Here’s When Team USA’s Big Stars Will First Compete At Paris Olympics

Simone Biles, widely considered the greatest gymnast of all time, will look to add to her tally of seven Olympic medals and a near-decade of dominance in the sport. Biles was unable to compete in the individual events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 due to mental health concerns but came back to help Team USA secure the bronze in the balance beam team competition. Biles will first be in action on Sunday at 5:40 a.m. EDT in the Women’s qualifying event.

Sunisa Lee won three medals at the Tokyo Games, including the individual All-Around gold as she found herself thrust into the spotlight in Biles’ absence. In the past year she has missed out on a few major events including the 2023 World Championships after being diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. Lee secured silver in the individual All-Around and gold in the Uneven Bars events in the U.S. Olympic trials to qualify for Paris and her Olympics competition will also start Sunday in the Women’s qualifying event.

LeBron James, will make his first Olympics appearance since London 2012 and look to add to his current medal count of two Olympic golds and a bronze. The Lakers star and NBA’s all-time leading scorer will joins Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid in Paris. Their first game will be on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. EDT against Serbia, and if they qualify for the finals, the Gold medal game is scheduled to take place on August 10.

Coco Gauff, singles world number 2, will be the U.S. tennis team’s star at the Olympics this year. The tennis events will take place at Roland Garros Stadium, which hosts the French Open. Gauff reached the semi-finals in the Women’s singles tournament of this year’s French Open before losing to world number 1 and eventual winner Iga Świątek, but the 20-year-old won the doubles title with Czech star Kateřina Siniaková. The Women’s tennis events will begin on August 3 at 6 a.m. EDT.

Katie Ledecky, who won her first Olympic gold medal at 15 at the London 2012 Games, will have an opportunity to become the most decorated female swimmer in Olympics history. With her tally of seven golds and three silvers, Ledecky has a chance to overtake Jenny Thompson’s all-time record of 12 Olympic medals and eight golds. Ledecky’s first event—the 400 meter freestyle—is on Saturday, with the qualifying heats scheduled at 5:00 a.m. EDT followed by the finals at 2.55 p.m. EDT.

Caeleb Dressel created history at the Tokyo Games by becoming the first swimmer ever to win gold in the 50-meter Freestyle, the 100 Freestyle and the 100-meter Butterfly events all within the same Olympics. Dressel also won gold medals in the Freestyle and Medley relay events in Tokyo to add to his two relay golds from Rio 2016. Dressel’s first event will be the Men’s Freestyle Relay qualifying heats which start at 5:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday, followed by the finals later in the day at 3:44 p.m. EDT.

Diana Taurasi is seeking a record sixth consecutive basketball gold medal at the Olympics as the 42-year-old WNBA legend will be leading a team of stars—including A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Kahleah Copper. The U.S. Women’s Basketball team will play their first game on Monday at 3 p.m. EDT.

Sha’Carri Richardson missed out on the 100-meter event at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana during the U.S. athletic trials—which she admitted to consuming to help cope with the grief of her mother’s unexpected death. The sprinter, who won gold in the 100 meters at the World Athletics Championships last year, will finally make her Olympic debut in the 100 meter individual and relay events. The Women’s 100 meter prelims will begin on August 2 at 4:35 a.m. EDT and the finals are scheduled to start the following day at 3:20 p.m. EDT.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world record for Women’s 400 Meters Hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials late last month with a time of 50.65 seconds. This was the fifth time the Tokyo 400 meters Gold medalist has broken her own world record since 2021. The first round of the Women’s 400 Meters Hurdles is scheduled to take place on August 4 at 6:35 a.m. EDT and the final is on August 8 at 3:25 p.m. EDT.

Noah Lyles enters the Paris Games as the current 100 meters, 200 meters and 100×4 relay world champion and will look to end the years long drought by U.S. men in Olympic sprinting events. Lyles will first be in action in the 100 meter prelims on August 3 at 4:35 a.m. EDT, the finals of which will be held a day later at 3:50 p.m. EDT.