PARIS: On the first sunny day of the Paris Olympics, the stars of the United States shone brightly.
Simone Biles and LeBron James have been on a roll, as has the US women's soccer team. Torrey Huskey has also been in the spotlight, and Haley Batten has made a name for herself by taking home a silver medal in the mountain bike event, the best performance ever by an American cyclist.
Although French swimmer Leon Marchand received rave reviews after beating his opponents to win gold in the men's 400m individual medley, the United States put on a strong performance on Day 2 of the competition.
Simone shines
Biles returned to the Olympics three years ago after withdrawing from multiple finals at the Tokyo Games to protect her safety, sparking an international conversation about mental health, as she braved discomfort in her calf to lead the U.S. women's gymnastics team to the final.
Biles, Zuni Lee and Jordan Chiles finished 1-2-3 in the all-around competition in early qualifying, although Chiles missed the all-around final due to rules that limit countries to two athletes per event.
There is a chance Chiles will make the floor exercise final if she finishes in the top eight. Lee is close to making the beam and bars finals, with 2020 floor exercise champion Jade Carey in good position to join Biles in the vault final.
But all eyes were on Biles, who momentarily shocked the nation when she left the court after a floor workout and sought treatment. She had injured her calf during warm-ups, but U.S. coach Cecil Landy said it was just a minor injury.
She performed in front of a star-studded crowd that included Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, Snoop Dogg, Anna Wintour and Lady Gaga, who all took to social media to thank Biles, writing, “She did it! What an honor to be so close!”
LeBron James leads Team USA
James and Kevin Durant, the two most experienced Olympians on the U.S. men's basketball team, kicked off the team's journey to a fifth consecutive gold medal with near-flawless performances.
Durant scored eight points for the first time and finished with 23 points, James added 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the USA beat Serbia 110-84 in the Olympic opener for both teams.
James and Durant combined to score 18-of-22 from the field — Durant was 8-of-9, James was 9-of-13 — as the U.S. had no problem handling the current World Cup silver medalist.
Jrue Holiday scored 15 points, Devin Booker had 12 and Anthony Edwards and Stephen Curry each scored 11 points for the United States.
Pool party
Huske beat world record holder Gretchen Walsh in the women's 100m butterfly, using a strong finish to reach the wall just ahead of her teammate, giving her a first- and second-place finish for the United States.
The favourite started with her usual strategy of going fast and trying to maintain a steady pace, which paid off in the US qualifying, where she smashed the world record in 55.18 seconds last month, and she broke the record into the corners.
But Husky caught up with her in the race that really mattered, crossing the finish line in 55.59 seconds, just an inch ahead of Walsh's 55.63 seconds.
When Husky saw the number “1” next to her name on the scoreboard, she reached over the lane rope to cheer Walsh on and gave her a hug, bursting into tears.
Meanwhile, Marchand lived up to high expectations at his home Olympics, with the crowd waving flags at every turn. He ran just below the world record into the final corner but slowed down slightly towards the finish, clocking an Olympic record of 4 minutes, 2.95 seconds, but almost breaking his own world record of 4:02.50.
Marchand claimed the record at last year's world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, breaking a 15-year-old mark held by Michael Phelps.
And in the 100m breaststroke, Italian swimmer Nicolo Martinenghi also stunned record holder Adam Peaty.
Peaty, who won gold in both Rio and Tokyo, had to take a long break from competition due to mental health issues. When he returned to competition, he trained hard and returned to his best form, reaching the final as a finalist, but ultimately settled for silver, as his quest for a third consecutive gold medal came to an end.
US Football wins
Sophia Smith scored twice as the USA beat Germany 4-1 and put the team in good position to advance to the Olympic group stage.
Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams also scored as the United States beat Zambia 3-0 in their opening game, but their fate in the knockout round will not be known until the final Group B game on Wednesday.
The United States will face Australia in Marseille to conclude their group stage campaign.
Mountain Bike Medal
Batten broke the rules but still went home with the best mountain biking performance in America as she took the silver medal.
Batten was fined by Olympic mountain bike officials for violating rules on the final lap of the race, trying to seize second place when she passed through a food and drink lane or stopped to fix a mechanical problem.
After reviewing the video footage, the judges decided that Batten had done neither and had violated a tournament rule. She was fined 500 Swiss francs, or about $565, for “failure to comply with instructions from the tournament organizer or the jury,” although the judges decided the offense was not serious enough to warrant disqualification.
Batten finished 9th at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Senior tennis players take the win
Rafael Nadal was unsure if he would be able to play in the men's singles on Sunday before the tournament but he showed up at Roland Garros and beat Hungary's Marton Fucsovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round.
The victory sets up a big showdown with rival Novak Djokovic.
This will be the 60th meeting between the tennis legends, more than any other pairing in the sport's open era, which began in 1968. Serbia's 37-year-old Novak Djokovic leads the first series 30-29, and his 24 Grand Slam titles make him the only man in tennis history to surpass Nadal's 22.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray extended his tennis career by at least one more match when he and British partner Dan Evans saved five match points to beat Japanese opponents Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9.
England trailed 9-4 in a deciding tiebreak, which was held instead of the third set in doubles.
Murray, 37, announced before the Summer Olympics that this would be the last time he competed in his career, then withdrew from the singles competition, leaving him with only doubles competition.
Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion and the only tennis player to have won two Olympic singles gold medals, in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016.
