PARIS OLYMPICS 2024: What you need to know right now
Adds Leon Marchand, opening ceremony viewings, pistol gold
PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) -Enfin! A yellow disc has appeared in the Paris sky. And with it the biggest star of the Games, gymnast Simone Biles, dazzled in her opening routine.
The rain has moved on and the Olympic venues set among the French capital's most famous landmarks will finally bathe in the warmth and light Paris 2024 organisers had been dreaming of.
Here's what you need to know about the Olympics on Sunday.
BILES BACK WITH A BANG
A radiant Simone Biles made her long-awaited Olympic return in Paris on Sunday, drawing boisterous cheering and clapping from an ecstatic, star-studded crowd in the French capital.
The most decorated gymnast in history is competing in her third Olympics after suffering from the "twisties" at the Tokyo Games, a term used by gymnasts to describe a temporary loss of spatial awareness when doing high-difficulty elements.
MARCHAND MANIA
World record holder Leon Marchand sent home fans into a frenzy as he topped qualifying for the 400 metres individual medley final in the morning heats on Sunday.
Although it was only a heat, the Frenchman's swim nearly lifted the roof of the converted rugby stadium.
OPENING CEREMONY CONTROVERSY
Paris 2024 organisers apologised on Sunday to Catholics and other Christian groups angered by a kitsch tableau in the Olympic Games opening ceremony that parodied Leonardo da Vinci's famous 'The Last Supper' painting.
The segment, which recreated the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion, featured drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus, and drew dismay from the Catholic Church.
The opening ceremony attracted 28.6 million U.S. viewers, according to preliminary data from Comcast's NBCUniversal, which the company said was themost-watched start to a summer Games since London in 2012.
CONVICTED RAPIST VOLLEYBALL PLAYER BOOED
There were boos among the crowd as Netherlands beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, a convicted rapist, made his Paris 2024 debut.
Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in Britain in 2016 following the rape of a 12-year-old girl two years earlier when he was 19.
IN-SEINE?
France's 1.4 billion euro ($1.52 billion) gamble to hold the triathlon swimming in the river Seine hangs in the balance, after organisers were forced to cancel a training session on Sunday due to excessive pollution levels.
SHOOTING GOLD
Xie Yu of China struck gold in a dream Olympic debut , displaying the poise of a veteran in the men's 10 metre air pistol event on Sunday.
ALLEZ LES BLEUS!
France crushed hot favourites Fiji 28-7 to win gold in the men's rugby sevens in front of a delirious home crowd.
Double-defending champions Fiji had won all 17 of their previous matches in the Olympics but had no answer to the high-impact appearance of Antoine Dupont in the second half.
SURF'S UP
Teahupo'o served up some brutal barrels as the Olympic surfing got underway in Tahiti with the U.S. team setting the standard. Vahine Fierro, surfing in her first Olympic heat at her home break, was another standout.
($1 = 0.9211 euros)
Reuters Olympics coverage home https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/
Explainer: Olympics schedule, map, medals table, sports guides https://www.reuters.com/graphics/OLYMPICS-2024/EXPLAINER/byprqrwmqve/
Compiled by Richard Lough, Rachel Armstrong, Ingrid Melander; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ed Osmond
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