Paris Olympics 2024, Simone Biles to compete in women’s gymnastics team final | CNN (2024)

There are American flags all around the Bercy Arena and there were huge cheers a bit ago when the in-arena announcer mentioned Team USA.

A video of Simone Biles received a huge cheer about 30 minutes before the competition was set to begin.

Americans have been all over Paris in the opening days of the Games, with the fans at the gymnastics and swimming events particularly loud.

The crowd is still filtering in here as get closer to one of the Olympics’ signature events.

Slovenia's Andreja Leski, left, and France's Clarisse Agbegnenou compete during the women's judo -63kg class semifinal on Tuesday.

Clarisse Agbegnenou, the reigning champion in the women’s judo -63kg class, has been stunned in the semifinals by Slovenia’s Andreja Leski.

The French judoka was hoping to defend the title she won at Tokyo 2020 with a gold medal at her home Olympics, but she was thwarted by Leski’s waza-ari with 15 seconds remaining.

Agbegnenou will now take on Austria’s Lubjana Piovesana in one of the bronze medal matches, while Leski will face off against Mexico’s Prisca Awiti Alcaraz in the final.

Leski reacts after winning her bout against Agbegnenou on Tuesday.

Simone Biles, who battled a calf injury in the preliminary round and just three years ago had to withdraw fromTeam USA’s attemptat defending its gymnastics team gold in Tokyo, will compete inall four gymnastics eventsin today’s women’s team final, which gets underway at 12:15 p.m. ET.

A historic team: Biles will compete alongside her teammates — together they makeup the most themost diverse US women’s gymnastics teamin history at the Olympic Games.

Four of the five team members are women of color, according to USA Gymnastics,which deemed the team the most diverse in history.

Fourmembers fromtheTokyo Games arereturning: Seven-time Olympic medalist Biles,three-time world medalistand reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee, seven-time world medalist Jade Carey and 2020 Olympic team silver medalist Jordan Chiles. Rookie Hezly Rivera, 16, is the youngest member of Team USA’s delegation,according to USA Gymnastics.

Role models for everyone: Betty Okino, a member of the bronze medal-winning 1992 US Olympic gymnastics team, told CNN that when she began competing for the national team she didn’t have Olympic role models who looked like her. She was on her own with her gymnastic dreams.

“Whereas today, the next generation of kids growing up, that’s not a question anymore – if they can do gymnastics because they don’t see anybody else that looks like them,” said Okino.

Corrinne Tarver is the first Black gymnast to win an NCAA all-around championship and currently the HeadWomen’s Gymnastics Coachat Fisk University, an historically Black college.

“We’re finally able to truly show the talent that we have, and it has nothing to do with the color of one’s skin. It has to do with what they do on the mat,” Tarver added.

The Americans enter the day asthe favoritesafter cruising through qualifying on Sunday, finishing five points clear of the Italian and Chinese teams.

The gymnastics individual team final will begin at 12:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

The Americans enter the day asthe favoritesafter cruising through qualifying on Sunday, finishing five points clear of the Italian and Chinese teams.

All eyes will be on Team USA’s Simone Biles who battled a calf injury in the preliminary round. Biles is hoping to make a strong comeback following her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago after a case of the “twisties.”

Here’s where you can watch in the US:

Outside of the US, you can watch via the following media rights holders:

Nathan Hales of Great Britain wipes away tears on the podium after winning gold in men’s trap shooting on Tuesday.

British shooter Nathan Hales picked up Team GB’s third gold medal of the Paris Games, winning the men’s trap shooting final.

Hales set an Olympic record by connecting with 48 out of 50 targets in an impressive display, shattering the previous total of 43 set by the Czech duo of David Kostelecky and Jiri Liptak in Tokyo three years ago.

The 28-year-old now holds both the world and Olympic records.

Qi Ying picked up silver, earning China’s first medal ever in the men’s trap event.

Brol Cardenas of Guatemala took bronze to claim only the second medal in his nation’s Olympic history.

