Katie Ledecky’s Pursuit of Record-Tying Medal Highlights Wednesday’s Olympic Events

After adding a bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, the star distance swimmer will take to the pool in her specialty. Plus, two U.S. men get back on the mat in gymnastics for the individual all-around.

Ledecky is seeking a 12th a Olympic medal, which would tie her for the most all-time by an American woman. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Welcome to Day 5 of the Olympics. We are now passing the halfway point of swimming and inching toward track and field. There are medal events and sports transitioning from group play to knockout stages, and once again I’ll help you figure out where to cast your eyes.

I’m also humbly plugging Sports Illustrated’s Daily Rings podcast, where Dan Gartland and I are recapping the action every single night, with new episodes published before NBC’s prime-time coverage is even over.

Here’s what I’ll be watching Wednesday, July 31.

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 5 Olympics viewing guide! What I'm watching Wednesday #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/PGvlfz4rQG

— Mitch Goldich 🐙 (@mitchgoldich) July 30, 2024

Swimming

Wednesday will be Katie Ledecky’s day to shine, as she swims for gold in her signature event, the 1500-meter freestyle. This is an event she has not lost in 14 years, and don’t expect her to lose that streak in Paris. 

A win would result in her 12th career Olympic medal, which would tie for most of any U.S. woman in Olympic history, trailing only Michael Phelps’s mark of 28. Keep in mind that the women’s 1500 free was not an Olympic event until Tokyo in 2021, or else Ledecky would have even more medals to her name.

The full swimming session starts at 2:30 p.m. ET and includes five finals. The other fun story line of the evening will be local favorite Léon Marchand’s quest to win both the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter breaststroke in the same session. And don't forget to read Pat Forde on the dreaded Slow Pool that could be plaguing the Paris Games.

The other finals are the men’s and women’s 100-meter free.

Basketball 

The U.S. men won their opening game against Serbia by 26 points. Next up: South Sudan at 3 p.m. ET. This is not a game most fans would have circled on their calendars a few weeks ago, but the matchup has taken on added interest since these teams met the weekend before the Olympics began.

In that tune-up exhibition, South Sudan had a double-digit lead in the second half, and the U.S. had to claw back just to squeak out a one-point win. It’ll be interesting to see how Team USA responds. (It also helps to now have a healthy Kevin Durant.)

One thing we know for sure is that the U.S. won’t take this opponent lightly. “We have appropriate fear of everybody,” Steph Curry said.

Gymnastics 

After the U.S. men won bronze in the team competition, Fred Richard and Paul Juda will now get their chance to compete in the individual all-around final. Richard is more likely to medal, having won bronze at the 2023 world championships (along with gold at the ’23 NCAA championships). 

Richard will look to add to his bronze medal in the team event by cracking the podium in Wednesday's individual all-around. / Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

Action starts at 11:30 a.m. ET if you want to see them on every apparatus. For the men, that’s six events: floor, rings, vault, high bar, parallel bars, and pommel horse (as Stephen Nedoroscik fans know).

Lightning round

Team USA’s Taylor Fritz has an incredibly busy day, with three (!) tennis matches. He’ll be competing in a singles match at 7 a.m. ET, and then both men’s doubles and mixed doubles, with start times dependent on other matches.

More tennis: If you’ve been following Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal’s doubles journey, the Spanish duo will be facing Team USA’s Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram at 1 p.m. ET.

Four U.S. women’s teams that are back in action: field hockey vs. Australia at 7:15 a.m ET, volleyball vs. Serbia at 11 a.m. ET, water polo vs. Italy at 12:30 p.m. ET and soccer vs. Australia at 1 p.m. ET.

Both Team USA 3x3 basketball teams will take the court, after both lost on the first day of competition. The women will face Azerbaijan at 3:30 p.m. ET and the men will take on Poland at 4:35 p.m. ET.

Team USA’s Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell won silver in Tokyo in 10-meter platform synchronized diving and they’ll be back in action early Wednesday morning. 

After the men’s triathlon was delayed because of dangerous levels of E. coli in the Seine, both the men and women will finally race Wednesday (though likely before this story is published).

The surfing finals have also been delayed because of weather, so keep an eye out on those schedules as they are posted.