Olympics

Jordan Chiles may not have her Olympic bronze medal from the floor exercise competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she at least has quite the consolation prize.

She was a presenter alongside Flavor Flav during Wednesday's VMAs, and the musician presented her with a bronze medal clock as part of the awards show:

This wasn't exactly a surprise, as Flavor Flav showed off a bronze clock necklace designed for Chiles last month. The gymnast's mother, Gina Chiles, said she would show the post to her daughter since Jordan Chiles wasn't on social media at the time:

It was a lighthearted moment at the awards show for Chiles following an emotional interview with Moira Forbes.

"The biggest thing that was taken from me was the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person I am," she said during the inteview.

Mason Leib of ABC News noted the interview was Chiles' first since she was stripped of her bronze medal. It was part of the 2024 Forbes Power Women's Summit in New York City.

The stripping of Chiles' medal at the individual floor exercise final was one of the most controversial developments of the 2024 Games. The American initially finished in fifth place but was then awarded a third-place finish and the bronze medal after her coaches appealed her score.

That meant Ana Barbosu, who initially won the bronze and had already started celebrating, moved into fourth.

However, the International Gymnastics Federation eventually gave Barbosu the bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided the Americans' appeal because it ruled the appeal was raised after the one-minute deadline to do so.

The CAS also refused to hear Team USA Gymnastics' appeal in the aftermath of that decision.

Chiles did win one gold during the 2024 Games as part of Team USA's team all-around triumph.

Brazil's Rebeca Andrade won gold in the floor exercise, while American Simone Biles won silver.

The World DanceSport Federation issued a statement Tuesday to explain Rachael "Raygun" Gunn's status as the No. 1-ranked women's breakdancer in the world despite getting shut out at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris last month.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), the breakdancing governing body noted that the Olympics and prior Olympic qualifying events did not factor into the current world rankings.

Since no events that count toward the rankings took place from December 2023 through the Olympics, the rankings of many competitors are based on only one event.

For Raygun, that event was the Oceania continental championships in October 2023 where she finished in first place.

Gunn, who is a 37-year-old university lecturer born in New South Wales, Australia, represented Australia at the 2024 Summer Games in the Olympic debut of breaking.

Raygun went viral for her unique moves, including a kangaroo hop, but it didn't translate to success in the Olympic competition.

In fact, Raygun did not score a single point in losses to Lithuania's Nicka, France's Syssy or the United States' Logistx, leading to her elimination in the group stage.

Despite that, Raygun was one of the most talked about athletes at the Olympics since videos of her performances were shared across social media and led to the creation of many popular memes.

Although scheduling quirks due to the Olympics have impacted the world breakdancing rankings significantly, they figure to receive a shake-up in the near future.

More events that count toward the rankings are scheduled with the Olympics now in the past, starting with the Breaking for Gold World Series, which will be held in Shanghai, China, next month.

Raygun is on top of the world.

The Australian Olympic breakdancer who went viral for her performance in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics was named as the No. 1 dancer in the world by the World DanceSport Federation.

For those who watched Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, at the Olympics, this may come as quite the surprise. She famously failed to record a single point and finished second-to-last with the only competitor finishing below her being disqualified.

So how is she the No. 1-rated breakdancer in the world? Well, James McKem of the New York Post reported that the Olympic outing didn't factor into the rankings and that her performance at the WDSF Oceania Championship was the driver of her ascent into the top ranking.

Five results, all of which occurred before the Olympics, were the events that counted toward the ranking. However, the performance at the Oceania Championship specifically gave her 1,000 points and pushed her into first place for the rankings. This was also the event that allowed her to qualify for the Olympics in the first place.

The three medalists from the Olympics do not appear in the rankings.

While Raygun did not leave Paris with a medal or a particularly strong performance, she will still have her internet fame and a top world ranking to brag about.

Stephen Curry is still getting used to the fact that he's an Olympic gold medalist.

"It still hasn't really sunk in," Curry recently told CNBC (h/t ClutchPoints' Jackson Stone). "I mean, winning a gold, we expected to do that, we knew it was going to be hard, but how it happened? I still watch some highlights."

The Golden State Warriors superstar earned the first Olympic gold medal of his career at the 2024 Paris Games, playing alongside former teammates and rivals such as Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

Curry's Olympic debut didn't start off strong, as he averaged just 7.3 points per game and shot 25 percent from three-point range through his first four appearances. Still, the United States' squad was able to advance to the semifinal round.