Hales competes in the men’s trap shooting final on Tuesday.

Canada's Piper Logan, center, celebrates with teammates after they defeated Australia in the women's rugby sevens match on Tuesday.

Canada’s Women’s Sevens rugby team stunned the heavily-favored Australian sevens squad, defeating it 21-12 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

Australia, the current world champion, started the game strong with a 12-0 lead over their opposition, before Canada stormed back to score three tries and win a trip to the gold medal match against New Zealand.

Canada’s Charity Williams opened the scoring, which sparked the North American side’s comeback, and she described it after the game as something nearly divine.

“I looked up and I saw the gates of heaven. No, I looked up, and it was just so open,” Williams said. “I just thought, ‘It’s now or never.’ So I just took it, and I’m so glad I did because I think it ignited something really amazing in our team.”

The emotion from both sides was palpable as the final whistle blew, with many players on the Australian team crying as they shook hands with their elated opponents.

Canada will now face off against the Black Ferns Sevens for the coveted gold medal at 7:45 p.m. local time (1:45 p.m. ET).

Canada's Asia Hogan-Rochester is tackled by Australia's Bienne Terita on Tuesday.

This post has been updated with quotes from Canada’s Charity Williams and Australia’s Charlotte Caslick.

Officials in Tahiti have cancelled the men’s and women’s surfing competitions today as a result of “large, stormy surf with unfavorable winds.”

Deteriorating wave conditions forced heats to be suspended after the men’s Round 3 and ahead of Round 3 of the women’s event which is still yet to get underway.

Wind blowing on shore and rain yesterday produced “wholly uncontestable” conditions, meaning that the women’s competition was suspended before it had even started.

A schedule announcement will be made at 5:45 p.m. in Tahiti (11:45 p.m. ET).

The Bercy Arena is ready for tonight's team gymnastics final on Tuesday.

We’re here inside the Bercy Arena where the women’s team gymnastics final is set to get underway in about two hours.

Camera operators have been busy getting their shots set up over the last hour and appear to be ready to go.

For some reason, two glowing balls have just dropped down next to the big screen over the arena floor and are absolutely searing the eyeballs of the assembled press that arrived early to grab spots in the media seating.

Here’s more on what, and how, to watch today

Coco Gauff talks with an official during her match against Donna Vekić on Tuesday.

Coco Gauff suffered a third-round exit from the women’s tennis singles competition at the Paris Olympics, the most fraught moment coming in the second set when she engaged in a heated exchange with the chair umpire.

The 20-year-old American, a flag bearer for Team USA at the opening ceremony, was facing a break point when a line call, initially called out, was overruled by chair umpire Jaume Campistol.

But Gauff argued the point should have been replayed as the call was made just before she had hit the ball.

Gauff arguing with the umpire during her match on Tuesday.

Gauff immediately created three break points the following game, but Donna Vekić shut out the opening, saving the last with an inch-perfect lob before taking a 4-2 lead in the set.

The match was firmly in the Croatian’s control from the point, and she closed out the contest to set up a quarterfinal meeting with either Greece’s Maria Sakkari or Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

The dispute with the umpire in the second set, Gauff felt, didn’t alter the result of the match.

“I’m not going to sit here and say one point affected the result today, because I was already on the losing side of things before that point happened,” she said.

Read more here.

CNN is tracking every country in the race for the most gold medals in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Check back throughout the two weeks ofeventsfor the number of golds by country.

Below is the medal count, so far:

Emma Navarro of the United States returns a shot to Zhang Qinwen of China during their women's singles match on Tuesday.

American Emma Navarro, the 11th seed in the women’s tennis singles, was beaten in the third round by China’s Zheng Qinwen, 6(7)-7, 7-6(4), 6-1.

The world No. 7 saved a match point on her way to a grueling victory in a clash that lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes.

After winning a tough first set tiebreak and serving for the match in the second, Navarro faded away in the decider and became the second American woman to be knocked out of singles competition today after Coco Gauff’s surprise defeat against Donna Vekić.

