PARIS: The stars from the USA shone brightly on the first sunny day of the Paris Olympics.
Simone Biles and LeBron James stunned, as did the US women's soccer team. Tori Huske grabbed the spotlight while Haley Batten made a name for herself by earning a silver medal in mountain bike racing for the best finish ever by an American rider.
Although French swimmer Leon Marchand received the loudest applause after winning the gold medal in the men's 400-meter individual medley, the second day of the Games on Sunday was strong in the United States.
Simone is beaming
Biles returned to the Olympics three years after withdrawing from several finals at the Tokyo Games to protect her safety, sparking an international debate about mental health, thanks to her calf discomfort to lead the US women's gymnastics team to the finals . .
Biles, Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles went 1-2-3 in the all-around during early qualifying, although Chiles will miss the all-around final because of rules that limit countries to two athletes in one event.
There is a chance that Chiles will advance to the floor exercise final if she finishes in the top eight. Lee is virtually a lock for the beam and uneven bars finals, while 2020 free exercise champion Jade Carey could join Biles in the vault finals.
But all eyes were on Biles, who briefly scared the nation when she walked out of practice and received medical attention. She tweaked her calf during warmups, but U.S. coach Cecile Lundy said it was a minor injury.
She performed in front of a star-studded audience, including Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, Snoop Dogg, Anna Wintour and Lady Gaga, who wrote to Biles on social media: “She nailed it, what an honor to be so close!”
LeBron James leads the USA team
Two of the most accomplished Olympians on the USA men's basketball team, James and Kevin Durant, began the team's bid for a fifth consecutive gold medal with a near flawless performance.
Durant made his first eight shots and scored 23 points, James added 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the USA defeated Serbia 110-84 in an Olympic matchup between the two teams.
James and Durant combined to shoot 18-for-22 from the field — 8-of-9 for Durant, 9-of-13 for James — and the U.S. had no trouble against the reigning World Cup silver medalists.
Jrue Holiday scored 15, Devin Booker had 12, and Anthony Edwards and Stephen Curry each added 11 for the USA
Pool party
Huske beat world record holder Gretchen Walsh in the women's 100 butterfly, using a strong finish to put her hands on the wall, ahead of her teammate in a 1-2 finish for the U.S.
The favorite came out with her usual strategy: start quickly and try to hold on. It worked at the U.S. trials, where she set her world record of 55.18 last month, and she was under the record at the turn.
But Haske chased her down in the race that really mattered. The winner touched in 55.59 — about a finger ahead of Walsh's time of 55.63.
When Haske saw the “1” next to her name on the scoreboard, she reached over the rope to give Walsh and hug him, crying.
Marchand, meanwhile, lived up to huge expectations at his home Olympics as a flag-waving crowd cheered his every stroke. He was just shy of the world record on the final turn, but faded a bit on the way home, touching in 4min 2.95sec – an Olympic record but just short of his world mark of 4:02.50.
Marchand claimed the mark at last year's world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, breaking Michael Phelps' 15-year-old record.
And, upset, Italian swimmer Nicola Martinenghi shocked record holder Adam Peaty in the distance of 100 breaststroke.
Peaty, a gold medalist in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, took an extended leave of absence to deal with mental health issues. On his return, he returned to speed and entered the final as the top qualifier, but settled for silver as his quest for a third straight gold came to an end.
American football wins
Sophia Smith scored a pair of goals to lead Team USA past Germany 4-1 and put the team in good position to advance out of their group at the Olympics.
Mallory Swenson and Lynn Williams also scored for the Americans, who beat Zambia 3-0 in their opener but won't know their knockout-round fate until Wednesday's final Group B matches.
The Americans play Australia in Marseille to close out group play.
Mountain biker medals
Batten broke the rule, but still came home with the best finish in American mountain bike history when she won silver.
Batten was fined by the Olympic mountain bike judges for breaking the rules on the last lap of the race. She was battling for second place as she passed through the lane designated for food and drink or a stop due to mechanical problems.
After watching the footage, the judges decided that Batten did neither and violated one of the rules of the race. She was fined 500 Swiss francs, or about $565, for “failing to comply with the instructions of the race organization or the stewards,” although the judges apparently decided the infraction was not serious enough to warrant a disqualification.
Three years ago, Batten finished ninth at the Tokyo Games.
Tennis veterans win
Rafael Nadal wasn't sure if he could even play in the men's singles a day before his match, but he showed up at Roland Garros to beat Hungary's Marton Fucovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round.
The win set up a blockbuster meeting against rival Novak Djokovic.
It will be the 60th meeting between the pair of greats, more than any other two men who have played against each other in the sport's Open Era, which began in 1968. Djokovic, the 37-year-old Serb, leads the standings 30-29, and his 24 Grand Slam titles make him the only person in tennis history to have more than Nadal's 22.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray's tennis career was extended by at least one more match when he and British partner Dan Evans saved five match points in their first-round doubles. Murray and Evans beat Japan's Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9.
The Brits trailed 9-4 in the deciding tiebreaker, which is played instead of the third set in doubles.
Murray, 37, announced before the Summer Games that it would be the final event of his career, then withdrew from the singles, leaving him with just the doubles.
Murray is a three-time Grand Slam champion and the only tennis player with two Olympic gold medals in singles, in London in 2012 and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