The 36-year-old caught fire over Team USA's final two contests, dropping 36 points on 12-19 shooting during a 17-point comeback victory over Serbia.

Curry stepped up once again during the gold medal game against France, scoring 24 points and dishing out five assists. He connected on 17 of his 26 long-range attempts over his last two appearances, hitting several deep threes in succession during the fourth quarter against the French national team to secure a finish on top of the podium.

The accomplishment clearly meant a lot to Curry, as he put "Olympic gold medalist" in his Instagram bio after defeating France. He's already earned most of the NBA's top accolades, with two MVP awards and four championships under his belt.

Curry also secured his future with the Warriors after winning gold, singing a one-year extension worth $62.6 million on Aug. 29. He'll attempt to lead Golden State back to the playoffs next season after the team suffered a play-in tournament elimination at the end of the 2023-24 season.

While he prepares for his 2024-25 campaign, Curry is also making sure to reflect on his Olympic success.

Tyrese Haliburton joked about recruiting his Olympic teammates to join him on the Indiana Pacers during the 2024 Paris Games.

"I recruited every guy on that team basically," Haliburton said, per Justin Marville of the Oshkosh Northwestern. "Anyone that wants to come join us in Indiana, I'm all for it."

The star point guard was behind Stephen Curry and Jrue Holiday on Team USA's depth chart, appearing in just three of the United States' six Olympic contests.

Haliburton averaged 2.7 points in 8.8 minutes per game, although he shot 3-5 from the field and 2-4 from behind the arc. He didn't take his lack of playing time too seriously, as he poked fun at himself while showcasing his gold medal on social media afterwards.

While Haliburton joked about asking his U.S. teammates to join him in Indiana, stars joining forces after playing alongside each other at the Olympics isn't unheard of.

LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade were all part of the United States men's national team that won gold at the 2008 Olympics. Two years later, they teamed up on the Miami Heat and won two championships while making four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.

Haliburton already has some experience with attracting star teammates, as the Pacers added Pascal Siakam in a deal with the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 17. Siakam averaged 21.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game following the trade, helping Indiana make a surprise appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Even though the Pacers were ultimately swept by the Boston Celtics, the two-time All-Star still returned to the organization on a four-year contract worth $189.5 million in the offseason.

If Indiana is able to build upon its playoff run during the upcoming 2024-25 season, it's not difficult to imagine disgruntled stars wanting to switch teams and play with Haliburton in the future.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum reflected on his limited playing time for the U.S. men's national team in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything," Tatum said, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. "You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and people on TV giving their opinion on whether they thought it was a good decision or it was an outrageous decision or whatever. Obviously, I wanted to contribute more, and I've never been in [this] situation."

"I started playing basketball at [age] 3 at the YMCA, and I've never not played, so it was different and it was challenging," he added.

Tatum didn't appear in two of Team USA's six Olympic games, recording just 11 minutes during a 98-87 victory over France in the gold medal contest.

He wasn't able to find any type of shooting rhythm with his fluctuating playing time, averaging a mere 5.3 points in 17.7 minutes per game while shooting 38.1 percent from the field and missing all four of his attempts from behind the arc.

Tatum wasn't benched without reason, as LeBron James and Kevin Durant both wrapped up exceptional performances in Paris. Still, it was surprising to see his decreased role after helping the Celtics earn a championship in June. He also previously averaged 20.5 minutes per game during the United States' gold medal run in the Tokyo Olympics.

U.S. men's basketball head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged Tatum's lack of playing time, telling reporters that he "felt like an idiot not playing him" during a 110-84 win over Serbia in the group stage.

The small role was new for Tatum, as he's been tasked with carrying the offensive burden for teams throughout his playing career. He averaged 33.3 minutes per game in college at Duke before immediately entering Boston's starting lineup as a rookie after he was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 draft.

Tatum is still deciding on returning to Team USA for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, telling ESPN's Brian Windhorst on Aug. 10 that he's not letting his minutes from the Paris Games affect his choice.

Despite going through the challenge of adapting to a new rotation spot, the Celtics star added another accolade to his résumé by earning the second Olympic gold medal of his career.

Prior to the start of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, NBC Olympics shared some stunning photos of the Paralympic soccer venue on Wednesday.