Danielle Collins is the sole US representative in the women’s quarterfinals.

As athletes from around the world arrived at the Olympic Village and started to settle in for a good nights sleep, they soon realized it would be more difficult than initially thought.

The bed frames themselves were manufactured especially for the games with recyclable materials while the mattresses were made with reused materials. According to the Olympic organizers, their firmness can be adjusted by flipping them over.

But, some athletes felt they left something to be desired for comfort.

Australian water polo player Tilley Kearns posted to now-viral video to TikTok describing the beds as “rock solid,” while her roommate can be heard saying “my back is about to fall off” in the background.

British diving olympian Tom Daley also posted a video to TikTok knocking on the bed and testing if it was sturdy.

At the 2021 Olympics, Paul Chelimo, a runner for Team USA suggested the beds were made of cardboard with the goal of “avoiding intimacy among athletes,” suggesting that they could only handle the weight of a single person.

The “anti-sex” beds soon became a rumor about the games, but Tokyo 2020 insisted it was for environmental reasons and they would be turned into recycled paper once the event was over.

CNN directly asked the Paris Olympics media team if the beds were made to stop frivolity in the camp, to which they responded:

“We know the media has had a lot of fun with this story since Tokyo 2020. But for Paris 2024, the choice of these beds for the Olympic and Paralympic Village is primarily linked to a wider ambition to ensure minimal environmental impact and a second life for all equipment used during the short period of the Games,” they said.

“It goes without saying that the quality of the furniture has been rigorously tested to ensure it is robust, comfortable and appropriate for all the athletes who will use it, and who span a very broad range of body types.”

China's Wang Chuqin, left, and Sun Yingsha play against North Korea's Kim Kum Yong and Ri Jong Sik during the mixed doubles table tennis final on Tuesday.

China rallied to edge past North Korea in a thrilling mixed doubles table tennis final.

The Chinese pair of Chuqin Wang and Yingsha Sun, the No. 1 ranked team in the tournament, were pushed to the limit by Jong Sik Ri and Kum Yong Kim, the lowest-ranked pair, before eventually winning 4-2.

Ri and Kim had already upset the odds on multiple occasions to make it this far and were again in sensational form in Tuesday’s gold medal match. But Wang and Sun were just too good on the day.

The match featured no shortage of outrageous shots and mind-boggling rallies, cheered on by what sounded like a China home match at times.

China has been utterly dominant in Olympics table tennis since it was first introduced at Seoul 1988, but this is the country’s first gold in the mixed doubles after it lost in the final to Japan at Tokyo 2020 on the event’s Olympic debut.

South Korea beat Hong Kong to take bronze.

Attendants cool a horse with spray mist during a dressage event at Versailles on Tuesday.

The temperature in Paris is currently 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), making Tuesday the hottest day of the year in the city.

The temperature at Paris-Orly airport at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) was 95 degrees F (35 degrees C), but adding in the humidity, the heat index was 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

The heat is already impacting some of the events, with the International Tennis Federation stipulating that the modification-of-games rule comes into effect once the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature — a measure of heat stress in direct sunlight which considers wind speed, cloud coverage and the sun’s angle – rises above 30.1 degrees C. It hit that measure at the Paris tennis courts at 3 p.m. local time, according to the ITF.

Police officers cool off under misters in Paris on Tuesday.

Typically, once that Wet Globe Temperature is reached, the games can then play with the “modification of play” which involves a 10-minute break between the second and third sets during which time players can go to the bathroom, take a shower and have something to eat or drink. They cannot, however, talk with their coach or receive a medical evaluation.

If the temperature continues to rise at Roland Garros, suspension of games can be considered, the ITF website says.

Coco Gauff reacts after a call goes against her while playing Croatia's Donna Vekić on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros on Tuesday.

There’s been an early upset at the tennis on Court Philippe-Chatrier with US star Coco Gauff losing 7-6 (7), 6-2 in an emotionally charged match against Croatia’s Donna Vekić.

