Kayak Cross Is About to Become the Breakout Sport of the Paris Olympics

The event is new at the Games this year and it will feature plenty of barrel-rolling action on the water. Plus, Stephen Nedoroscik and Simone Biles compete for more medals.

The heats of kayak cross begin Saturday, in what's expected to be one of the most thrilling events of the Paris Games. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s Day 8 of the Olympics, and we’ve got a big one on tap. For many out there, you’ve now made it back to the safe refuge of the weekend and will have an easier time watching. (Could that be why the schedule makers chose Saturday and Sunday to give us the only two days in which track, swimming and gymnastics all overlap? Maybe!) My daily guide is once again here to help everyone know what to watch.

You can also subscribe to Sports Illustrated’s Daily Rings, my daily podcast where Dan Gartland and I go into significantly more detail on every sport every night. Our regular listeners were 100% ready for exciting moments in judo and trampoline Friday, and you still have time to join us for the rest of the Games. New episodes have been published every night before NBC’s prime-time coverage is even over.

Here’s what I’ll be watching Saturday, August 3.

This is not a comprehensive list; visit Olympics.com for a full schedule. All events will stream live on Peacock. I’ll also be tweeting out a schedule of medal events, Team USA games and other favorites each day.

My Day 8 Olympics viewing guide!

Track, swimming and gymnastics in one day. (And kayak cross!) #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/PQkO1NgOuh

— Mitch Goldich 🐙 (@mitchgoldich) August 2, 2024

Kayak cross

Before we get to those typically marquee sports, I want to start out with something a little different. Kayak cross is a new event in the Olympics this year, and I think it’s about to be a breakout hit.

You may have seen some canoe slalom races already at these Olympics—the events where canoes (or kayaks, they race both) are in the water with rapids and competitors are trying to paddle through and around gates as they take turns in a timed event. For the first time in an Olympics, we will now see multiple boats in the water at once, racing each other to the finish line. 

Friday during the time trials, they were on the course solo. Saturday and Sunday we’ll get the real thing. Saturday will start with heats of three riders per race and the finals will have four in the water at the same time..

Did I mention the kayaks start out elevated above the course on a ramp that opens at the starting gate and dumps them into the water? Or that the riders have to do a barrel roll at some point during the race? Admit it: A part of you thinks I’m making this up as a prank. But truly, they have to dunk themselves, come back up for air and paddle to the finish line. I’m telling you; everyone will be talking about this over the weekend. So you should check it out.

Round 1 for the women starts at 9:30 a.m. ET, and the men will start at 10:40 a.m. ET. Team USA’s Evy Leibfarth, who medaled earlier in these Olympics, has qualified in kayak cross as well.

Track and field

The action on the track is heating up, and among the five medal events Saturday are a couple of big ones.

Let’s start with the women’s 100 meters, where Team USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson is the favorite to win gold. She’s been one of the faces of the U.S. delegation going into these Olympics, and this will be a huge moment for her.

In the shot put, American Ryan Crouser is going for his third straight Olympic gold, while his top competition may be fellow American Joe Kovacs … who took silver to Crouser in Rio and Tokyo.

The other finals we’ll see are the women’s triple jump, the 4X400 mixed relay (in which Team USA set a world record during the heats) and the men’s decathlon. The full session of track and field starts at 1:35 p.m. ET.

Gymnastics

With the team and individual all-arounds behind us, gymnastics will begin handing out medals on individual apparatuses. On Saturday we’ll see the living legend, America’s favorite gymnast, an all-time great at their craft. Of course, I’m talking about pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik, who will try to follow up his moment of glory in the team competition with an individual medal.

Simone Biles will compete for a seventh gold and 10th total medal in the vault final Saturday. / Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

Oh right, we’ll see Simone Biles, too. She and Jade Carey will compete in the vault, beginning at 10:20 a.m. ET. Biles is already the most decorated gymnast in history, now a two-time Olympic all-around champion, and she’ll have a few more opportunities to add to her medal count.

Lightning round

Swimming is still going strong, and Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. ET session includes four finals: the men’s 100-meter fly, women’s 200-meter IM, women’s 800-meter free and the mixed 4X100 medley relay. The women’s 800 will be another showdown between Katie Ledecky and Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, which is must-see TV.

The U.S. women’s soccer team has reached the win-or-go-home phase, and has a crucial quarterfinal against Japan at 9 a.m. ET. The team needs to win two more matches for a medal and three for a gold one.

Surfing has been delayed by poor weather, but the finals are finally scheduled to really, actually happen. They are slated for 3:24 p.m. ET, but check the schedule again Saturday just in case.

If you missed the experience of seeing French judo legend Teddy Riner compete in front of his home crowd Friday, you’ll get another chance in the team event Saturday. France is the defending Olympic champion, which is how he got one of his six medals. 

The U.S. women’s 3x3 team has picked it up after a slow start. They will play against China at 1:05 p.m. ET and then possibly a second game depending on the result.

The U.S. men’s five-on-five basketball team is also back in action, against Puerto Rico at 11:15 a.m. ET.

The U.S. men’s water polo team has a crucial game against Montenegro, with both teams fighting to advance out of group play. That match gets underway at 10:35 a.m. ET.