Soccer will be contested at the Stade Tour Eiffel with the world-famous Eiffel Tower looming in the background:

During the 2024 Summer Olympics, which took place in Paris earlier this month, Stade Tour Eiffel was used for the men's and women's beach volleyball events, and it made for some of the most picturesque moments of the Games.

The Paralympics, which first debuted in 1960, are the preeminent international sporting event for athletes with disabilities, and they have traditionally been held in the same city and in the same year as the Olympics.

This year's Paralympics officially started with the opening ceremony on Wednesday, and the Paralympic Games will run through Sept. 8 in France.

While the Paralympic program isn't as vast as the Olympics, 22 different sports will be contested in Paris, including football (or soccer) 5-a-side.

The teams in football 5-a-side are made up of visually-impaired athletes with five players on the field at a time for each team.

Since men's football 5-a-side debuted at the 2004 Paralympics, Brazil has won the gold medal all five times.

Simone Biles is still basking in the golden glow of her historic performance at the 2024 Olympics.

The U.S. gymnastics superstar posted a series of pictures on X with all of her Olympic medals, along with the caption: "6 year old me would be proud" and three emojis.

Biles' 11 Olympic medals are the most ever by a U.S. gymnast. She is tied with Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia as the second-most decorated female gymnast in Olympic history.

The Paris Games saw Biles add four medals to her career total. She won gold in the team event, individual all-around and vault.

This marks the second Olympics that Biles earned at least four medals. She won five at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

At 27 years old, Biles became the oldest American gymnast to compete at the Olympics since 1952. She hasn't ruled out competing at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, but admitted age is starting to catch up to her.

"Never say never," Biles told reporters after wrapping up her run in Paris. "The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know, but I am getting really old."

Regardless of what the future holds for Biles, she has already secured her spot on the short list of best athletes of all time.

If anyone doubts that, Biles has the pictures with the hardware to prove it.

Simone Biles is joining the fight to restore Jordan Chiles' bronze medal.

"We saw what you did," Biles told Anna Lazarus Caplan and Janine Rubenstein of PEOPLE regarding Chiles' performance. "And it's an unfortunate circumstance because something like this has never happened before and it's truly a shame, but we wish all three girls could get the medal and unfortunately in gymnastics that's not the case."

"Do we think they did the correct procedures to come to this ruling? No," she added. "That's really why we want that justice for Jordan and why we're going to keep supporting her and uplifting her."

Chiles was originally scored in fifth place in the individual floor exercise, but USA Gymnastics coach Cecile Landi filed an inquiry with the judges based on Chiles' difficulty score. The judges then revised the score by 0.1 points, bumping her score to 13.766, which was enough to catapult Chiles into the bronze medal over Romanian gymnasts Ana Bǎrbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who were tied at 13.700.

The Romanian Gymnastics Federation, Bǎrbosu and Maneca-Voinea each challenged that ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, arguing that Landi didn't file her inquiry within the required time. Such an inquiry must be filed within a minute of the score being shown. They argued the inquiry was made four seconds past the deadline.

The CAS upheld the Romanians' challenge and awarded the bronze medal to Bǎrbosu.

"I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey," Chiles wrote in a statement on Instagram at the time. "To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I've poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country."

USA Gymnastics had its appeal denied by the CAS and has said it would continue to explore overturning the ruling with the Swiss Federal Tribunal. It sounds as though Biles will do everything in her power to aid in that fight.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Rai Benjamin is interested in signing a one-day contract with the New York Giants.

Benjamin, who won two of his three golds for the United States during track and field competition at the Paris Games, discussed his desire to join his hometown team for a day during a Friday appearance on ESPN.

"I just want to sign a contract for one day," Benjamin joked. "That's it, one day. I don't need anything else. I would sign a one-day contract. I'll play on offense, come on. That's like, easy. Listen, if you guys need me, let me know. I'm telling you right now, just let me know. I've got some cleats in my closet at home right now."

The 27-year-old has some previous football experience, playing wide receiver and safety during his high school days in Mount Vernon, New York.

Benjamin won the 400-meter hurdles at the Paris Olympics, finishing with a time of 46.46 seconds to secure the second gold of his career.

He didn't have to wait long for his third, earning the honor after helping the United States win the 4x400-meter relay on the very next day.

High school football experience isn't typically enough to make an NFL roster, although Benjamin is interested in pursuing a one-day deal with his favorite team regardless.