Results, schedule, Ledecky in pool, US Rugby

Regan Smith of the United States and Kayleigh McKeown of Australia will reignite one of swimming’s greatest rivalries when they compete in the 100-meter backstroke on Tuesday night in the pool at the Olympic Aquatics Center near Paris.

The race between world record holder Smith, from Lakeville, Minnesota, and Olympic record holder McKeon is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET (9 p.m. local time).

Additionally, the Paris La Défense Arena will host three Olympic medals when Bobby Finke from Clearwater, Florida, competes in the 800-meter freestyle at 3:07 p.m. ET.

And the U.S. men will be looking to bounce back from a fourth-place finish in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Tokyo at 4:15 p.m. ET.

For American swimmer Ryan Murphy, it was a double life-affirming event: He had just won a bronze medal in the men’s 100-meter backstroke, when his pregnant wife found out she was having a girl.

On her way to the podium Monday, Murphy’s wife, Bridget, held up a sign that read, “Ryan, it’s a girl!”

“That’s a great way to find out,” he said. “It really energized me and took the night to a whole other level. I’m really excited to find out that I’m going to be a father to a little girl.”

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After the men’s event was postponed due to concerns about pollution in the Seine, U.S. triathlete Christine Kasper told NBC News that cancellations due to poor water quality are not uncommon.

“I’m just trying to focus on the things I can control,” the 32-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, said ahead of the women’s triathlon, which starts tomorrow, “and I think me and my teammates are just hoping for the best and lining up on race day and hopefully being able to swim.”

“I’m not afraid of swimming in the river at all,” Kasper added.

“We swim in a lot of cities so water quality is often an issue, but I just have to trust that the race organizers are testing and doing what is necessary to ensure safety,” she said. “It’s the Olympics so I’m going to give it my all.”

Relentless drug testing “seven times a day” is undermining the performances of Chinese swimmers in Paris, one of the country’s top divers has said.

“There must be something wrong with the athletes’ pre-competition training,” Gao Ming, a gold medallist in the springboard events at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, wrote yesterday on Chinese social media platform Weibo. “Personally, I think the seven doping tests a day have successfully sabotaged the Chinese swimming team.”

A day earlier, Zhang Yufei, who won silver in the women’s 100m butterfly at the Tokyo 2021 Games, won bronze in the same event in Paris. Another Chinese swimmer considered a gold medal favorite, Qin Haiyan, came in seventh in the men’s 100m breaststroke, which he won at last year’s world championships.

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Team USA’s Lily Zhang beat Brazil’s Bruna Takashi in table tennis late Monday to reach the round of 16. Zhang won 4-2 as a crowd at the Paris World Expo Porte de Versailles cheered.

The U.S. women’s rugby sevens team will play two matches on Tuesday. Two wins will earn them the gold medal, and one will give them their first medal of the season.

The match between Team USA and New Zealand is scheduled to take place at 9:30 a.m. ET (3:30 p.m. local time) at the Stade de France. The winner will play either Canada or Australia for the gold medal at 1:45 p.m. ET (7:45 p.m. local time). The loser will play for the bronze medal at 1 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local time).

Ilona Maher, from Burlington, Vermont, has scored three tries in the tournament, making it already a historic run for the United States, which lost in the quarterfinals in Rio and Tokyo.

“She understood that — mindset, running strong and hard, not trying to fall down, getting to the end zone no matter what it takes,” the Baltimore Ravens running back said. Derrick Henry said: After watching a video of Maher sprinting through imposing defenders on Monday, he said, “That’s amazing. It makes me want to go out there.”

American trap shooters Derrick Maine and Will Hinton will have to bounce back if they want to have any chance of winning a medal in Chateauroux.

The second day of qualifying has just begun in central France. Main and Hinton are ranked 8th and 27th, respectively, out of 30 competitors. Only the top six will advance to the finals, which will be held at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Swimming superstar David Popovich won gold in a historic race late Monday. Great Britain’s Matthew Richards missed out on the top spot by just 0.02 seconds, but Team USA’s Luke Hobson made it onto the podium with a personal best time. Check it out below.

Megumi Field was a toddler the last time the United States competed in the artistic swimming team event at the Olympics. Now, at 18, she’s part of a team preparing for its big comeback.

“I’m looking forward to going to college after the Olympics are over. [are] “It’s over, but right now all I can think about is the Olympics,” Field told NBC News’ “Stay Tuned.” “I can’t wait until we’re ready to show the world what we’ve been working on.”

When Field was a child, she didn’t have an appetite for speed. She had an appetite for water.

“I’ve always loved water, and I loved chlorine,” she says. “I think from the moment I was born, I was just in the water.”

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Watch the U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Team react when Brody Malone nails the landing: Despite three surgeries and 16 months of setbacks, Malone withstood the pressure at the Bercy Arena and helped the U.S. Men win bronze, their first Olympic team medal since 2008.