The U.S. has already won a handful of medals three days into Paris Olympics

Transcript

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

It has been another topsy-turvy day at the Summer Olympics in Paris. The U.S. won a medal in men's team gymnastics for the first time since 2008, while Team USA swimmers struggled a bit at the pool. And the U.S. women's basketball team kick off the quest for its eighth gold medal. Let's go to Paris now to get an update on all things Olympics from NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan. Hey, Becky.

BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.

CHANG: Hi. OK. Let's start with the U.S. men's gymnastics team. It's been 16 years...

SULLIVAN: Yeah.

CHANG: ...And finally a medal in the team final. How did it...

SULLIVAN: So great.

CHANG: ...All happen today?

SULLIVAN: It was amazing. This - it actually kind of started a little scary because they had really just kind of a dreadful qualifying round on Saturday in which the team experienced multiple falls during routines, including some really painful ones by returning Olympian and team captain Brody Malone. And these guys have really been hoping for a medal. But after Saturday, it sort of suddenly looks like it might be in doubt.

But tonight they came in with a completely different energy. There were wild cheers from the crowd, ecstatic high-fives and hugs from the guys as Malone hit those routines that he had failed on back on Saturday. And by the time the final event, the pommel horse, came around, it was clear that if they landed these routines that they would win the bronze medal, And the reaction when the last one to go, Stephen Nedoroscik, when his feet hit the floor in a perfect dismount, the rest of the guys just erupted in this, like, jubilant, ecstatic joy. It was wonderful.

CHANG: Oh, my God. I love it. OK. Meanwhile, the women's gymnastics team final is tomorrow night. Give us a preview - Simone Biles, anyone?

SULLIVAN: Oh, yeah. So the U.S. women are much more dominant than the men. They are expected to win gold. Simone Biles, she actually seemed to tweak her calf a little bit yesterday...

CHANG: Yeah.

SULLIVAN: ...At the qualifying rounds, but still, she completed all of her routines without any major errors. She easily finished in first place. And the team says that she is good to go for tomorrow. The U.S.' biggest competition in this one comes from China, Italy and Brazil. But still, the U.S. is the heavy favorite. They should probably win gold. And then after that, later this week, the individual all-around events will follow. And so you'll see some more of Simone Biles in that, along with the defending gold medalist, Sunisa Lee.

CHANG: All right. Let's go to the swimming pool now because that is where most of America's medals have come from so far. How did U.S. swimmers fare today?

SULLIVAN: Yeah. So, you know, even as you say, as most of the medals so far have come from that, there's actually been a trend of the U.S. sort of slipping out of dominance in swimming. And so only two golds have been won by the swimming team so far. And today was sort of another tough one for the U.S. swimmers. They did win a silver and three bronzes, which sounds like a good haul. But they did have some top swimmers who had a shot at gold but fell short, and that included the American Lilly King, who has the world record in the 100-meter breaststroke yet couldn't make the podium tonight. And really, the big performance to note from today was the crowning of Summer McIntosh, a 17-year-old who swims for Canada. She's going to be a big name in the years to come, and tonight was her first-ever gold medal.

CHANG: OK. And real quick, U.S. women's basketball team took on Japan today...

SULLIVAN: That's right.

CHANG: ...In its Olympic opener. They're going for an eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal. And there's some history between these two teams, right?

SULLIVAN: Yeah, those two played each other in the Tokyo Olympics in the final. The U.S. won then to claim gold. The U.S. is looking good for another gold medal this week. And so...

CHANG: All right.

SULLIVAN: ...They haven't lost since 1992 in the Olympics, I should say, a truly remarkable record.

CHANG: That is NPR's Becky Sullivan. Thank you, Becky.

SULLIVAN: You're so welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.