On Friday, an unprecedented opening ceremony along the Seine will kick off the Paris Olympics. The Games will showcase around 10,500 athletes, including many stars you’ll remember — and some you’ll want to know. Here are 30 U.S. Olympians to watch this year:
Simone Biles, gymnastics
Biles, 27, has won every all-around competition she has entered in more than a decade. That streak is likely never to be repeated. She’s a nine-time national champion, a six-time world champ and the 2016 Olympic all-around gold medalist. But after pulling out of the team and all-around finals in Tokyo with the twisties, Biles heads to Paris seeking redemption and could become the first gymnast to win Olympic gold in nonconsecutive Games.
One thing to know: Biles took two years off after the Tokyo Olympics and returned to elite competition last fall an even better gymnast. This year, she’s been remarkable and added a fifth eponymous skill to her repertoire: the Yurchenko double pike (YDP), the most difficult vault in women’s gymnastics, is now called the Biles II. Biles has received standing ovations every time she competes the YDP — for good reason — so expect the same at Bercy Arena.
One thing to watch: There is no greater show in…
