PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a captivating comeback that had everyone watching everything she did both in and out of the gymnasium.
All eyes were on Biles as she won four medals, but the spotlight was bright enough to highlight new names, new faces and some unlikely new stars. The Paris Games will be remembered for breathtaking venues, unprecedented accessibility and Snoop Dogg taking a starring role in NBC’s record-smashing coverage.
Paris introduced the world to “The Pommel Horse Guy” and “The Real John Wick” and a meme-making performance by an Australian professor in the Olympic debut of breaking.
French swimmer Léon Marchand delivered in his home Olympics with a Michael Phelps-like performance, winning five medals, four of them gold. Ilona Maher angled for a shot on reality TV show “Love Island” after leading the United States to a heart-stopping late victory that gave the U.S. its first ever a medal, a bronze, in rugby sevens.
Noah Lyles was crowned the fastest man in the world for winning the 100 meters, but after he finished third in the 200 — his first loss in his favorite event since the Tokyo Olympics three years ago — he revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19. Sha’Carri Richardson chased down two competitors in the rain to end her first Olympics with a relay gold after settling for silver in the 100.
The United States won the medal count — 126 in total and the women’s basketball team closed the Games by winning gold to tie China with an Olympic-best 40. The Americans again prevailed in both men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s soccer, too.
Biles soared to gold
Biles returned to the Olympics three years after she pulled out of multiple events at the Tokyo Games for mental health reasons and won four medals, three of them gold.
She was the most popular attraction in Paris and competed in front of celebrity-packed crowds. Those who couldn’t sit in the stands with Tom Cruise, Spike Lee, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga tuned in from afar as NBC said 34.7 million viewers across its platforms watched Biles lead the United States to team gold.
Next up for the greatest gymnast in Olympic history is a 30-stop “Gold Over America Tour” for the GOAT.
Swimming struggles
Nine days of competition wrapped up with the Americans barely pulling off the lead in the gold-medal standings in swimming, needing a victory in the last race of the Olympics to do so.
The U.S. finished with just eight golds, its fewest since the 1988 Seoul Games and one ahead of its biggest rival, Australia.
“It’s one of the worst performances in history as a U.S. team,” said Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever.
The rest of the world totaled more victories (20) than the United States and Australia combined, the first time that’s happened since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The 34 medals and 14 golds for the Americans were their best showing in track and field in a non-boycotted Games since the early 20th century, when there were more events and fewer countries.
