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Day 3 of the Paris Olympics featured two of the biggest stars in tennis facing one another yet again, the first game for the USA women's basketball team amid soaring popularity for the sport, the USA men's and women's swimming teams collecting several medals, and a return to the podium for a U.S. men's gymnastics for only the third time since 1984.
Additionally, Canada's Summer McIntosh is the clear future of swimming at just 17 years old and won the first of what will likely be several gold medals during her career.
Keep reading for more from a dramatic Monday at the Olympics. Just be careful if you're pounding a table in excitement.
USA wins 4 medals in swimming, so close to 5
The United States men's and women's swimming team left the pool with four medals on Monday, though did not win gold. Ryan Murphy won bronze in the men's 100m breaststroke, the third consecutive Olympic Games in which he's earned a medal. Yet in the women's event, Lilly King missed the podium by a heartbreaking margin, finishing .01 seconds behind Ireland's Mona McSharry.
Team USA earned two more medals in the women's 400m individual medley final with Katie Grimes winning silver and Emma Weyant getting bronze. Canada's Summer McIntosh won the gold, her first in what promises to be a great Olympic career. McIntosh, 17, won silver in the 400m freestyle and figures to medal in the 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley.
USA men's gymnastics wins first Olympic medal in 16 years
The United States men's gymnastics team won a bronze medal, its first since 2008. Japan earned gold, while China won silver despite dominating in qualifying events.
The U.S. quintet of Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Frederick Richard, Stephen Nedoroscik and Brody Malone began the day in fifth place, but surged to a place on the podium in large part due to their performance on the pommel horse. Nedoroscik closed it out with a masterful routine.
Hong notched strong performances on the rings and vault to keep the U.S. in medal contention. And Richard stood out with team-high scores on parallel bars, the horizontal bar and floor routine, thrilling the numerous American fans at Bercy Arena.
The Michigan sophomore had what could be iconic moment for Team USA at the Paris Games, sticking his dismount from the horizontal bar as the crowd and his teammates erupted in cheers.
A'ja Wilson leads U.S. women's basketball in Olympic opener
The U.S. women's basketball team opened Paris Olympics play and pursuit of its eighth consecutive gold medal with a commanding 102–76 win over Japan.
A'ja Wilson led USA with 24 points and 13 rebounds, which probably shouldn't have been surprising since she currently leads the WNBA in both categories. Breanna Stewart added 22, while Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu and Kelsey Plum each scored 11. The "Point God" Chelsea Gray finished with 13 assists. However, the team probably knows it can play better, shooting only 20% (4-for-20) on 3-pointers.
The U.S. women have now won 56 consecutive games, going back to the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games. Up next for Team USA is a matchup with Belgium on Thursday before closing out group play versus Germany on Sunday.
Djokovic knocks out Nadal in men's singles
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the men's singles tournament. It was the 60th meeting of the two tennis legends who have a combined 46 Grand Slam singles titles between them.
It remains to be seen if this was the final meeting between the two. Nadal has been plagued by injuries over the past two years and has openly spoken about retirement.
While he's out of medal contention in singles, Nadal still has a shot at gold in doubles with partner Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish pair will face Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands in the second round.
Djokovic will next face Germany's Dominik Koepfer in the third round of singles competition on Thursday.
USA men take home silver, bronze in street skateboarding
Team USA had an excellent day in men's street skateboarding. Two Americans, Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston, made the final and subsequently landed on the podium, taking home silver and bronze. The quality of skateboarding was incredibly high across the board, but Eaton and Jagger managed to pull out one fantastic run and two high-scoring tricks each.
For most of the final, Huston and Eaton occupied first and second place. Huston landed in first after his 93.37 second run, followed by Eaton, who scored 91.92 on his second run. They remained in first and second through their first two tricks, which they both stuck, but then they ran into a little trouble. Both fell on their third trick, putting more pressure on their final two.
But Eaton wasn't finished. His fourth trick scored a 95.25, the second highest score of the trick stage. That catapulted him into first, while Huston remained in place after falling on his fourth and fifth.
It felt like Eaton had it all sewn up until Yuto Horigome, the defending gold medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, threw down his final trick. He needed a massive score to take over first, so he went for it — and scored big. His fifth trick earned 97.08 points, giving him a final total of 281.14, just 1/10th more than Eaton's 281.04.
Team USA medals
Highlight of the day
Where else might you see Billie Jean King sitting next to Snoop Dogg but at the Olympics? The two were seen at Roland Garros enjoying Monday's Djokovic-Nadal tennis match together and later posed for a photograph which King posted to social media.
With the photo, King mentioned that she and Snoop are both from Long Beach, Calif. and graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School for anyone wondering what these two cultural icons might share in common. NBC should've had these two host the Opening Ceremony coverage with Mike Tirico.
One more thing...
NBC's Scott Hanson is just like all of us watching the Olympics and cheering for our country. The host of Peacock's "Gold Zone" whiparound production (and, of course, the guide for so many on football Sundays hosting "NFL RedZone" got a bit too excited while the United States won a medal and pounded his desk.
Unfortunately, that resulted in Hanson cutting his hand. Judging from a photo, it was a rather nasty cut. Presumably, he hit the edge of his glass desk with his emphatic gesture.
Let it never be said that Hanson doesn't bleed for his work. He may have to wear gloves for the rest of the Paris Olympics, however. Maybe he should take precautions during this upcoming NFL season too.
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