Gauff looked to be cruising in the first set, holding a 5-2 lead with a set point, but the match quickly ran away from her, which included losing the second set having been a break up on world No. 21 Vekić.

Late in the second set, Gauff was in tears while arguing a call that went against her on Philippe-Chatrier, the main court at Roland Garros. While on Gauff’s serve, a shot from Vekić originally was called out but quickly was overruled by the chair umpire, Jaume Campistol of Spain. That gave the break to Vekić and a 4-2 lead for the Croatian. Vekić went on to win 7-6(7), 6-2.

The argument lasted 5 minutes.

She eventually had to head to the back of the court, only for Vekić to overturn three break points the next game and go on to win the match.

With the victory, Vekić will face either Greece’s Maria Sakkari or Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals.

The post was updated with Gauff’s comments during the match.

CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.

Organizers are still hoping that the men’s triathlon will take place tomorrow morning in Paris after today’s postponement.

The Executive Director of Sports for the Paris Games, Aurélie Merle, told the media that the race would take at place at 10:45 a.m. local time (4:45 a.m. ET), following the women’s event that begins at 8 a.m. (2 a.m. ET).

The men’s event was moveddue to poor water quality levels in the Seine.

Merle also reinforced that both races are subject to water quality levels meeting required World Triathlon thresholds.

Angelique Kerber’s farewell to tennis has been extended for yet another match, defeating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals in Paris.

The 36-year-old German tennis star – who has won three grand slam singles titles, the Olympic silver at Rio 2016 and a total of 14 career singles titles – announced last week that Paris 2024 marks “the finish line” of her career. But with her play at Roland Garros, she’s seemingly been turning back the clock.

In Paris, she has beaten Naomi Osaka of Japan, Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian and now Fernandez, the No. 16 seed.

Kerber’s performance Tuesday was arguably her best yet, breaking serve six times and hitting 22 winners to 12 unforced errors.

Kerber had returned to tennis this season after taking maternity leave. Now, she’s in her first quarterfinal in a WTA Tour-level tournament for the first time in more than two years.

Correction: The post was updated to reflect that Kerber defeated Fernandez by a score of 6-4, 6-3.

As the old cliché goes, there is no ‘I’ in team – and Tatjana Smith’s personalized t-shirt at the Paris Olympics encapsulated the phrase perfectly.

South Africa’s gold medal winner in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, Smith had the names of every person who has influenced her swimming career printed on the back of her shirt.

Smith placed her new gold medal over her shoulder next to the phrase “Because of you, for you” at the top of the list of names.

The 27-year-old won South Africa’s first gold medal in the event since Atlanta 1996 and said she is going to keep her phone off for the time being as she anticipates a wave of congratulatory phone calls and messages.

“I think everyone is so proud,” she said.

It’s day four of the Olympics in Paris, and it kicked off with the announcement that the men’s individual triathlon race had been postponed due to poor water quality levels in the River Seine.

The women triathlon is still scheduled for Wednesday and will take place prior to the men’s race, according to Olympic officials.

Here’s what else to know as you read in:

As a reminder, here’s the gold medal count for the games so far:

Alex Abrines of Spain, right, tries to pass while under pressure from Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece on Tuesday.

The No. 2 team in the world will be happy to leave its Group A game Tuesday with a win after a furious Greek comeback led by Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo scored 27 points to lead his team from a double-digit deficit in the second half, tying the game with about 4 minutes to go. But the Spanish were stronger down the stretch and put the game away in the final minute with clutch free throws.

The Spanish were led by Memphis Grizzlies’ player Santi Aldama’s 19 points and Alberto Diaz’s bucket in the final seconds made the scoreline look a bit larger than was probably fair to Antetokounmpo and the Greeks.

“I think [we won] with courage, defense,” Aldama said after the game.

On stopping two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo, Aldama said, “There’s no true strategy, but for us, it was just packing the paint, being physical, being in front of him. There’s no recipe to stop him, but courage, I think that’s the word that [summarizes] the game.”

