The Sportsletter - Gold Smiles for Biles 🤸

BY JEFF YODER

JULY 31, 2024 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

Three years after Simone Biles dropped out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with mental health concerns, she has another gold medal. Her teammates were spectacular, too. Today, it’s a golden redemption letter for Biles and company.

📸 Best photo of the Olympics so far? Witness Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina floating over the water after the best surfing score in Olympics history.

Letter Rip!

  MEDAL TRACKER   🏅

*Accurate Through Midnight, July 31 / Click Image for Updated Medal Count 

Rest of Top-10: 🇨🇦 Canada (6), 🇧🇷 Brazil (4)

  WOMEN'S OLYMPICS   🏅

Redeem Team: Smiles for Biles & Co.

Photo: Naomi Baker / Getty Images

USA Women’s Gymnastics Squad Dominates Team Final to Reclaim Rightful Place Atop the Podium (Simone Biles Makes History)

It was three years ago when Simone Biles dropped out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with a condition known as “the twisties.” Most Olympic enthusiasts and gymnastics fans knew her road to redemption would be made whole with a gold-medal performance in 2024. Mission complete. Biles and her teammates cemented their place (once again) as the world’s premier gymnastics squad with gold in the Team Final on Tuesday. That moment granted Biles the official title of “most decorated gymnast” in U.S. Olympics history. And she’s not done yet. More medal opportunities await the 27-year-old Biles, and her teammates, but we’ll start with the big one —the Redeem Team effort.

🤸 W-GYM: Biles Secures Gold for 🇺🇸 USA

There was little doubt when Simone took the floor for her final event. Jordan Chiles had just absolutely blasted a perfect floor routine. Hezly Rivera, Suni Lee and Jade Carey helped carry the points to a near-golden guarantee. Biles stepped out of bounds on her second bounce, but a dynamite performance was sure as gold when she stuck her double back-flip to end the routine. Team USA finished more than five points clear of silver and the rest of the field as Biles was greeted, and celebrated, like the GOAT (greatest of all-time) we all know. She now owns eight Olympic medals (five golds), breaking a tie with Shannon Miller for the most in Team USA Gymnastics history.

Podium (Women’s Gymnastics Team Final)

🥇 🇺🇸 USA (Score: 171.296)

🥈 🇮🇹 Italy (Score: 165.494)

🥉 🇧🇷 Brazil (Score: 164.497)

🏉 W-Rugby: 🇺🇸 USA Stun 🇦🇺 Australia for Bronze

Stunner in the women’s rugby sevens medal match! The Team USA women’s rugby bunch shocked Australia (14-12) with a last-second run of legend from Alex Sedrick to secure bronze — the first rugby sevens medal in U.S. history. Sedrick sprinted the length of the field as time expired in a wild finish. GOLD MEDAL: New Zealand beat Canada (19-12) to win gold for the second straight Olympics. Then they did the Haka. Awesome.

🎾 W-Tennis: 🇺🇸 Coco Gauff Ousted After Controversy

Coco Gauff’s first Olympics came to a halt against Croatia’s Donna Vekic in Round 3 on Tuesday (7-6, 6-2). She battled in the first set before coming undone after a controversial call from the line judge. Gauff approached the chair and eventually chatted with the ITF tournament referee — “It always happens to me on this court. I feel like I’ve been cheated on constantly.”

  MEN'S OLYMPICS   🏅

U.S. Soccer Kicks the Curse ⚽️

Photo: Andrea Vilchez / ISI / Getty Images

USA Men’s Soccer Team Advances to Knockout Rounds for 1st Time Since 2000

Another men’s Olympic drought was broken by Team USA. The men’s soccer team shut out Guinea (3-0) yesterday to advance out of Group A with a 2-0-1 record. They lost the opening match against France (3-0) but rebounded with convincing wins over New Zealand and Guinea to advance to the quarterfinals. Here’s how they got it done on Tuesday:

⚽️ M-Soccer: 🇺🇸 USA Blanks 🇬🇳 Guinea (3-0)

Djordje Mihailovic curved in a first-half free kick (14’) before Kevin Paredes notched two goals, one in each half. It’s the first time the U.S. men’s soccer team has gotten out of the group stage since 2000. They’ll meet Morocco this weekend in the quarterfinals.

🏀 M-Basketball: 4-Point Play Saves 🇫🇷 France

Japan had France on the ropes in men’s basketball before Matthew Strazel hit a wild four-point play with 10 seconds left to force overtime. Victor Wembanyama (18 points) took over in OT for the win (94-90, OT).

