Day 6 of the Olympics brought continued brilliance in women’s gymnastics and women’s swimming, a dominant women’s team given a scare, a banner day for rowing and more.
Let’s jump into the action.
Women’s gymnastics
Simone Biles won gold in the women’s all-around final Thursday, further cementing her status as one of the greatest Olympians of all time. It was her ninth gold, the most ever by an American gymnast.
Her dominance caught the eye of basketball star Kevin Durant, who was in the crowd.
Biles was trailing after an uneven performance on the uneven bars, but she rebounded with stellar showings on the balance beam and in the floor exercise.
“Three years ago, I never thought I’d step foot on a gymnastics floor again just because of everything that had happened,” Biles said after her win, referring to a battle with the “twisties” in Tokyo. “Tonight, it means the world to me.”
Meanwhile, Suni Lee also took home a medal, winning bronze in the all-around.
“I went out there and I just told myself not to put any pressure on myself because I didn’t want to think about the past Olympics or even trying to prove to anybody anything, because I wanted to just prove to myself that I could do it, because I didn’t think that I could,” Lee said.
Women’s swimming
Katie Ledecky won her 13th medal Thursday, earning a silver in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, making her the winningest American Olympian ever.
Ledecky will race again Friday for a chance at her ninth gold medal, which would tie her with Soviet Union gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most golds won by a woman.
Ledecky, 27, has shown no signs of slowing down in Paris, and as of now she expects to compete in Los Angeles in 2028, which means her record-breaking could just be getting started.
Men’s rowing
The U.S. men’s rowing team won gold in the four rowing event, the Americans’ first Olympic gold in the race since 1960.
It was a tight contest, with the U.S. holding off silver medalist New Zealand by less than a second despite leading at every 500-meter interval. At the last Olympics in Tokyo, the U.S. men failed to medal in any event for the first time in its history, so Thursday was also about redemption.
“There have been a lot of emotions that’ve gone through my head already. A few tears almost came out,” Michael Grady said. “I can say I held them back — not toxic masculinity or anything — but it’s really an emotional moment to be able to represent the USA on the highest stage and walk away in the most successful position.”
If your only exposure to rowing so far in life has been that one scene in “The Social Network,” you can expand your knowledge by watching Friday and Saturday, when more medals are up for grabs.
Women’s basketball
Belgium gave the U.S. all it could handle on the hardwood Thursday.
The U.S. pulled out an 87-74 victory, but it was not easy.
Belgium’s Emma Meesseman looked like a prime Zach Randolph, giving the U.S. frontcourt all it could handle. Meesseman scored 24 points in 38 minutes, doing all she could to help pull off one of the greatest upsets at the Games.
But the U.S. is just too talented. With the perimeter players struggling a bit, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson stepped up, combining for 49 points and 20 rebounds. They were the only two Americans to score in double digits, and they were needed against Belgium’s bruising attack.
One area to keep an eye on for the U.S. moving forward: turnovers, 16 of which it had Thursday. Talent can usually overcome it, but the U.S. is playing with fire every time it gives the ball away.
Men’s tennis
And so the curtain has come down on Andy Murray’s glittering tennis career.
Three Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and 41 weeks as the world No. 1 — all in the greatest era in the history of men’s tennis, along with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Murray, 37, signs off as one of Great Britain’s greatest ever sportspeople, with his career drawing to a close this evening after a straight-set loss alongside partner Dan Evans to the American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. The result puts Fritz and Paul in the semifinals of the men’s doubles and guarantees they will play for a medal.
After a heartbreaking loss to Federer in the Wimbledon final in 2012, Murray went on to take Olympic gold on the same courts weeks later, capturing the hearts and minds of the British public and a global audience, truly establishing himself as a global icon.
He went on to claim his maiden Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open later that summer, going on to finally win his home slam at Wimbledon twice, in 2013 and 2016, before becoming the first player ever, male or female, to win back-to-back Olympic singles tennis golds at the 2016 Rio Games.
“I’m proud of my career,” Murray said after the match Thursday night. “I worked really, really hard to achieve the results I did at a really difficult time to win the major titles. I’m proud. I gave it a good go. How my body has finished up shows I’ve put it through a lot. So I’m looking forward to a rest now.”
Murray is the second of the “big four” to bow out after Federer’s emotional retirement at the Laver Cup in 2022.
Signing off his career with his typical dry British wit, Murray had this to say: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”
What’s next
France and Germany square off in basketball, and that should be a fun game, not only because of the NBA talent on the floor, but also because of the raucous home fans who appropriately lose their minds whenever Victor Wembanyama does something cool.
Medals will be handed out in some of the true Olympic-fiend events, including sailing, archery, diving and equestrian.
There is also plenty of 3×3 basketball, as well as the table tennis semifinals, on Friday.
Last, men’s hammer throw is Friday, and though people will not literally be throwing hammers, it’s the kind of event that screams Olympics.
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