Point guard Sergio Llull said that La Roja’s next objective was clear: “Our goal is to try to be in quarterfinals, to try to fly to Paris [when the competition moves to Bercy Arena]. This is the main goal now, and then we will see.”

This post has been updated with quotes from Spain’s Santi Aldama and Sergio Llull.

Facilities for the triathlon event are seen on the Seine on Tuesday.

French triathlon federation technical director Benjamin Maze told French media on Tuesday that “there was a bit of anger and disappointment on the part of the triathletes,” as they found out today’s event had been canceled.

Maze said that that athletes are naturally disappointed by the developments since they have been preparing for this moment for years but added that it’s all part of the job.

“They know that they are doing an outdoor sport, even more so in triathlon. We knew that we had had problems with water pollution in recent days.” he said.

Some context: The race was moved to Wednesday due to poor water quality levels in the River Seine.

“Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in Seine today revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held,” World Triathlon said in a news release.

Heavy rains battered Paris over the weekend, drenching Friday’sopening ceremonyandraising concerns about water quality in the river,which usually declines after rainfall.

Australia's Lani Pallister looks on during a swimming training session in Paris on July 24.

Australia’s Lani Pallister has withdrawn from the women’s 1500m freestyle competition after testing positive to Covid-19.

Pallister has instead decided to preserve her energy for the 4x200m relay on Thursday, the Australian Olympic Team said in a post to X Tuesday.

In a response to questions from CNN, an Australian Olympic Committee spokesperson said Covid was being managed “like any other respiratory illness,” and the team has “medical protocols in place to manage cases.”

Last week, at least five members of the Australian women’s water polo team — the Stingers — tested positive to Covid but according to the AOC they followed protocols “trained and have returned to normal operations.”

There have been several other respiratory illness viruses in Australian athletes since, including Covid, the spokesperson said: “But these have not had an impact on performance.”

After the Australian women’s water polo players tested positive, a Paris 2024 spokesperson said in a statement that are “protocols that are in place” to mitigate the spread of the virus, including recommending mask-wearing for people who test positive.

CNN’s Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report.

Matthew Dawson of Australia is seen during a match against Ireland at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium on Monday.

In the run-up to the ParisOlympics, athletes stepped up their preparations in order to maintain their edge over competitors.

But for Australia’s Matt Dawson, those preparations looked a little different this year, with the field hockey player opting to have part of his finger amputated in order to compete in the Games.

The 30-year-old Dawson injured the ring finger of his right hand after being struck by a hockey stick in a practice match just two weeks before he was due to represent the Kookaburras in Paris in what would be his thirdOlympic appearance.

The impact left the top of his finger almost entirely severed and had hisOlympic dreams hanging in the balance.

“Things got moving pretty quickly. And all I remember someone saying was, ‘We need to see a plastic surgeon.’”

So far, the Australian men’s hockey team has defeated Ireland and will take on Belgium in Paris this evening.

Keep reading.

Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece dunks during a match against Spain at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille on Tuesday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo just threw down a dunk over a Spanish defender to tie up the tilt between Greece and Spain, two of the top teams in the world, with about three minutes to play.

Greece has stormed back from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter and is threatening the Spaniards, the No. 2 team in the world.

The Greeks, ranked No. 14 by FIBA, are led by Antetokounmpo – one of their nation’s flag bearers in Friday’s opening ceremony – and will be leaning on the “Greek Freak” down the stretch.

Israel and Paraguay play during a group match at Parc des Princes in Paris on July 27.

Paris prosecutors, in coordination with other relevant authorities, have launched a probe following reports of “aggravated incitement to racial hatred” and “incitement to discrimination,” including a man making antisemitic gestures during the Israel-Paraguay soccer match on Saturday.

Olympic organizers said in a statement that during the match at the Parc des Princes, “a banner bearing a political message was displayed and anti-Semitic gestures were made.”

