The Olympics have begun in Paris!
For a complete rundown of all the sports taking place each day, we have a detailed breakdown of every sport that will be broadcast, as well as where and how to watch. All Olympic sports will be streamed live on Peacock.
In terms of medal count, the United States is the favorite to win the most medals. China is unlikely to overtake the United States in total medals, but it could win more gold medals than the United States.
So which country leads the medal count after the first day of competition? Let’s take a look at the Olympic medal count (and keep reading for highlights from Team USA on Day 2).
See the full leaderboard hereLast updated: July 28, 5pm
The last Summer Olympics where the U.S. didn’t finish on top of the gold medal list was in Beijing in 2008. The host nation always tends to win more medals, and France is expected to win almost three times as many gold medals as it did in Tokyo.
The U.S. team won seven medals Sunday, bringing its total to 12 over the first two days. Nine of the 12 were won by women, who took first and second places in two events: the 100-meter butterfly and individual foil.
Team USA Highlights: Day 2
Simone Biles thrives despite injury
Simone Biles has already made history in Paris.
The 27-year-old became the first female gymnast to land a Yurchenko double pike vault at the Olympics, earning the event’s highest score of 15.800 points – a move that has already been renamed after her and is now widely known as “Biles II.”
The team of Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Childs, Jade Carey and Hesley Rivera placed first in the Subdivision 2 qualifying round on Sunday.
Biles holds the record for the highest individual all-around score after completing four events in the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifying round on Sunday. Her 14.433 points on the uneven bars today is currently the eighth-highest score in that event.
Biles held the highest scores on vault (15.300), floor exercise (14.600) and the second-highest score on balance beam (14.733) for a total score of 59.566.
She was closely followed by her US teammates, with Suni Lee in second overall with 56.132 points and Jordan Chiles in third with 56.065 points.
The 16-year-old from New Jersey made his Olympic debut on the balance beam and uneven bars, helping the U.S. team reach the team finals.
The US gymnastics star is in a position to reach the finals in each event, had she not been limited by injury. Biles was heard saying on camera that she felt something in her calf but stepped onto the field with her leg taped.
She looked perfectly fine as Taylor Swift’s “Ready for It” began to play, her routine described as the world’s most difficult, steady. She carefully walked off the floor, sat to the side for a moment, and then received a hug from her longtime coach, Laurent Lundy.
Despite her dominant performance in qualifying, Biles appeared to hurt her foot while warming up for the floor exercise, leaving the floor with U.S. team doctor Marcia Faustin by her side and later returning with her ankle taped up.
First U.S. Fencing Finals since 2008
Lee Kiefer is a gold medalist fencer and Gerek Meinhart has won two bronze medals in the same sport. The two will be America’s first ever fencing couple and will be bringing their talent and love to the City of Lights this summer.
The women’s individual foil fencing match was an American vs. American match.
Lee Keefer defeated Lauren Scruggs 15-6 to win the gold medal, while Scruggs won the silver medal in the first U.S. tournament to feature two women in a final.
Kiefer also won the gold medal in Tokyo, achieving his second consecutive victory.
All swimmers won gold medals (or silver or bronze medals)
In the women’s 100-meter butterfly final, American swimmer Tori Huske won the gold medal, with teammate Gretchen Walsh winning the silver medal.
In the women’s 100-meter butterfly on Sunday in Paris, the U.S. team topped the podium with first and second places.
Tori Huske of the United States beat teammate and world record holder Gretchen Walsh, who was the favorite to win the race, to win the gold medal in a time of 55.59 seconds.
Meanwhile, Carson Foster won the bronze medal in the 400m individual medley, and Nick Fink of New Jersey tied Adam Peaty of Great Britain for the silver medal in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 59.05 seconds. It was a tight race with just 0.02 seconds separating the top three.
U.S. swimmer Nick Fink finished with a silver medal in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke final, missing out on the gold medal by just 0.2 seconds.
Men’s Basketball and U.S. Women’s National Team Off to Strong Starts
Here’s a scary thought for the entire basketball world: LeBron James thinks the U.S. team could get even better.
The U.S. men’s basketball team defeated Serbia 110-84 in the opening game of the 2024 Paris Olympics. James and Kevin Durant made every shot they took in the first half, helping the team shoot over 62.3 percent from the field and make 18 3-pointers. They took down one of their biggest threats with relative ease, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
But the U.S. committed 17 turnovers.
“We’re going to get better as far as turnovers,” James told NBC after the game. “Obviously, we’re trying to make the right play, so you can’t deny that, but some careless turnovers are going to give us some more balls on the offensive side. We’re going to be better on Wednesday.”
The United States issued a statement to Germany on Sunday.
After beating Zambia 3-0 in their opening match, the U.S. women’s national team dominated Germany 4-1 to further secure victory in Group B. The U.S. can secure first place in the group with at least a draw against Australia on Wednesday.
Sophia Smith scored twice, while Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams also scored against a normally elite Germany team that couldn’t contain the U.S. women’s offensive power.
In pool play at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the U.S. women’s soccer team defeated Germany 4-1, with goalkeeper Alyssa Naher allowing just one goal.
___ Stephen Wade of The Associated Press contributed to this report.
