You NEED To Watch Lee Kiefer Fence & Olympics BMX Racing; Biles vs. Lee For Gold; Men's Golf Begins (Olympics Day 9 Preview)
The second half of Day 9 is here, so let's take a look at the medal table going into the second half of the day:
UPDATED AS OF 11:00AM EST
Right now, going into Day 6 (technically Day 9 due to the Olympics starting before the Opening Ceremony), the United States is -1 off the pace of Tokyo 2020 when it comes to Gold Medals. After five days in 2021, they had 11 Gold Medals, and they have 5 this year, but five out of those 11 Gold Medals at Tokyo 2020 were in events that have not yet been completed at Paris 2024. So, the math checks out to -1 for the Americans. Point being, they're not off to a great start if they want to capture the Gold Medal count once again. They barely beat China at Tokyo 2020, so right now China absolutely has the edge unless the Americans pick the pace up a bit.
UPDATE: The United States picked up a surprise Gold in the Men's Rowing Fours (first time since 1960), and is back on pace right now to the Tokyo 2020 total
All of this to say, Day 6 is a big day with plenty of Gold Medal opportunities for the United States!
YOU NEED TO WATCH LEE KIEFER & USA FENCING
UPDATE: The United States advanced to Gold Medal final vs. Italy at 2:30|1:30c.
I'd imagine you didn't think I'd start with Fencing, but alas, the American Lee Kiefer is absolutely electric…
Above, she advanced to the Gold Medal final, and below you can see that, for the second straight Olympics, she won said Gold Medal:
After taking home Gold in Tokyo, Kiefer waltzed into Paris and did the same exact thing. She is now one of the greatest American fencers of all-time, and one of the best women in the Foil discipline in Olympics history, with the second most individual Gold Medals ever. Before Kiefer, no American woman had ever medaled in Foil, and she has now won a Gold Medal two times.
Well, I wouldn't be telling you all of this in an Olympics preview blog if there wasn't something to watch, and yes indeed Lee Kiefer, along with Silver Medalist Lauren Scruggs, will be back out there in Paris today competing in the Women's Fencing Foil Team competition. The United States will take on China early on the morning at 6:00|5:00c, and then take on the winner of France vs. Canada at 9:00|8:00c if they advance. The Bronze & Gold Medal finals for the event will take place at 1:10e and 2:30e in the afternoon. Hopefully we see plenty of Kiefer & Scruggs tomorrow.
Fencing is one of those sports we are reminded of every four years, and I promise you that it is fucking awesome to watch. It's nearly over, with only a few more days of competition left, so don't miss out on Fencing, trust me.
BMX RACING: THE CRAZIEST OLYMPICS EVENT
BMX Racing is entering its fifth Olympic Games after debuting at Beijing 2008, and it remains easily one of the most exciting sports at the Games. It's fast, chaotic, nerve-wracking, and just downright badass. Anything can happen at every single turn, and then it is over in a flash.
I got to see this event in person when I worked for Team USA at London 2012 (the above video), and they had to alter the course because there were simply too many wrecks.
The United States has seen three podium finishes, with Connor Fields taking Gold, and Mike Day & Alise Willoughby taking home Silver.
Willoughby, known as "The Beast," is racing in her fourth Olympic Games, and, if not for age restrictions, would be racing in her fifth Games!
Willoughby, formerly Alise Post, actually married another medal winner in this sport, Sam Willoughby of Australia (Silver Medalist). They have a pretty incredible story together as a couple of this sport, especially following the tragic story of Sam's training crash in 2016 where he was declared a tetraplegic. Sam, a legend of the sport, is now Alise's coach, and continues to be an inspiration of perseverance with everyone involved in BMX Racing. The pictures of them at their wedding, where Sam was able to stand up alongside Alise, and dance together, will give you chills. An awesome story that hopefully has another chapter on the podium at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
All the BMX Racing begins at 2:00|1:00c in the afternoon.
SIMONE BILES vs. SUNI LEE IN HISTORIC BATTLE
For the first time ever, two Women's Individual All-Around Gold Medalists will go head-to-head in a Women's Individual All-Around Final at the Olympics.
I am not sure there is much else to say.
Suni Lee grabbed Gold at Tokyo 2020, and while Simone Biles did have the issue with the twisties, there's nothing you can take away from her victory. As for Simone Biles, she won it at Rio 2016 in dominant fashion.
Now, the two women will face off as they each look to become just the third woman ever to win two Individual All-Around Gold Medals, and the first to do so since Vera Caslavska of Czechia in 1968.
Either of them winning would also extend the dynasty for the United States which has gone Carly Patterson (Athens 2004), Nastia Liukin (Beijing 2008), Gabby Douglas (London 2012), Simone Biles (Rio 2016), and Suni Lee (Tokyo 2020).
Simone Biles is the clear favorite, followed by Suni Lee, and Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who just lost out to Lee in Tokyo three years ago. The Americans also would have qualified Jordan Chiles (who would've had a shot at Gold) if not for the (stupid) rules that only allow two qualifiers per country. Despite finishing fourth in qualifying, Chiles will be on the sidelines when the Women's All-Around begins at 12:15|11:15c in the afternoon.
USA 3x3 BASKETBALL KIND OF STINKS?
Uh oh.
I noted yesterday that the women should be cut some slack after losing Cameron Brink to injury, but this is shaping up to be a disaster. That's especially the case for the men, who are also 0-2, despite coming in with high expectations. The men were the 2-seed coming into the Tournament, and boast the number-one ranked player in the world in Jimmer Fredette. Because six of the eight teams make the knockout stage, neither team is out of it yet, but they both have to win on Thursday. The women take on Spain at 3:30|2:30c in the afternoon, and the men take on Lithuania (also 0-2) at 1:05|12:05c, and then Latvia (very good) at 5:05|4:05c in the early evening. The men will surely be out of it if they falter on Thursday.
UPDATE: The Women dropped their game, and are now 0-3. Yikes.
FIGURE THIS OUT BEFORE LOS ANGELES 2028!
OTHER NOTABLE EVENTS
- Golf: The United States is looking for back-to-back Gold Medals in Golf as reigning Gold Medalist Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Colin Morikawa, and Wyndham Clark all tee off for the first round. It's a stacked field with names such as Jason Day, Sepp Straka, Joaquin Niemann, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren, and many more. I know this isn't major golf, but it's going to be a great event and has really caught on.
- Basketball: The United States Women are looking to keep things rolling, as they take on Belgium in their second group stage game. They will clinch a spot in the Knockout Stage with a victory.
- Beach Volleyball: Two Beach Volleyball teams for the United States are in action on Thursday with Partain & Benesh on the men's side looking to go to 2-1 as they take on Brazil at 9:00|8:00c in the morning. In the afternoon, Nuss & Kloth on the women's side have a shot to open up the competition at 3-0, when they take on China at 4:00|3:00c.
- Tennis: Tommy Paul has a busy day as he takes on reigning French Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Quarter-Finals of Men's Singles… at Roland-Garros. No small task! He then will pair up with Taylor Fritz to take on the legend Andy Murray and Dan Evans in the Quater-Finals for Men's Doubles. In terms of non-American Tennis, Novak Djokovic takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas around 1:00|12:00c in the afternoon in what should be a great match.
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That's all for now. Go Team USA. See you tomorrow.