From the Olympic arrival for a couple of American powerhouses to a Philly fencer seeking gold, here are the story lines to watch Sunday on Day 2 of the Rio Olympics.
Powerful U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team Cruising in Qualification
Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and the other American gymnasts easily led on all of the apparatuses, from balance beam to uneven bars, to qualify for the finals in team, all-around and event competition. The top eight teams advance to the finals, and the U.S. Olympic women are the favorites to take team gold medal.
Douglas didn’t have a great performance at the Olympic Trials, but the reigning all-around gold medalist is hoping to bounce back and lead the team to a second team gold in a row. [[388401301, C]]
Simone Biles dominated her competition in the qualifying round. She landed a 16.000 on vault, a 15.733 on the floor exercise and a 15.633 on that beam routine.
She’s won three straight all-around world championships and four U.S. gymnastics titles in a row, too, so it would be safe to say expectations were high.
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Philadelphia's Chamley-Watson Fails to Foil Fellow American Massialas
Alexander Massialas, a 22-year-old Stanford student, was the youngest American male athlete at the London Games four years ago, but hoped to set a much more important record this time around.
Team USA has never won a gold medal in individual foil fencing, but Massialas is the world No. 1, and looked to change that Sunday. Coached by his dad, he gave the U.S. it’s best-ever shot at taking gold in a sport that dates back to the first Olympic games in Athens in 1896. [[389393011, C]]
Philadelphia's Miles Chamley-Watson could have stood in his way but Chamley-Watson fell to Russia's Artur Akhmatkhuzin, 15-13. Massialas would go on to face Italy's Daiel Garozzo in the gold medal match but fell short and settled for silver.
Delle Donne Leads Women's Basketball to Record Win
No team has been more dominant at the Olympics over the past 20 years then the U.S. women's basketball team, winning five straight gold medals.
They'll try and keep that streak going in Rio, and took a step toward success Sunday when they beat Senegal, 121-56, a record scoring total for Olympic women's basketball.
The Americans have won 41 consecutive Olympic contests dating back to the bronze medal game in 1992, winning by an average of nearly 30 points a game. With nine players, including New Jersey native Tamika Catchings, returning from the London Games, the U.S. is a heavy favorite to win another gold medal.
Olympic newcomers Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart added a dynamic mix to the veteran core as took on Senegal Sunday morning. [[388401011, C]]
Delle Donne, the pride of Wilmington, Delaware, is the reigning WNBA MVP and helped the balanced American attack with 11 points and six assists Sunday.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma — a Montgomery County native — is back at the helm for Team USA and he says he is taking nothing for granted.
3-Time Olympian Casey Eichfeld Paddles for Gold
Drums, Pennsylvania's Casey Eichfeld took to the water Sunday morning seeking his first Olympic medal after falling short in the 2008 and 2012 Games.
Don’t count out the slalom canoeist, the dark horse in the event won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games and is a vying for a medal in Rio after placing first in singles and doubles canoe at the U.S. Olympic Trials. [[389391411, C]]
He finished in 12th place -- nearly 8 seconds off Germany's Sideris Tasiadis. His time was enough to place into Tuesday's semifinals.
Eichfeld and Devin McEwan are scheduled to hit the water in the C2 event Monday.
Diver's Earns 5th Gold and Sets Record
The sport of diving is a matter of centimeters — it’s incredibly difficult to pull off a perfect dive.
But China’s Wu Minxia had a different kind of perfection in mind trying to win five career golds.
The 30-year-old Chinese and teammate, Shi Tingmao, totaled 345.60 points to win the women's 3-meter synchronized title Sunday in the first diving event of the Rio de Janeiro Games. They led throughout the five-round competition and won by a whopping 31.77 points.
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"We have a very high standard," Wu said through a translator.
Wu is ending her diving career in Rio. She's the oldest female diver ever to win gold in the Olympics.