🏊 M-Swim: 🇬🇧 Great Britain Takes 4x200 Relay

Another long list of swimming events on Tuesday featured the men’s 4x200m relay where the U.S. team took silver behind a gold-medal performance from Great Britain. Australia took bronze.

🏅 Other Olympics Highlights & Stories

• USA’s Katie Ledecky Untouchable in 1500m Prelims
• Spain Duo Alcaraz & Nadal Advance in Men’s Doubles
• Team USA Women’s 3x3 Team Blows Lead to Germany

• Men’s Triathlon Postponed in Paris Over Seine Water Quality

  MLB   

Trade Deadline Tracker 🚨

Photo: Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Images

Deadline Day Trades: Braves Bring Back Jorge Soler While Dodgers & Orioles Make Big Splashes

The 2024 MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone, and what a busy stretch of deals it was. A total of 32 trades were made on Tuesday alone, and somewhere in the ballpark of 100 deals were done in the month of July. They weren’t all blockbusters, but some were close.

Deadline Day Takeaways: Tuesday saw the Braves make a push to bring back some old faces from their 2021 World Series team, including the MVP of that World Series, Jorge Soler. The Dodgers and Orioles also added multiple players that could put each club over the top as they fight for No. 1 seeds in the AL (O’s) and NL (Dodgers). Let's rewind:

MLB Trade Tracker (Deadline Day)

Giants Acquire OF Mark Canha (Tigers)

Padres Acquire LHP Tanner Scott (Marlins)

Guardians Acquire RHP Alex Cobb (Giants)

Royals Acquire SS Paul DeJong (White Sox)

Rangers Acquire LHP Andrew Chafin (Tigers)

Diamondbacks Acquire RHP Dylan Floro (Nationals)

Braves Acquire OF Jorge Soler (Giants)

Biggest Buyers

Dodgers Acquire Jack Flaherty (Tigers) & Kevin Kiermaier (Blue Jays)

Orioles Acquire Eloy Jimenez (White Sox), Austin Slater (Reds) & Livan Soto (Reds)

Biggest Sellers

White Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, Marlins & Rays

Full MLB Trade Deadline Tracker (All Recent Trades)

⚾️ MLB Highlights (Traded Players)

• Tommy Pham Hits Grand Slam in 1st Game Back With Cards
• Jazz Chisholm Hits 2 HRs in 2nd Straight Yankees Game After Trade

  STORYLINES  

🎤 How Taylor Swift Inspired Simone Biles

Simone Biles has arrived back on the Olympic stage with a vengeance and some pretty catchy floor routine music from another female superstar. (Sporting News)

😷 COVID at the 2024 Olympics

Multiple swimmers, including two from the U.S., tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. This time, however, they’re not being sent home. (Yahoo! Sports)

🏀 Not a ‘Dream Team’ Yet

The 2024 men’s Olympics squad may go down in history, but first it needs to figure out its rotation. Despite dusting Serbia, the U.S. is still a work in progress. (The Ringer)

  NEWS   📰 

🏄‍♂️ Magical Photo of Surfer Gabriel Medina Goes Viral at Olympics (NBC)

🎾 Coco Gauff Has Tearful Argument With Chair Umpire in Olympics Loss (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 Panthers RB Rashaad Penny Abruptly Retires From NFL After 6 Seasons (CBS Sports)

🏈 Titans LB Arden Key Facing 6-Game Suspension for PEDs (ESPN)

🏀 Louisville & Kentucky Alums Nearly Brawl After TBT Game (CBS Sports)

⚾️ Rays Get Final Approval for New $1.4 Billion Stadium, Set to Open for 2028 MLB Season (B/R)

🏈 Bears Give WR D.J. Moore 4-Year, $110 Million Extension, Largest in Franchise History (ESPN)

🤺 Egyptian Olympic Fencer Competed in Paris While Seven Months Pregnant (SI)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

Today's Olympic Must-Watch List

🏅 Olympics

👟 Women’s Triathlon (2:00 am / 10:00 am Encore)

🤸 MGYM: Men’s All-Around Final (11:30 am)

⚽️ WSOC: 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇦🇺 Australia (1:00 pm)

🏊 SWIM: M&W 100M Free Finals (2:15 pm)

🏀 MBB: 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇸🇸 South Sudan (2:45 pm)

Other Sports: Archery, Badminton, 3x3 Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Volleyball, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Field Hockey, Gymnastics, Handball, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Tennis, Water Polo

*All Times ET / Coverage on NBC & Peacock

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

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