The action continues in France with a number of notable stars making their 2024 Olympic Games debuts on Sunday.

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team, led by Simone Biles, will compete in qualifying early in the day. Later, the U.S. men’s basketball team, led by LeBron James, will play Serbia and Nikola Jokić in a matchup of top NBA talent.

Elsewhere, the US women’s national soccer team will take on Germany, with both teams battling for top spot in their groups, a French swimmer could be gunning for gold, and in Tahiti, the surfing competition is underway.

In addition to swimming, there are medal competitions in archery, kayaking, cycling, fencing, judo, shooting and skateboarding.

This is what we follow.

Events to watch out for

Biles makes Olympic comeback

Time: 05:40 ET, 11:40 Paris
TV: E!/NBC and Peacock (live)

What to look out for: Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist, is returning to the Games after withdrawing from most events at the Tokyo Olympics due to the twisting courses, a mental block gymnasts can experience when performing an aerial maneuver.

She heads to the Paris Games as the gymnast who needs to win first, while the United States is aiming for gold in the team events. (Russia, the reigning champion in both the men’s and women’s team all-around, is not allowed to compete in team sports at the Paris Olympics.)

Biles is joined on the U.S. team by Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee, reigning floor champion Jade Carey, 2021 silver medalist Jordan Chiles and 16-year-old Hezly Rivera.

The women’s team qualifiers begin at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Bercy Arena, with the U.S. at 5:40 a.m. ET, along with China and Italy. The women’s team final is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

USA Men’s Basketball vs. Serbia

Time: 11:15am ET, 5:15pm Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock (live)

What to look out for: Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The U.S. men’s basketball team is loaded with talent — with James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant among the standouts — as the U.S. seeks a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. But the U.S. team isn’t the only one with NBA pedigree. Three-time NBA MVP Jokić and Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanović star for Serbia, the first team the U.S. will face in the group stage.

The US looked dominant against Serbia in a friendly in preparation for the Olympics earlier this month, but defeated South Sudan in a similar preparation by just one point.

One more thing: Durant, a three-time Olympic champion, is finally able to play after a calf injury sidelined him during the team’s summer workouts.

American Women’s Soccer vs. Germany

Time: 3:00pm ET, 9:00pm Paris
TV: US/Telemundo and Peacock (live)

What to look out for: Both the Americans and Germans won their first matches in Group B, with the US beating Zambia 3-0 and Germany beating Australia by the same score. Both the US and Germans are also looking for redemption in a major international tournament.

Germany (ranked No. 4 in the FIFA world rankings) failed to qualify for the last Olympic Games in 2021 and failed to advance beyond the group stage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history. The United States (ranked No. 5) finished with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games and was eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, a major disappointment for the four-time tournament champions that led to a change of manager.

The winner of Group B will play the runner-up in Group C (Spain, Brazil, Japan or Nigeria) in the quarterfinals on August 3. The US women’s team closes out the group stage against Australia on Wednesday.

A first Olympic medal for the ‘French Michael Phelps’?

Time: 2:30pm ET, 8:30pm Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock (live)

What to look out for: Swimming continues on Sunday with the finals of the men’s 400-meter individual medley (2:30 p.m. ET), women’s 100-meter butterfly (2:40 p.m.) and men’s 100-meter breaststroke (3:44 p.m. ET) at the Paris La Défense Arena.

The men’s 400-meter medley leader with the best chance of winning gold is Léon Marchand, or as some call him, the “French Michael Phelps.” Marchand, who trains with Phelps’ former coach and competes in the same events as the swimming legend, broke Phelps’ 400-meter medley record by more than a second last summer.

The 22-year-old Frenchman will also compete in the 200-meter medley, the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter breaststroke at the Olympic Games in Paris.

In the women’s 100 butterfly, two 21-year-old Americans — Gretchen Walsh, who holds the world record, and Torri Huske — have the best odds, according to BetMGM. In the men’s 100 breaststroke, China’s Qin Haiyang, Britain’s Adam Peaty and America’s Nic Fink have the best odds.

Olympic surfing in Tahiti

Time: 1:00 PM ET, 7:00 AM local time
TV: Peacock (live)

What to look out for: While most athletes are competing for the Olympics in and around Paris, the Olympic surfing competition is being held on the other side of the world on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti. The second rounds of the men’s and women’s events are on Sunday (the men’s start at 11:48 p.m. ET/5:48 p.m. local time after the women’s at 1:00 p.m. ET/7:00 a.m. local time), weather permitting.

The fields, which started with 24 competitors on each side, will be whittled down over three rounds before the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals scheduled for Wednesday. There are also reserve days to account for poor wave and wind conditions.

American athletes to watch include 22-year-old sensation Caroline Marks and Carissa Moore, the reigning Olympic gold medalist, in the women’s division. In the American men’s division, John John Florence, a 31-year-old native of Hawaii, is a standout.

View the full Olympic Games program here.

Highlight of Saturday

TEAM USA STRIKES GOLD. 💪

CAELEB DRESSEL, HOWEVER, IS ON THE 4X100 LEISURE ENDLESS FOR MEN. #Olympic Games in Paris photo.twitter.com/rJwrSEWhps

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2024

The United States’ first gold medal at the Olympics was in the swimming pool.

Chris Guiliano, Jack Alexy, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel combined to lead the U.S. to a dominant victory in the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay, beating Australia (silver) and Italy (bronze). It was the third consecutive Games in which the U.S. has won gold in the event.

An honourable mention goes to Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish tennis players who won their first match as doubles partners.

More about the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

(Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)