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The Paris Olympics is poised to deliver sporting excellence in abundance; blink and you will miss something extraordinary on the biggest stage in sport.
While records will tumble and pages in sport’s history books will be frantically rewritten across two action-packed weeks, those individuals who rise to seize the spotlight, forging memories for generations, will mostly do so by pairing their athletic prowess with a human story. This is why there is such a feverish anticipation for Simone Biles and her Olympic return.
Widely recognised as the greatest gymnast of all time, having amassed 37 medals across Olympic Games and world championships, Biles is ready to dominate again.
Yet this journey to Paris, including a 732-day layoff, has made the 27-year-old an inspiration beyond the arena.
The intrigue surrounding Biles’s return on Sunday at the Bercy Arena for the team event qualification has much to do with the ghosts of Tokyo. She succumbed to “the twisties”, the condition which leaves gymnasts suffering from a mental block and a dangerous loss of spatial awareness while performing.
“A big old spill,” as Biles recently described it, occurred three years ago, with the American unable to contain her trauma any more. Biles had become a leader in the years prior, forcing USA Gymnastics to change in 2018 after speaking out as a survivor of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar, the former USA team doctor. Her voice would lead to the closure of Karolyi Ranch, the training centre where many gymnasts were abused, while Mary Bono would later resign as USA Gymnastics president.
Diagnosed with depression and anxiety, Biles has become more relatable and maintains “nothing can break me” ahead of the Paris Games.
After ending her hiatus last June, Biles’s transition has been smooth. She landed a Yurchenko double pike at the world championships last year, a daunting move yet to even be attempted by another woman in competition. Her dominance was underlined further in the all-around event at the US Olympic trials, surging clear of her competition by an astonishing 5.5 points. It leaves Biles ready to capture a second all-around Olympic title and the first gymnast to win the event multiple times in non-consecutive Games. The competition will be compelling, but Biles against herself will be one of the defining images of Paris 2024.
The sheer variety of the Games will put other stars in contention to be the face of the fortnight. Indeed, France hopes one of their own can emerge, with no shortage of options. First out the gate is Antoine Dupont in the rugby sevens, handing him a valuable opportunity to set the tone in Saturday’s men’s final. Before the extravagant opening ceremony plots its way down the Seine, Dupont has already dazzled for Les Bleus with a ruthless try against Uruguay. More formidable challenges await, including the reigning champions Fiji, but a nation so often captivated by rugby could see Dupont make an indelible mark on the Games.
Leon Marchand, too, brings an electric vibe to the eclectic mix of venues around the capital, including La Defense Arena. Already a five-time world champion, “the new monster” is following in the giant footsteps of Michael Phelps, whose former coach is guiding the Arizona State University student. Marchand even swiped Phelps’s 15-year-old 400m individual medley world record last year and will set out to win four individual golds. The 22-year-old’s ultimate goal, however, is an unprecedented double in the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke, a daring feat given the events clash on the same day.
Teddy Riner is another hugely popular French star carrying huge expectations. The 6ft 8in judoka, nicknamed “Teddy Bear”, went nearly a decade undefeated before his shock loss in the semi-finals at the Tokyo Games three years ago. He complained of being “robbed” by judges and is desperate to make amends in Paris with gold.
France has high aspirations in basketball, too, placing their hopes in Victor Wembanyama, up against a juggernaut in Team USA, led by the legendary LeBron James. “The Alien”, still just 20 years old and 7ft 4in tall, could emerge as a genuine superstar if he can guide the hosts past the outright favourites.
In the pool, all eyes will be on the women’s 400m freestyle final when two giants of the sport – American great Katie Ledecky and the reigning Olympic champion, Australia’s Ariarne Titmus – face off, with a third contender in the mix in the form of the prodigiously talented 17-year-old Summer McIntosh from Canada.
There will be tennis nostalgia in Paris – fittingly, in the home of one of the sport’s four grand slams – with Andy Murray ending his career alongside Dan Evans, while Spanish pair Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz provide a captivating doubles prospect. But the latter’s dominant victory over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon earlier this month piles on the pressure for the 37-year-old to add the only major prize missing from a glittering career in what is likely to be his final chance.
The athletics will always produce fireworks given its place in the second week of the schedule, for the final time ahead of an intriguing switch for Los Angeles 2028. Potential world records could linger in the minds, though Usain Bolt can probably rest easy for now.
Kishane Thompson is the new star of Jamaican men’s sprinting, though he is no Bolt yet. He goes up against Noah Lyles who looks to capture a famous double across the men’s 100m and 200m though, while the eccentric Sha’Carri Richardson, absent from Tokyo due to a failed doping test for cannabis, appears ready to clinch redemption in the women’s 100m. The esteemed Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, entering her fifth and final Olympics, alongside Jamaica teammate Shericka Jackson, makes for an exciting women’s 100m final, even if Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 10.49 remains elusive.
The field events bring their selection of star power too. Watch out for India’s javelin champion Neeraj Chopra, who has nine million Instagram followers, and a battle with Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, while Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis resumes his mesmerising attack on the pole vault, bidding to break the world record for a ninth time.
But if sporting greatness depends on a dance partner, look no further than the men’s 1,500m and the simmering rivalry between Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr, who defeated the Olympic champion at last year’s world championships. Focus too much on each other though, and a dark horse may prevail, such is the strategic nature of the event and heightened quality in recent years. Paris is ready to deliver a festival of sport.