The statement did not clarify what these gestures were.

“Paris 2024 strongly condemns these acts,” the statement said, adding that a complaint has been lodged by the committee, “which is at the disposal of the authorities to assist with the investigation.”

According to Reuters still images, a banner reading “Genocide Olympics” was displayed with some spectators holding up Palestinian flags during the game.

Simone Biles of Team USA competes on the beam during the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Qualification on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on July 28, in Paris, France.

USA GymnasticsannouncedMonday that Simone Biles will compete in all four events – vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise – in Tuesday’s women’s team final.

After her performance on the balance beam, Biles landed awkwardly while warming up for her floor routine and exited the arena before reemerging to get her lower left leg heavily taped.

Despite the apparent discomfort Sunday, she still ended up on the top of the leaderboard in first place in the all-around rankings and with Team USA in first place in team standings.

Cecile Landi, her coach, told reporters after the competition that Biles had been dealing with calf pain a couple weeks before Paris that flared up again during Sunday’s competition.

Here is Biles’ 2024 Olympic schedule:

La Défense Arena is seen on Tuesday. Behind the scenes and a big black curtain lies a warm-up pool area where Olympic competitors can practice techniques, get treatment or stretch.

Have you ever wondered what is through the tunnel that Olympic swimmers emerge from before they step up onto the starting blocks?

This is the warm-up pool, located adjacent to the competition pool which is just on the other side of that big, black curtain.

This is a rare look at swimmers from all delegations, intermingled as they stretch, get treatments and practice techniques before stepping onto the biggest stage of their lives.

You can even spot what look like kid’s paddling pools!

Ukrainian athletes are participating in nine different sporting events today – and as on every day during the Olympic Games, they are competing under the clouds of war in their homeland.

Ahead of the Olympics, the government ramped up its call for Ukrainian athletes to avoid shaking hands with Russian athletes, claiming they were “bearers of Russian propaganda and disinformation,” even if competing under a neutral flag.

The ministry said it wanted to “highlight the Olympic principles – fair play, excellence, solidarity, mutual respect, and friendship,” but that what Ukrainian athletes are facing instead is “brutal aggression,” including the destruction of sports facilities and deaths.

The ministry said Ukrainian athletes have been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday he spoke with the athletes who will represent the country this year at the Olympics.

In May, Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee issued recommendations for athletes at the Olympics, which included avoiding contact with Russians and Belarusians so that possible “provocative actions” could be prevented.

Simone Biles of Team United States practices during a Gymnastics training session in the Bercy Arena ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 25, in Paris, France.

“Grateful to be doing what I love,” Simone Biles said Monday in anInstagram post, a day after fighting through a calf injury flareup during women’s gymnastics qualification.

Despite the apparent discomfort Sunday, she still ended up on the top of the leaderboard, with Biles in first place in the all-around rankings and with Team USA in first place in team standings.

After her performance on the balance beam, Biles landed awkwardly while warming up for her floor routine and exited the arena before reemerging to get her lower left leg heavily taped.

Cecile Landi, her coach, told reporters after the competition that Biles had been dealing with calf pain a couple of weeks before Paris that flared up again during Sunday’s competition.

Nada Hafez of Egypt celebrates her victory against Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the United States on Monday.

Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez said she was “carrying a little Olympian” in Paris after revealing she was 7 months pregnant while competing at the Olympic Games.

Hafez impressively won her opening match against the USA’s No. 7 seed Elizabeth Tartakovsky in the women’s individual saber, but lost in the round of 16 to South Korea’s Jeon Ha-Young.

Hafez, 26, was appearing at her third Olympic Games and her final position of 16th was a marked improvement on her ranking of 29th in Tokyo and 36th in Rio.

Hafez and Tartakovsky compete on Monday.

She is also a former national champion in gymnastics and has a degree in medicine from Cairo University.

“This specific Olympics was different; Three times *Olympian* but this time carrying a little Olympian one!” Hafez said.

