Sports Report Olympics Edition: Simone Biles holds PUO despite tripping

Welcome to today’s Olympic newsletter. I am your guest John Cherwa because we realized that Simon Biles is a person.

We can’t sugar coat it. Simone Biles had a bad day on Monday. She jumped on the balance beam and finished fifth and only got silver on the floor exercise. If you are a Goat, silver or bronze is like a participation award. However, he handled it with grace, full of smiles.

Suni Lee was fourth in the field.

On the floor exercise, an event Biles always wins, she stepped off the line twice and left, leaving the floor open for Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. Jordan Chiles of the US took bronze. Biles and Chiles bowed and saluted Andrade as she accepted the gold medals, which continued for their athletic excellence to close the gymnastics competition. Our Thuc Nhi Nguyen recounts it all here.

More highs and lows from Monday:

-In the women’s 3 X 3 match, the US won the bronze medal after defeating Canada 16-13. The US missed the gold medal game when they lost to Spain, 18-16 in overtime in the semifinals. Our Kevin Baxter looks at how the crowds are turning out for the Games, right here.

—The highlight of the field was Noah Lyles in his 200-meter heat. Valarie Allman won back-to-back golds in the women’s discus.

– The US beach soccer team went from four to two after 16 games. Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes continued on Sunday night and Miles Evans and Andy Benesh won on Monday, advancing to the Elite 8. The United States men’s team of Chase Budinger and Miles Evans was defeated by the defending Olympic champions from Norway, while Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss lose to Canada.

-Competing in the first mixed team trap event, the US lost silver to Italy 44-43. It was the fifth shooting medal for the US at the Games.

– In a sport where the distance was more recognized than the athletes, the US took silver in the mixed triathlon category behind Germany. Officials decided that the level of bacteria in the Seine River was at an acceptable level so the swimming part of the game could take place.

-In the closest match, the United States men’s volleyball team defeated Brazil 3-1 in the final. It will play Poland on Wednesday in the semis.

– The US men’s water polo team closed out pool play with a 14-11 win over Croatia, a key victory that will allow it to avoid favorite Spain to reach the potential gold medal game . Plays Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Miscall for years

It’s a day or so later and there’s still talk of what might be the biggest blunder at a major sporting event in a long time. NBC’s Leigh Diffey claimed the men’s 100m was Jamaican Kishane Thompson over American Noah Lyles.

Diffey has two things wrong. First, he missed a race in which he should never have tried to call a winner. The limit was .005 seconds. If he thinks he can rightly call the winner of a close race, he has a sense of his own power that far exceeds any human truth.

Second, he never apologized or used the word “sorry” or admitted his wrongdoing spiritually. In fact, he didn’t seem upset.

“My eyes and instincts told me Kishane Thompson,” Diffey wrote on X. “Obviously it wasn’t. I shouldn’t have had the courage to call it, but I was think you won. I was wrong.”

He appeared to be relaxed when he spoke to the Associated Press.

“It’s all professional when it’s over, right?” he said. “I trusted my eyes and my wits and I was wrong by .005 seconds.”

This is a stark contrast to 1988 when Charlie Jones rallied his Kenyans and called the wrong winner of the men’s 800.

“We made this call,” Jones said on the air after the game. “Sir, we were wrong.”

“Paul Ereng has gold … like we just wrote our names in the record book,” Jones continued.

I’m sure you can’t teach a class.

Which games do you want to remove?

We have no power, but we can pretend. So, let’s throw in a few Olympic games. Here are the options. You can vote for two.

3 X 3 basketball: Do you want to enlarge to 2 X 2 or 4 X 4 or 6 X 6? Where does it end?

Artistic swimming: It was used for swimming but needed renaming. He reached the top with Esther Williams.

Basketball: Less inequality, especially for women.

Boxing: Growing less important by the day. Bad rating system. Gateway match to the UFC.

Golf: Elites and athletes are judged by how many medals they win, not Olympic medals.

Modern pentathlon: About as outdated as they come. What child does not have a daily routine of fencing, swimming, horseback riding, shooting and running?

Rhythmic gymnastics: Ball, ribbon and hoop. Need we say more?

Tennis: See golf.

Trampolines: Additional deductions if you land in a neighbor’s back yard.

One more thing: The act of explaining.

(Note to readers: Comments for entertainment purposes only. No, Leigh Diffey did not qualify for this category.)

You can vote here.

What to watch today

The volume starts to decrease at the beginning of the week. There are 19 sports competitions. Here are the most interesting ones.

-Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who was at the center of the gender debate which he did nothing wrong, is back in the ring against the Thai boxer who has promised himself at least a bronze medal. NBC, at least from what I’ve seen, has mostly shied away from this story by only occasionally talking about it. The game is scheduled to begin at approximately 4:34 am PDT.

—The track and field highlight will be the women’s 200 meters with Gabby Thomas of the US winning bronze in Tokyo. In this race is Julien Alfred from St. Lucia, who won the women’s 100. Other finals are the women’s hammer throw, the men’s long jump, the men’s 1,500 and the women’s 3,000 (the one with water). The track starts at 10:57 am PDT and ends at 200 at 12:40 pm PDT.

-The men’s basketball team opens the playoffs against Brazil. Tip is around 12:30 pm PDT.

-The US women’s soccer team plays Germany in the playoffs. It should start at 9 am PDT.

Links you should read

Let’s take a look at some stories you may have missed but shouldn’t:

Your TV guide

How can you watch the Games today? Check out Tuesday’s Olympics TV lineup.