Paris
CNN
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As competition gets well and truly underway in Paris, all eyes will turn shortly to one of the Olympic Games’ signature sports: Gymnastics.
The sport has created some of the most iconic moments in Olympic history and made household names of its stars.
Among the top highlights of the first week, expect a raucous atmosphere at the Bercy Arena. Here’s what to watch:
Simone Biles seeks redemption
The leader of the gymnastics’ edition of the “Redeem Team” – originally used to describe the 2008 edition of Team USA’s men’s basketball team – is out for a little redemption herself.
Biles’ shocking case of “the twisties” in Tokyo three years ago was the standout story from the 2020 Olympic Games, putting a spotlight on mental health issues and reminding the world that even the sport’s greatest athlete can have a catastrophic moment on the world stage.
Biles comes to Paris aiming to wash away the disappointment of that Games, and has been on an absolute tear heading into Paris. She’ll be debuting a new original element, to be named for her, on the uneven bars, looking for an edge in her weakest event.
While her place as one of the greatest gymnasts in history is cemented, the 27-year-old can become the oldest American gymnast to win an Olympic medal in generations and lock in a legacy that will be hard to surpass.
Suni Lee aims to repeat
Biles’ teammate Suni Lee is also looking to do something that’s not been done in decades: Repeat as women’s all-around champion.
When Biles withdrew from competition in Tokyo, Lee stepped up for Team USA and took home the gold with a stunning performance. She returns in Paris looking to match the feat of Czechoslovak gymnast Vera Caslavska in 1964 and 1968.
For the last five Olympics, the all-around champion has been American – an impressive run in one of the Games’ most high-profile events.
Lee, who battled a kidney condition last year that forced her out of competition for a spell, finished in fourth at the US Gymnastics Championships last month, her first time competing in the all-around competition since Tokyo.
While Biles and Lee are competing against each other in Paris, the two will also be teammates in the team competition that gets underway on Tuesday.
Russia absent
The Russian Olympic Committee took home the gold in the women’s all-around final in Tokyo and are usually one of the strongest teams.
But this year no Russian gymnasts will compete as the country has been officially banned from the Paris Games – though a small number of Russians will compete under the banner of the Individual Neutral Athletes. They will not be allowed to wear their country’s colors or have their anthem played, should they win a medal.
The Russian athletes in attendance will be closely watched. Ukrainian authorities have urged their athletes to not shake hands with any Russians and the geopolitics at play will likely affect their interactions with other athletes.
The absence of Russian gymnasts – who decided as a group to not apply for individual neutral places – creates an opening for other nations. The US women’s team will look to capitalize, while Japan’s men’s team will seize an opening without one of their traditional rivals.
Japanese men looking to continue a legendary run
In the men’s competition, Japan seeking to claim a fifth straight gold in the individual all-around competition.
Daiki Hashimoto is also aiming to equal his countryman Kohei Uchimura’s accomplishments in London and Rio de Janeiro by winning his second straight all-around gold medal.
The Japanese are enjoying a stretch of success that echoes their heyday in the middle part of the 20th century when they were constants on the podium.
On the team side, Japan will be looking to head off the challenge of China – those two nations, plus Russia, have typically dominated the podium in the last two decades – and reclaim the team gold they narrowly lost in 2020. Japan had won the gold in Rio.
German rhythmic gymnast aims to dominate
Having swept the 2023 World Championships, Darja Varfolomeev is looking to assert her dominance on the Paris Games in her Olympic debut.
Varfolomeev won five individual titles at last year’s World Championships, but there is only one individual gold up for grabs, the all-around title, in Paris. While the artistic gymnasts take the stage in the first week of the games, Varfolomeev is set to be one of the stars of the second week when the competition begins.
Rhythmic gymnastics begins with qualification on August 8 and the final on August 9.
How to watch
Artistic gymnastics will take place from July 27 to August 5 in the City of Light, while rhythmic gymnastics will start on August 8.
Gymnastics competitions will air in the US on NBC, USA Network and E! and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympics, with men’s qualification starting at 5 a.m. ET on July 27, and women’s qualification starting 3:30 a.m. ET on July 28.
Outside of the US, you can watch via the following media rights holders:
• Brazil: Globo
• Canada: CBC
• China: CCTV
• France: France Télévisions
• Germany: (MRHs) ARD/ZDF
• Japan: Fuji TV/NHK/Nippon TV/TBS/TV Asahi/TV Tokyo
• New Zealand: SKY NZ
• South Africa: SuperSport
• United Kingdom: BBC Sport
• Across rest of Europe: Discovery Eurosport