As Australia competes for medals across seven different disciplines today, there is one thing athletes won’t be short of: caffeine.

The Australian Olympic Team has taken two baristas with them on their staff for the Paris games.

Australia’s coffee culture has become one of the best in the world, and the baristas have traveled thousands of kilometers to be with the team, specifically to provide a taste of home. The coffee machine is also a hub for athletes to socialize with others from different sports, the AOC media team told CNN.

Australian Olympic Chef de Mission Anna Meares said earlier in July that the coffee went further than just giving everyone a boost in the morning.

Serbia's Zorana Arunović and Damir Mikec celebrate their gold medal win on the podium on Tuesday.

Serbia clinched its first medal of the Paris Olympics, thanks to duo Zorana Arunović and Damir Mikec, who took gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team final.

Arunović and Mikec beat the Turkish pairing of Sevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç 16-14 in a tense final, coming back from 8-2 down to earn the first Olympic shooting medal in Serbia’s history.

“(Mikec) believed in us and this moment more than I did — he was the one who pushed us towards this.

“It was really stressful but I hope we put on a good show for people who have come here. Not many people usually come to watch shooting but I hope the audience enjoyed a good display of shooting.”

Mikec told reporters after the win that he had always wanted the gold after falling just short in the individual 10m air pistol in Tokyo.

“This is one step up. This is what I dreamed of. Everyone in Serbia said to me, ‘You had silver in Tokyo, then you will win gold in Paris.’

Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh of India took the bronze medal with victory over the South Korean team.

This post has been updated with quotes from the winners.

Tom Pidco*ck of Great Britain, right, competes on Monday.

Great Britain’s Tom Pidco*ck made a miraculous recovery from a tire puncture on Monday to take the gold in the men’s mountain bike competition, retaining the title of Olympic champion he won in Tokyo three years ago.

How does the new gold medal compare?

“The strap’s more itchy on my neck,” Pidco*ck told CNN’s Amanda Davies with a laugh. “No, it’s pretty — it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Now, mainly, it’s kind of over, the build-up and everything, now I can just enjoy it and this is all that matters.”

Pidco*ck’s race looked to be over when he suffered a front wheel puncture on the third lap which cost him approximately 26 seconds and saw him slip down to ninth. But the 25-year-old dug deep and clawed his way back despite falling almost 40 seconds behind the leading rider, France’s Victor Koretzky. And in an astonishing finish, Pidco*ck passed Koretzky with just over a lap to go, with the pair going head-to-head all the way to the finish line.

Pidco*ck crosses the line to win gold on Monday.

Pidco*ck staved off a late charge from the Frenchman but, in the end, had enough to finish nine seconds clear to complete a remarkable race for the reigning Olympic gold medalist.

“It was certainly not easy. … it was a battle, a tough one at that,” he told Davies. “It was all going so well and I was lucky the (puncture) happened early and I was able to try and recover it.”

Pidco*ck has the words “play your cards right” written on his bike. Davies asked him what cards he played to grab another gold medal.

“I didn’t play the puncture card right,” he said. “I didn’t really — I just played the consistent, keep going card.”

Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts after his monster 9.90 score in the 5th heat of the men's surfing round 3 on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti on July 29.

It was a celebration worthy of the ages — or at least viral fame.

Surfer Gabriel Medina was taking on Kanoa Igarashi, the man who beat him at the Tokyo Olympics and eventually won silver, and he was looking to turn the tide this time around.

The Brazilian not only managed to take down the Japanese surfer, he did so in part thanks to a near-perfect 9.90-scoring wave on Day 3 of the surfing competition in Tahiti (yes, very, very far from Paris).

The resultant jubilation produced another moment of perfection: Medina leapt from his surfboard, raised his finger aloft and his board just managed to fly parallel to him as photographer Jerome Brouillet from Agence France-Presse snapped the shot.

The remarkable picture has spread across social media with Brazilians celebrating their surfer’s progress into the final eight of the competition, including Real Madrid and Seleção forward Rodrygo.

