OLYMPICS

4 to Watch: Olympic Skateboarding Debuts, Simone Biles and VA Native Huske Compete

When and where to watch the most anticipated live events

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The excitement of the Tokyo Olympics is well underway: Chinese sport shooter Yang Qian won the first gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle final and the United States women’s soccer team returned to its usual winning ways Saturday, notching a 6-1 victory against New Zealand in the Americans’ second group stage match.

D.C. area athletes to watch on day two include Kevin Durant on Team USA basketball (watch the game live at 8 a.m. ET here) and swimmer Torri Huske in the butterfly semifinals (watch live in NBC’s primetime coverage, or stream live here).

Team USA takes on France in men’s basketball on Sunday morning

United States' Bam Adebayo, from left, Keldon Johnson, and Jayson Tatum, walk on the court
AP Photo/David Goldman
United States' Bam Adebayo, from left, Keldon Johnson, and Jayson Tatum, walk on the court during a men's basketball practice at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in Saitama, Japan, Thursday, July 22, 2021.

All eyes are on Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard as they lead Team USA into the men’s basketball competition at the Tokyo Olympics beginning Sunday morning.

Team USA has dominated the competition in its Olympic history, winning 15 gold medals since 1936. However, Gregg Popovich’s team experienced a shaky start in their exhibition matches, falling to Nigeria and Australia. The team bounced back with exhibition wins over Argentina and Spain and enters Olympic competition with some momentum.

Team USA’s basketball team is stacked with talent from the NBA. ESPN basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla breaks down the biggest question marks heading into the Tokyo Olympics.

The team of NBA stars will begin Group A play against France, which features a couple of notable NBA players as well. Three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum of the Los Angeles Clippers and Evan Fournier of the Boston Celtics will try to bring France its first Olympic men’s basketball medal since 2000. Watch the game live at 8 a.m. ET here.

Update: The U.S. lost in stunning fashion to France in its opening game in Tokyo, falling 83-76 for the team's first loss in the Olympics since 2004.

Swimming awards its first medals with Virginia native Torri Huske competing

This evening beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET, the first medals will be awarded in swimming with finals in four events: men’s 400m individual medley (IM), men’s 400m freestyle, women’s 400m IM and women’s 4x100m relay.

The men’s 400m IM final will feature a pair of Americans in Chase Kalisz and Jay Litherland. Two Americans, Kieran Smith and Jake Mitchell also reached the men’s 400m freestyle final. 

Emma Weyant dominated the women’s 400m IM heats and is in line to take home gold in the event.

High school senior Torri Huske set a new American record for the women's 100-meter butterfly Sunday. She'll compete for a spot on the Olympic team Monday night, News4's Aimee Cho reports.

Simone Manuel could be added to the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay despite not qualifying in the 100m individual race or competing in the heat. The Australians are favored to defend their title in the relay, but the Americans will contend for a medal.

Americans Torri Huske and Claire Curzan will also be competing in the women’s 100m butterfly semifinals. Watch live in NBC’s primetime coverage, or stream live here.

Update: Americans had some major wins in swimming, including a gold medal in the Men’s 400m IM for Chase Kalisz, of Maryland. 

Nyjah Huston looks to make history in skateboarding

Skateboarding makes its Olympic debut at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight, with American star Nyjah Huston looking to win gold in the men's street event.

Huston is a four-time world champion with golds at the World Skateboarding Championships in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019. He also has 18 X Games medals with 16 coming in the street event. He is the highest-paid skateboarder in the world and will now look to shine in the inaugural Olympic skateboarding competition.

Huston is the favorite in the event, with Americans Jake Ilardi and Jagger Eaton also competing for the men.

Mariah Duran, Alexis Sablone and Alana Smith will represent the U.S. in the women’s street event. Watch the street heats live here and the finals beginning at 11:25 p.m. ET right here. The finals will also be shown on NBC at midnight ET Sunday.

Update: Two of the eight spots in the first-ever Men's Skateboarding Street Olympic event belong to Team USA. Huston recovered his form in the final two tricks after a stumbling start in his heat.

Simone Biles’ quest for more gold begins early Sunday morning

Simone Biles does a stance
AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Simone Biles, of the United State, trains on the floor exercise during an artistic gymnastics practice session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

At 2:10 a.m. ET on Sunday, Simone Biles and the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastic team will compete in the qualifying round as they begin their quest for a third straight team gold. Although Team USA’s place in the finals is all but secured, the qualification will also determine which athletes make the finals of the individual events. 

Since only two athletes from each country can move on to the finals, some of the Americans will be on the outside looking in no matter how well they perform. Biles is a lock for the vault, where she is expected to debut the Yurchenko double pike, but both Jade Carey and MyKayla Skinner are talented vaulters hoping to be the one to join Biles in the final.

Watch the Subdivision 3 qualifications live here. Team USA’s qualification will also be shown on NBC on Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET.

Update: It wasn't perfect, but the GOAT got it done. Biles is set to compete in all six finals — team, individual all-around, floor exercise, beam, uneven bars and vault — at the Tokyo Olympics despite an uncharacteristically shaky performance from most of the United States women's team during qualifications. 

Simone Biles became the first female athlete to ever receive her own goat emoji on Twitter.

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