What’s Hot in Paris | Medals will be won today in women's gymnastics, and the weather continues to have impacts
(NEXSTAR) — Simone Biles leads the United States women into the gymnastics team final as part of an action-packed slate Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Biles is in the lineup to compete in all four events of the team final despite a calf injury. The U.S. women will begin defense of their 2021 Olympic title in 3x3 basketball when the sport begins Tuesday. Katie Ledecky is back in the pool to compete in the women’s 1,500 freestyle, one of her signature events. And Bobby Finke is looking to add a third gold medal to his collection.
Finke took home a pair of gold medals in the 2020 Tokyo Games, one in the 1500-meter men's freestyle (swimming a 14:39.65) and one in the 800-meter men's freestyle (swimming a 7:41.87). He heads into the 800m freestyle finals after a third-place finish in his heat on Monday.
The 24-year-old Tampa native posted a time of 7:43.00, trailing the winning time by less than a second (0.93).
Prior to his big race, Finke's mother Jeanne — who swam for Ball State University — joined JB Biunno of Nexstar’s Tampa station, WFLA, and Olympic champion Brooke Bennett to discuss her son's finals appearance.
JB and Brooke also discussed other top stories coming out of the 2024 Summer Olympics during their daily "What's Hot in Paris" livestream, weekdays at 11 a.m. ET. View the full show in the video player above.
Weather also continues to be a hot topic in Paris. The 2024 Olympics famously launched with a rain-soaked opening ceremony that drenched athletes and spectators alike. Now, they're facing the opposite experience Tuesday: a heat wave.
Most of France is under a heat wave warning Tuesday, with temperatures in Paris and surrounding areas expected to climb to 35 C (95 F) or higher, the national weather agency said. Air conditioning is far less common in homes, shops and restaurants than in places like the United States.
The heat was expected to be even worse in the south, including the region around the Mediterranean city of Marseille that is hosting Olympic competitions like soccer and sailing. It was as hot as 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in parts of southern France on Monday and the temperatures were expected to be that high again Tuesday.
Back-to-back record global heat was seen last week as climate change makes extreme weather more frequent and intense. Paris 2024 organizers have aimed to cut the event's carbon footprint, among them turning to an underfloor cooling system and insulation instead of air conditioning at the Olympic village where athletes are staying. Some countries, like the U.S., brought their own.
The Associated Press contributed to this article