Simone Biles made her long-awaited Olympic return at the Paris Games on Sunday, drawing cheers from an ecstatic crowd in a performance that gave the USA gymnasts the lead in women's qualifying.
The world's most decorated gymnast returned for her third Olympics after she abruptly pulled out from the team final at the Tokyo Games suffering from the 'twisties', a term used to describe the temporary loss of spatial awareness while performing high-difficulty elements.
Biles also withdrew from the all around and a number of apparatus finals in Tokyo, raising questions about whether she would ever set foot in an Olympic arena again.
But after a two-year hiatus and with the help of her team-mates and a therapist, she made a glorious return in Paris in front of a crowd at the Bercy Arena that included celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg.
The 27-year-old Biles showed she was back to earn some more gold medals as she laid down the marker in the all around competition by provisionally topping the qualifying standings with a score of 59.566, more than three points ahead of nearest challenger and reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee.
Biles began on the balance beam, arguably the most difficult apparatus to start on, receiving 14.733 points, scoring just 0.133 less than Zhou Yaqin of China.
Wearing a shimmering leotard featuring thousands of Swarovski crystals, Biles smiled and exhaled as she looked up to the scoreboard, seemingly relieved after completing an impressive performance on the first of four apparatus.
She seemed less pleased, however, with her floor routine, which had a few hiccups but still earned her a score of 14.600 to take the lead for that apparatus.
Biles, competing with her left ankle taped, shook off her sullen expression following the floor exercise, landing a stunning 15.300 on the vault.
Biles' double-piked Yurchenko vault is so difficult that its start value is several tenths of a point higher than any other vault that will be performed by female gymnasts at the Paris Games.
Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, a convicted child rapist, was greeted by some boos on his Olympic debut in Paris.
Van de Velde, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old British girl.
He served just 12 months of his sentence and some fans at the Olympic competition in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower voiced their disapproval.
There was a mixed response for Van de Velde with cheers as well as boos greeting his arrival alongside teammate Matthew Immers for their match against Italian pair Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula.
Unlike his fellow competitors, there were no cheers when Van de Velde was introduced to the crowd with some boos again clearly audible.
Van de Velde met his victim on Facebook and travelled from Amsterdam to the UK in 2014 and raped the girl at an address in Milton Keynes.
He is understood not to be staying in the Olympic Village at his own request and will not conduct the usual post-match mixed zone interviews.
The Dutch Olympic Committee maintain Van de Velde has been successfully rehabilitated and deserves his place in the squad.
But Rape Crisis England & Wales has said his inclusion at the Games is "shocking".
The International Olympic Committee has faced calls for an investigation into how a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete at Paris 2024, but insists it has no plans to prevent the Dutchman from competing at the Games.
Van de Velde left the arena on his own after Italy's three-set 22-20 19-21 15-13 victory.
He shock hands with Immers before walking across the sand and to the far corner, where he was applauded by fans before disappearing from view.
Elsewhere, Nigerian lightweight boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore was provisionally suspended on Saturday after she tested positive for a banned substance ahead of her opening fight at the Paris Olympics, the International Testing Agency said.
Ogunsemilore, who was to compete in Kellie Harrington's weight category, tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic on WADA's prohibited list, in an out-of-competition doping control collected on Thursday.
"The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter in line with the World Anti-Doping Code and the International Olympic Committee Anti-Doping Rules," the ITA said.
"This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity, during the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
"The athlete has the right to challenge the imposition of the provisional suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport – Anti-Doping Division. The athlete also has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample."
The Commonwealth Games bronze medalist and African Games champion had been due to take on Taiwan's Wu Shih Yi in a round of 16 bout on Tuesday.
Paris 2024 organisers apologised on Sunday to Catholics and other Christian groups angered by a kitsch tableau in the Olympic Games opening ceremony that parodied Leonardo Da Vinci's famous 'The Last Supper' painting.
The segment, which resembled the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion and featured drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine Dionysus, drew dismay from the Catholic Church and the religious right in America.
"Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. (The opening ceremony) tried to celebrate community tolerance," Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps told a press conference.
"We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry."
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