What to watch at the Olympics today: U.S. men’s gymnasts back in action, while Katie Ledecky goes for gold

The U.S. men’s gymnastics team took America for a ride Monday, capturing their first team medal in 16 years with a thrilling finish on the pommel horse.

Frederick Richard and Paul Juda return to Bercy Arena on Wednesday for the men’s individual all-around final, one of the headlining events of Day 5 in Paris.

Elsewhere, Canada women’s soccer will try to overcome the six-point deduction levied by FIFA for flying a drone over New Zealand’s training sessions. A win over Colombia would advance the Canadians out of the group stage. The U.S. women, taking on Australia, eyes the top spot of its group after securing a place in the quarterfinals.

There are also a handful of swim medals to be bestowed, and the U.S. men’s basketball team takes on South Sudan in its second group stage game — where NBA champion Jayson Tatum is expected to make his Paris Games debut.

Strap in, sports fans.

Events to watch

Men’s gymnastics all-around final

Time: 11:30 a.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock

What to watch: Richard and Juda, alongside instant national icon Stephen Nedoroscik, helped snap the U.S. medal drought in the men’s team finals, finishing third behind gold medal taker Japan and silver medalist China.

“It feels amazing because we had some highs and lows,” Richard said after earning bronze. “Qualifications (weren’t) perfect, but I had no doubt in this team. We all came together when it mattered and did something great for our country.”

Now, Richard and Juda go for personal medals. (Nedoroscik will go for the individual accolade on pommel horse Saturday, and Brody Malone, who competed in the individual all-around event as one of the top two U.S. male gymnasts in Tokyo, didn’t qualify for this men’s individual all-around.)

In the team all-around, Richard commanded a standing ovation with his high-flying bar routine that saw him stick the landing — the same way he ended his floor routine. The 20-year-old is one of the emerging stars of the Games.

GO DEEPER

U.S. wins bronze in men’s gymnastics behind Nedoroscik’s clutch performance

Jayson Tatum’s (likely) Paris debut

Time: 3 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. in Paris
TV: USA Network and Peacock

What to watch: Steve Kerr heard the questions.

Tatum, the Boston Celtics star, was a healthy scratch in the Americans’ Olympic opening win over Serbia. But Kerr, the Team USA coach, said Tatum will play against South Sudan.

Tatum, a three-time first-team All-NBA star and second-leading scorer on the Tokyo Olympic team that won gold, was the odd player out with Kevin Durant’s return from a calf strain. Durant’s addition meant one really, really good player was going to drop out of the lineup.

“The hardest part of this job is you’re sitting at least a couple of guys who are world-class, some of the very best players on Earth, and on the one hand it makes no sense at all,” Kerr said. “On the other, I’m asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one.”

GO DEEPER

Tatum ‘will play’ for Team USA vs. South Sudan after Sunday benching, Kerr says

South Sudan nearly upset the U.S. in an exhibition before the Olympics. In its first Olympic game, it defeated Puerto Rico on Sunday.

A hefty slate of swimming

(Photo: Adam Pretty / Getty Images)

Time: Starting at 2:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock

What to watch: Five finals — the women’s 100-meter freestyle, men’s 200-meter butterfly, women’s 1,500-meter free, men’s 200-meter breaststroke and men’s 100-meter free — will all take place over a roughly two-hour span.

As usual with the 1,500 free, Katie Ledecky will work to stay multiple body lengths ahead of her opponents. In Tokyo in 2021, she won the 1,500 free by more than four seconds.

Ledecky won her 11th Olympic medal with a third-place finish in the women’s 400-meter freestyle Saturday, where Australian rival Ariarne Titmus won gold and Canadian teenage phenom Summer McIntosh took silver. Ledecky will also compete in the 4×200 free relay on Thursday and 800 free on Saturday.

GO DEEPER

The great America-Australia relay rivalry gets another worthy chapter in Paris

Women’s soccer group stage drama

Time: U.S.-Australia at 1 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. in Paris; Canada-Colombia at 3 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. in Paris
TV: Watch the U.S. on E! Network, Universo and Peacock; Canada on Peacock

What to watch: From the pool to the pitch, the U.S.-Australia clash continues as the Americans look to bounce the Aussies from Group B after Australia kept its Olympic hopes alive with a thrilling 6-5 win over Zambia on Sunday. Meanwhile, the U.S. has already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with two group-stage victories against Germany and Zambia.

GO DEEPER

USWNT 4-1 Germany: U.S. finds scoring groove to secure knockout spot at 2024 Olympics

Canada, with no shortage of drama this Olympic cycle, appealed the six-point deduction penalty FIFA handed down after an analyst was caught flying a drone over New Zealand’s training. A decision is expected by Wednesday afternoon, creating some pre-match drama for a Canadian team attempting to defend its gold medal from Tokyo. The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer argued the six-point deduction “unfairly punishes the athletes for actions they had no part in and goes far beyond restoring fairness to the match against New Zealand.”

Nonetheless — and amazingly — Canada can advance to the quarterfinals with a win against Colombia. Canada defeated New Zealand and France in its first two games, but currently sits third in Group A with zero points because of the deduction. With a restoration of the six points, Canada would have a chance to top Group A.

All four quarterfinal matches kick off Saturday.

GO DEEPER

Canada appealing 6-point deduction for drone spying

Medal day for BMX

Time: 7:10 a.m. ET, 1:10 p.m. in Paris (women), 8:44 a.m. ET, 2:44 p.m. in Paris (men)
TV: USA Network and Peacock

What to watch: The women’s and men’s cycling BMX freestyle finals take place at La Concorde Urban Park.

On the women’s side, reigning gold medalist Charlotte Worthington of Great Britain finished 11th in Tuesday’s qualification round, failing to qualify for the final.

That opens the door for American Hannah Roberts, the Tokyo silver medalist, who finished first in qualifying.

On the men’s side, Americans Marcus Christopher and Justin Dowell hope to win the first U.S. medal in the event (which was added in 2021). But they face stiff competition from Tokyo gold medalist Logan Martin (Australia) and Great Britain’s Kieran Reilly, who led in qualifying.

Tuesday’s highlight

SIGOAT BILES.

🎥 @NBCOlympics | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/eQL8oertsd

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 30, 2024

Redemption was the highlight of Tuesday, as U.S. women’s gymnastics won gold in the team final, bouncing back from a second-place finish at the Tokyo Games, after Simone Biles nailed her floor routine. The Athletic’s Dana O’Neil went deep on what led to their success.

GO DEEPER

Simone Biles, Team USA gymnastics golden once again

More from Paris 2024

(Photo: Gabriel Bouys / AFP via Getty Images)