Simone Biles and Leon Marchand headline memorable moments at the halfway point of the Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — The Paris Olympics at the halfway mark have brought the world “The Pommel Horse Guy, " a rugby star and social media sensation who wants to be on reality show “Love Island” and “The Real John Wick” in the form of a 51-year-old Turkish shooter.

These Olympics have been full of memorable moments since the dazzling opening ceremony: the Seine River was too dirty for the triathlon swim to go off as scheduled, a gender controversy has emerged in women’s boxing, and Leon Marchand led France with four golds in four swimming events, and of course, Simone Biles has dazzled while winning two gold medals with more still up for her taking.

Here’s a look at some of the memorable moments at the halfway point of the 2024 Olympics.

Simone Shines

The first week of the Paris Games has belonged to Biles, who went into the halfway mark with gold medals in the women’s team final and the all-around and drew a star-studded crowd every time she competed. She now has nine medals in her Olympic career, including six golds, more than any other American gymnast.

Biles still has three more events, too. The vault is Saturday night and she has the balance beam and floor exercise on Monday.

Three years after she pulled out of most of her events at the Tokyo Olympics to address her mental health, Biles has bounced back to become only the third woman to become a two-time all-around champion. She joined Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1960 and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia in 1964 and 1968.

And at 27, she’s the oldest to finish atop the all-around podium since then 30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya of the Soviet Union won the first-ever Olympic all-around in Helsinki in 1952.

Illona Maher, Yusuf Dikec and other stars emerge

The world was introduced to Stephen Nedoroscik, aka “The Pommel Horse Guy,” when he helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team win its first Olympic medal in 16 years.

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The bespectacled 25-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, sat practically still during the men’s team final waiting his turn to take to the pommel horse, his only event in Paris. When it was time to go, he delivered 45 seconds of brilliance.

The celebration began before his feet even hit the mat on his dismount and Nedoroscik was an instant meme on social media.

Ilona Maher, who became a star in Tokyo with her behind-the-scenes social media posts, led the U.S. to its first ever podium in rugby sevens.

Maher has used her platform to promote body positivity and to document life in the athletes’ village, which she renamed “The Villa” in reference to her beloved reality show “Love Island”.

The unlikeliest star, though, has been Yusuf Dikec.

The 51-year-old Turkish pistol shooter went viral on social media for a seemingly casual attitude while shooting his way to a silver medal in mixed 10-meter air pistol. Commenters called him “The Real John Wick” after the Keanu Reeves character in “The Matrix” series.

Dikec was shooting in a T-shirt, one hand in his pocket, a seemingly standard pair of glasses and an impassive look on his face. He’s been likened to a regular guy competing at the Olympics, or even a hitman.

Gender Questions

An Algerian boxer is facing a gender outcry after her Italian competitor pulled out seconds into their bout.

Imane Khelif has faced vitriol from former U.S. President Donald Trump and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing unspecified and not transparent eligibility tests for women’s competition from the now-banned International Boxing Association.

Khelif was assigned female at birth and it says so on her passport, which is the International Olympic Committee’s threshold for eligibility for boxing.

Marchand and Katie Ledecky rule at the pool

The pool has belonged to Marchand, who electrified a home crowd Friday night when he won his fourth gold by setting an Olympic record in the 200-meter individual medley. He also won gold in the 400-meter individual medley, 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter backstroke.

Ledecky will look to tie Michael Phelps as the only two swimmers to win four gold medals in the same event.

Ledecky is seeking a four-peat of the women’s 800-meter freestyle, an event she first won in the 2012 London Olympics. Another win would be the ninth Olympic gold of her career, which would be tied for second for the most gold medals in the Olympics, Summer or Winter, in any sport.

Phelps, who won the 200 individual medley four times, won 23 gold medals.

Opening ceremony controversy

The opening ceremony prompted a storm of outrage for a contentious scene featuring drag queens and other performers.

Although artistic director Thomas Jolly has repeatedly said that he wasn’t inspired by “The Last Supper,” critics interpreted part of the show as a mockery of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting showing Jesus Christ and his apostles.

Now, Paris police have opened a hate speech investigation following a complaint from Jolly over death threats.

Stinky Seine

Organizers have been adamant in their insistence the swimming portion of the triathlon and the marathon swimming events next week could safely be held in the Seine River amidst health questions about the quality of the water.

After several delays for elevated levels of bacteria, the triathlon swims were held and the views played well on television as athletes cycled and ran by Paris’ finest attractions.

It was all part of an ambitious plan to clean up the long-polluted Seine, spending 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in infrastructure improvements. A few swim practice sessions needed to be scratched and the men’s race pushed back a day due to water quality.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games