There wasn’t a long wait for the first medals events of the 2024 Olympics.
Just hours after an iconic Opening Ceremony in France’s capital city, medals were awarded in 13 combined events across seven different sports on Day 1 of the Games Saturday.
China’s mixed 10m air rifle team captured the first gold medal of the Paris Olympics after beating South Korea in the final.
Team USA, meanwhile, first got on the board via the women’s synchronized 3m springboard event, where Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook combined to win silver. Caeleb Dressel and Co. then earned the Americans’ first gold with a three-peat in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
Day 1 wrapped up with Team USA in a tie with Australia for the most medals at five apiece. The Aussies, though, lead the way in golds with three.
From medal triumphs to record-setting performances and more, here’s a full look back at Saturday’s top moments:
Sarah Bacon, Kassidy Cook claim Team USA’s first medal
Cook’N Bacon is a recipe for success on the diving board.
Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook, known as Cook’N Bacon, combined to win the United States’ first medal in Paris.
The diving duo posted a score of 314.64 to earn silver in the women’s synchronized 3m springboard final. It marked the first time on the Olympic podium for both Cook and Bacon.
China’s three-time reigning world champion team of Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen won the event with a score of 337.68.
Chloe Dygert overcomes crash to win time trial bronze
American Chloe Dygert was the pre-race favorite in the women’s individual time trial event. But in addition to the other competitors, Dygert also had to battle Mother Nature.
Rainy conditions created a wet and slippery surface on the streets of Paris, causing several riders — including Dygert — to hit the deck.
Australia’s Grace Brown managed to stay on her bike throughout, en route to a first-place finish of 39:38.24. Dygert, who owns two Olympic medals in the team pursuit, overcome her mid-race crash to win bronze for her first individual medal, finishing 1:32.36 behind Brown.
Great Britain’s Anna Henderson beat out Dygert by less than a second to take silver.
Katie Ledecky earns 400m free bronze as Ariarne Titmus repeats as champ
In one of the most anticipated showdowns of the Games, Australia’s Ariarne Titmus once again topped Team USA star Katie Ledecky in the women’s 400m freestyle.
Titmus took the 400m free Olympic title from Ledecky at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, and she repeated as champion with a time of 3:57.49. Canada’s Summer McIntosh placed second with a time of 3:58.37 and Ledecky came in third with a time of 4:00.86.
With the bronze, Ledecky is now just one medal away from matching the all-time Olympic record among female swimmers at 12, a mark shared by the U.S. trio of Jenny Thompson, Dana Torres and Natalie Coughlin.
Ledecky took bronze in the women’s 400m freestyle, finishing with a time of 4:00.86.
US takes silver in women’s 4x100m free relay
The Aussies continued their dominance in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, winning the event for a fourth straight Olympics. The quartet of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon ,and Meg Harris won gold with a time of 3:28.92.
The American squad of Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, and Simone Manuel finished in 3:30.20 to take silver. The result gave Manuel her sixth career medal and it was the second medal for both Douglass and Huske. Walsh, meanwhile, made the podium for the first time.
Caeleb Dressel helps US capture first gold
In the final swimming medal event of the day, Jack Alexy, Hunter Armstrong, Caeleb Dressel, and Chris Guiliano rolled to a victory in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay to give Team USA its first gold of the Games.
Team USA posted a time of 3:09.28 to win a third straight Olympic title in the event, beating out second-place Australia (3:10.25). With the result, Dressel joined Usain Bolt and Ray Ewry as the only athletes to ever win at least eight Olympic medals that are all golds. Alexy, Armstrong and Guiliano each made the podium for the first time.
Gretchen Walsh breaks Olympic record in 100m butterfly
Walsh made the podium for the first time in the 4x100m relay, and she looks primed to pick up her first individual medal in the 100m butterfly.
The 21-year-old set an Olympic record in the 100m butterfly semifinals with a time of 55.38. Walsh already owned the world record in the event, and she challenged that time of 55.18.
Huske, who’s also seeking her first individual medal, posted the second-best semifinal time of 56.0 to also advance to Sunday’s final.
USMNT rebounds with win over New Zealand
The USMNT bounced back in a big way from an Olympics-opening shutout defeat at the hands of France. The Americans easily took down New Zealand by a score of 4-1, setting a U.S. record for goals scored in an Olympic match.
In a potential must-win spot, the U.S. jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 12 minutes thanks to a penalty kick from Djordje Mihailovic and a Walker Zimmerman goal from open play.
Gianluca Busio and Paxten Aaronson also got on the scoresheet for the Americans, who now can advance to the knockout rounds with a win over Guinea combined with a New Zealand loss to France.