Rugby gold at stake, Atlanta native Gauff to make debut July 27 – WABE

Once the opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is over, the competitions will begin across France.

There are plenty of gold medals on the line on Saturday. There’s swimming and tennis all day long. And there will be multiple stars in action. Here are the biggest storylines to follow on the first full day of action.

Fiji aiming for third consecutive Olympic gold medal in rugby sevens

Rugby sevens kicked off early ahead of the opening ceremony and back-to-back champions Fiji look set to claim a third consecutive gold medal. They breezed through the pool stages and came back to beat Ireland in the quarter-finals. Fiji will face Australia and South Africa will play France in the semi-finals. The gold medal match will take place on Saturday night.

Gold is also at stake in the men’s street skating: Japan’s Yuto Horigome wants to defend his 2020 medal.

Team USA star Coco Gauff makes Olympic tennis debut

Team USA’s female flag bearer, Atlanta-born Coco Gauff, will make her Olympic debut in tennis doubles. Gauff and teammate Jessica Pegula will face Australians Ellen Perez and Daria Saville on Court 14 at Roland Garros.

Gauff, ranked No. 2 in the world, will compete in three events: singles, doubles and mixed doubles, all of which will start in the coming days.

On Saturday, Japan’s Naomi Osaka will play Germany’s Angelique Kerber, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will face Australia’s Matthew Ebden and Spaniards Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal will play a doubles match against Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the evening session.

Katie Ledecky Leads Team USA Swimming in 400-Meter Freestyle

Katie Ledecky will open her fourth Olympic Games in the 400m freestyle at the Paris La Defense Arena. She will swim in Heat 3 of the qualifying race. If she makes it, Ledecky will go for her eighth Olympic gold medal in the final on Saturday night. The eight fastest times from the heats qualify for the final.

Ledecky, who holds the Olympic record in the 400-meter freestyle, will face current world record holder Ariarne Titmus of Australia. Titmus defeated Ledecky in the event in Tokyo. She will also swim in Heat 3. Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh is also a name to watch.

Wemby, Antetokounmpo Highlight Star-Filled Basketball Careers

NBA star Victor Wembanyama and Team France open their Olympic program against Brazil at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille. The 20-year-old Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert hope to lead France past Team USA for gold. The hosts lost the gold medal match to the US in Tokyo.

Elsewhere, NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece will take on Canada. The Canadian team could also challenge the U.S. for gold. It has a talented roster in NBA champion Jamal Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Argentine football club aims to bounce back after chaotic season opener

Argentina’s football will continue its group stage against Iraq, hoping to restart after a wild opening match. Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 on Wednesday in a match that was delayed for two hours after fans stormed the pitch.

Argentina needs a win to increase its chances of advancing to the knockout stages. Only the top two teams from each group advance. Argentina has not won Olympic gold since 2004 and 2008.