Still, while Medina has made it one step closer toward his goal of an Olympic medal, he certainly felt that the judges could have been more considerate of his efforts.

Still, while the performance on the water might have been a 10 out of 10, the picture was certainly the image of perfection.

Medina beat Kanoa Igarashi before competition was suspended on day 3 of the Olympic surfing competition in Teahupo'o.

After winning a bronze medal in the men’s 100-meter backstroke on Monday, American swimmer Ryan Murphy was given a surprise when he looked up into the stands.

As he walked away from the podium, Murphy saw his wife, Bridget Konttinen, holding up a sign that read:

Murphy, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, told AP: “That was the first time I heard the gender.”

Murphy will return to the pool on Wednesday for the 200-meter backstroke, an event he’s won gold and silver in previously.

A volunteer carries fans on a hot summer day during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, on July 29.

Heat across France has fueled the threat of thunderstorms in the nation, some of which could hit the greater Paris area.

A level 1 of 3 severe storm threat has been issued by the European Storm Forecast Experiment (ESTOFEX) across parts of northeast France, including Paris, for Tuesday.

The main threats are isolated large hail and heavy rainfall.

The forecaster has also released a severe storm chance for Wednesday for central and northern France, including Paris.

The main threats are heavy rain, large hail, and extreme downbursts.

Rain has already disrupted the Games: the opening ceremony was drenched, and triathlon swims have beenpostponedafter heavy rainfall caused a spike in pollution levels in the River Seine.

Gold medalist Coco Yoshizawa of Team Japan (L) and Silver medalist Liz Akama of Team Japan (R) pose on the podium during the Women's Street Final on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on July 28, in Paris, France.

With the oldest average population in the world, squeaky clean city streets, and something of a national reputation for adhering to the rules, Japan might not immediately leap out as a skater’s paradise.

But as events this week in Paris have once again shown, Japan’s teenage girls are on fire when it comes to women’s skating.

For the second consecutive Olympics, Team Japan dominated the street event – and it could do the same in the park category starting August 6.

The rise of Japanese skateboarders is surprising in a country thattypically frowns on public demonstrations of the sport.

Skating is prohibited by law in busy areas and mostly limited to skate parks, making it difficult for aspiring skaters to train in non-designated areas.

That, paired with the country’s aging population problem – Japanese birth rates hit arecord lowin 2023 – would set most sports up for a massive wipeout.

But the Olympics inclusion has ignited youth exposure and resources. The number of skateparks in the country since 2021 has nearly doubled to 475, according to the Japan Skatepark Association. After yet another impressive medal haul, there could be room for even more growth.

Read the full story.

A general view of the Seine with theEiffel Tower in the background is seen in Paris, France, on July 29.

The men’s individual triathlon race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been postponed to Wednesday due to poor water quality levels in the River Seine, World Triathlon has announced.

Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the World Triathlon, its medical team, the International Olympic Committee, and city officials decidedto postponethe men’s race.

“Despite the improvement on the water quality levels in the last hours, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptablelimits.”

The women triathlon is still scheduled for Wednesday and will take place prior to the men’s race, according to Olympic officials.

Training for the swimming portion of the race was canceled for a second straight day on Monday after water quality testing deemed the water unsafe for athletes.

If the water levels don’t improve by Wednesday, the original contingency date remains in place for Friday, August 2.

Read the full story.

A total of 19 gold medals were awarded Monday across 11 different sports. Here’s the full breakdown:

Archery

Artistic Gymnastics

Canoe Slalom

Cycling Mountain Bike

Diving

Equestrian

Fencing

Judo

Shooting

Skateboarding

Swimming

Olympic records and photo finishes: The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are fully underway, and on Monday, more medals were added to the tally.

If you missed the action yesterday, here’s a recap of some highlights:

What we’re watching today: USA Gymnasticsannouncedthat Simone Biles will compete in all four events – vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise – in the women’s team final. Biles has been fighting through a calf injury flareup during women’s gymnastics qualification.