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A look at the highlight acts on Day 4 of the 2024 Paris Olympics read more
 "Biles leads US team gymnastics final, Ledecky returns to pool, heat warning issued")
Simone Biles will be in action in the gymnastics team event on Day 4 of the Paris 2024 Olympics. AP
Simone Biles is tipped to win her first Olympic gymnastics gold since 2016 on Tuesday under sweltering conditions with heat warning issued for the French capital on the fourth day of Paris Games.
Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more
Biles to compete despite calf injury
USA’s Biles appears to be back at the peak of her powers as she leads the United States on what has been billed as a redemption mission in the women’s team final.
The 27-year-old, considered the greatest gymnast of all time, won four gold medals at Rio 2016.
She’s battled the disorientating mental block gymnasts call the “twisties” at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Biles pulled out of most of her events, including the team final, and the United States settled for silver behind Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) after winning gold in 2012 and 2016.
Biles, a 23-time world champion, went home with a silver and a bronze, and while she won many plaudits for opening up on her mental health, there were critics who accused her of putting herself before her country.
“It has to be for us,” Biles said of the United States’ bid to recapture their women’s team crown.
“It can’t be for anybody else. We do it for ourselves and the love of the sport and the love for representing the USA.”
The US team topped the rankings in qualifying and Biles wowed an A-list crowd in Paris on Sunday in her first appearance in the French capital, despite tweaking her left calf and competing with her leg taped.
River pollution cancels men’s triathlon
The Seine, which snakes through the French capital, is supposed to stage the swimming leg of the triathlon competition, which was scheduled to begin on Tuesday morning with the men’s individual event.
However, it was called off after the river failed yet another pollution test and the competition was cancelled for a second straight day.
French officials had hoped that holding triathlon and marathon swimming on the river, lined by some of Paris’s most famous landmarks, would create enduring images of the Games.
The waterway was polluted by heavy rain that drenched the opening ceremony on Friday and disrupted the early action on Saturday, leading to discharges of raw sewage.
Heat warning issued
France’s meteorological agency has issued a weather warning for Paris and surrounding areas with storms and highs of 35 degrees Celsius expected on Tuesday.
The agency put in place a “yellow alert” – the second of four levels – for the capital as a heatwave brings searing temperatures to other Olympic venues across France.
An even higher orange alert in place for Bordeaux and Lyon – where temperatures inched close to 40 degrees Celsius on Monday – will remain in effect on Tuesday when these cities stage Olympic football matches.
The yellow alert for Paris was issued in particular because “very hot” conditions were forecast to linger overnight, with the mercury not expected to drop below 22C between Tuesday and Wednesday.
The scorching heat will be keenly felt by Olympians competing in outdoor events during the afternoon in Paris and its surrounding suburbs.
Beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, the BMX freestyle qualifiers at Place de la Concorde, and the women’s rugby sevens semi-finals at the Stade de France are all partly or fully outdoors.
Conditions could be even more sweltering when Spain play Egypt in the football on Tuesday afternoon in Bordeaux.
The weather agency said temperatures could reach 38C in the southwestern city on Tuesday before dropping off.
Similar highs are forecast for Lyon, where Ukraine’s footballers come up against Argentina on Tuesday.
In the central city of Chateauroux, which is hosting Olympic shooting events, temperatures could hit 36C on Tuesday, forecasters said.
Irish history bid
On the fourth day of swimming, defending champion Kaylee McKeown of Australia and US world record-holder Regan Smith go head-to-head for 100m backstroke glory.
It is one of three golds up for grabs at La Defense Arena.
The others are in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay and the men’s 800m freestyle, in which Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen is looking to become the first man from the country to claim an Olympic swimming gold.
The world champion posted the fastest time in the heats on Monday.
The England-born 23-year-old insisted he was not fixated on gold, and with it a place in Irish folklore.
“Any medal’s good, it’s my first race here, and it’s my first time actually being in contention for an Olympic medal, so I’ll take any medal, whatever colour,” he said.
Katie Ledecky will be back in the pool to compete in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle, one of her signature events. Ledecky is the world and Olympic record holder in the event and is a favourite to defend her 2021 title.
Elsewhere…
Gold medals are also up for grabs on Tuesday in fencing, judo, shooting and table tennis.
There is also the final of the women’s rugby sevens, after France clinched the men’s title in thrilling fashion.
In tennis, the “dream team” of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz return to action in the second round of the men’s doubles.
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English (US) ·