By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS (AP) — Simone Biles wraps up competition with two events as gymnastics comes to a close, surfing hands out its medals, track features the women’s 800 meters and the U.S. women chase a second straight gold medal in 3×3 on Monday at the 2024 Olympics.
After dominating the first week of the Olympics by winning three gold medals in front of star-studded crowds, Biles will aim to add more hardware when she competes in the balance beam and floor exercise Monday.
On the track, there are three finals highlighted by the women’s 800 meters. takes center stage.
Surfing is set to wrap up after multiple delays because of unfavorable conditions when the semifinals and medal rounds are held in Tahiti.
The defending champion U.S. women’s 3×3 team will try for a sixth straight victory when it faces Spain in the semifinals before Monday’s night’s finals.
See the full schedule of events and read more on what to watch below.
Biles in floor exercise and balance beam
Biles has 10 Olympics medals after leading the U.S. team to gold in the women’s final and taking the all-around and vault titles. A top-3 finish in the floor exercise and balance beam would move her past Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska (11) for second-most medals by a female gymnast in Olympic history behind Larisa Latynina, who had 18 in the 1950s and 60s for the Soviet Union.
Her toughest competition in the balance beam will be teammate Sunisa Lee after the two have taken turns with the highest beam routine scores in competitions this year. Biles won bronze in the event in both Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
The event starts at 12:38 p.m. CEST/6:38 a.m. EDT.
Biles will wrap up competition in these games when she’s challenged by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and U.S. teammate Jordan Chiles in the floor exercise. Biles won it in 2016 but pulled out of the event in Tokyo.
Andrade, who finished runner-up to Biles in the all-around final on Thursday, also took silver in the women’s vault and bronze in the team competition. She has five career Olympic medals after winning gold in the vault and silver in the all-around competition in Tokyo.
Chiles will compete in the event with a fan-favorite routine set to Beyonce tunes after she finished third in qualifying behind Biles and Andrade.
The event starts at 2:23 p.m. CEST/8:23 a.m. EDT.
Surfing set for medal rounds
The surfing events were postponed on the weekend and pushed to Monday because of lack of wave conditions.
While Teahupo’o is famed for its large, heavy barrel waves, conditions during the Olympic competition have varied from iconically huge to disappointing, causing delays earlier in the competition window.
Brazil and France both have a male and female surfer among the eight competitors remaining. For Brazil Gabriel Medina and Tatiana Webb-Weston will compete and France’s Kaali Vaast and Johanne Defay are also in the semifinals.
Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy faces Webb-Weston in the semifinals as she chases her country’s first medal since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
The event starts at 7:00 p.m. CEST/1 p.m. EDT.
Hodgkinson favorite in 800
Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, the Tokyo silver medalist, is the favorite to win the 800 final.
Hodgkinson, who has the fastest time in the event this year, faces her toughest competition from world champion Mary Moraa of Kenya.
The event starts at 9:47 p.m. CEST/3:47 p.m. EDT.
Armand Duplantis is a hot favorite to win the men’s pole vault.
U.S. women aim to repeat in 3×3
The U.S. women’s team is aiming to extend its winning streak to six games and get a spot in the gold medal game with a win over Spain in the semifinals. The team consists of WNBA players Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard, former WNBA player Cierra Burdick and college star Hailey Van Lith.
The U.S. took gold in Tokyo but struggled at the start the tournament in Paris, dropping its first three games before putting together the win streak.
Germany and Canada are in the other semifinal on the women’s side and Latvia is the favorite on the men’s side after winning gold in Tokyo.
The event starts at 5:30 p.m., CEST/11:30 a.m. EDT.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
