s beach volleyball against Cuba at 8 a.m. NBC airs it.
• The U.S. women’s water polo team plays Greece in group play at 9:35 a.m. USA Network airs it.
• The USMNT faces New Zealand in group play at 1 p.m. USA Network airs it.
• The U.S. men’s volleyball team plays Argentina in pool play at 3 p.m. USA Network airs it.
• The U.S. women’s field hockey team plays Argentina in group play at 1:45 p.m.
• The U.S. competes in women’s beach volleyball against Canada at 4 p.m. NBC airs it.

(All times Eastern)

• Heats for the following events start at 5 a.m.: women’s 100m fly, women’s 400m free, men’s 100m breaststroke, men’s 400m free, women’s 4x100m free relay, men’s 4x100m free relay.
• Semifinals for the following events start in the afternoon: women’s 100m fly (2:30 p.m.), men’s 100m breaststroke (3:15 p.m.)
• Today’s finals: men’s 400m free (2:42 p.m.), women’s 400m free (2:55 p.m.), women’s 4x100m free relay (3:37 p.m.), men’s 4x100m free relay (3:50 p.m.).

American Maria Laborde scored a 10-0 victory over China's Guo Zongying to open the 48-kg women's judo competition. Laborde scored a waza-ari 1:07 into the bout and cruised to the victory. But Laborde lost to Assunta Scutto of Italy in the round of 16. Scutto scored an ippon at 3:23 to end the contest.

The mixed doubles team of Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai were defeated in their opening match of the 2024 Olympics by China's Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, 2-0 (21-11, 21-14), at the La Chapelle Arena in Paris.

Chiu and Gai will continue pool play on Sunday with a match against Tang Jie Chen and Ee Wei Toh of Malaysia.

The U.S. men seek their first Olympic team medal in 16 years. The Americans will open qualifying in Subdivision 1 which includes Germany, Great Britain, Canada, and gymnasts from other countries that did not qualify an entire team. The USA’s path to an Olympic medal in the team event got easier when the European gymnastics federation voted against allowing Russian and Belarussian gymnasts to return to international competition.

The first medals in the sport will be awarded in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard event. China dominated diving at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, winning seven of the eight gold medals.

Will Team USA’s first Olympic medal of the Paris Games come in shooting? The first medals in the sport will be contested in the mixed team air rifle event. In Tokyo, Americans Lucas Kozeniesky and Mary Tucker won silver.

Katie Ledecky leads the U.S. team in her fourth Olympics. She is a medal contender in the women’s 400-meter freestyle, an event she won silver in at the Tokyo Olympics behind Aussie Ariarne Titmus. In Rio, Ledecky won gold in the 400 free.

After not qualifying for Tokyo, the U.S. women open the tournament against Argentina. Goalkeeper Kelsey Bing was instrumental in getting the Americans through qualifying and was Player of the Match in a 1-0 upset of India.

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