Artistic gymnastics at Paris 2024 Olympics: Preview, full schedule and how to watch live action
American Simone Biles headlines the field of the world's best artistic gymnasts set to compete for gold, silver and bronze at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, from 27 July-5 August.
Biles returns to the Games for a third time, having previously won seven Olympic medals including four golds at Rio 2016.
Three years ago at the Tokyo 2020 Games, held in the summer of 2021, the 23-time world champion withdrew from the women's team final and four subsequent individual finals to prioritise her mental health as she dealt with a case of the 'twisties,' where a gymnast's body and mind fall out of sync.
Her withdrawal sparked a global conversation about mental health in sports.
It has also fueled her run to Paris 2024.
"I think it's kind of obvious [why I'm continuing in the sport]. I mean, you saw what happened, pulling out of five finals whenever I know what I'm capable of and knowing what I can do," Biles said in her 2023 return to competition. "It was like a mental injury, you know, so something like that I knew I could - with the proper work and the proper help - I knew I could come back and hopefully have a shot."
Below, we take a closer look at the stars to watch out for in Paris, including Biles, as well as a full schedule, and how to watch the action.
Artistic gymnastics stars to watch at Paris 2024 Olympics
Biles return to competitive gymnastics in 2023 was a success by any metric: she won a record eigth U.S. crown and, then, a record sixth world all-around gold, in addition to wins at the global tournament with her team and on the balance beam and floor exercise. She also nabbed silver on the vault.
It was - most importantly - a success for Biles, herself, who told Olympics.com her mindset about her ever-growing resume had shifted post Tokyo.
“I think what success means to me is a little bit different than before because before everyone defined success for me, even if I had my own narrative that I wanted,” said Biles. “So, now, it’s just showing up, being in a good head place, having fun out there, and whatever happens, happens.”
In the women's competition, Biles will lead a slightly depleated U.S. squad, which suffered injuries to two-time World team champions Shilese Jones, who twice landed on the world all-around podium, and Skye Blakely in the weeks just prior to the Games. But despite the heartbreaks, Team USA remain the favourites for a fourth Olympic team title.
The race for silver and bronze will be fierce with Brazil, Italy, France, and the People's Republic of China all bringing strong squads to Paris.
Individually, in addition to Biles, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, the 2022 world all-around champion and Tokyo runner-up, American Suni Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, China's Qiu Qiyuan, the world uneven bars champion, and Algeria's Kaylia Nemour, who won three-straight uneven bars titles at World Cup competitions earlier this year, are expected to challenge.
The men's competition will be a battle between powerhouses Japan and China.
At last year's World Championships, Japan took team gold with several of China's best at home for the Asian Games. Japan's last Olympic team championship came at Rio 2016, while China was victorious at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The United States, Ukraine and Great Britain are expected to contend for the bronze medal.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic all-around and horizontal bar champion Hashimoto Daiki, the two-time and reigning world champion, will look to defend his title in Paris. To do so, however, he'll have to fend off a strong challenge from 2021 world champ Zhang Boheng.
Other individuals to watch include Ukraine's Illia Kovtun, Americans Brody Malone and Fred Richard, and Ireland's Rhys McClenaghan, the pommel horse world champion that could give his nation its first-ever gymnastics medal at the Games.
Artistic gymnastics schedule at Olympic Games 2024
Artistic gymnastics is due to take place from 27 July to 5 August during Paris 2024. Click here for a detailed schedule.
How to watch Paris 2024 artistic gymnastics live
All the action from Paris 2024, including artistic gymnastics, can be watched via media rights holders (MRHs).
MRHs include Nine in Australia, Globo in Brazil, CBC in Canada, CCTV in People's Republic of China, Fuji TV/NHK/Nippon TV/TBS/TV Asahi/TV Tokyo in Japan, SKY NZ in New Zealand, SuperSport in South Africa, NBC in the United States, and Discovery Eurosport across Europe, alongside France Télévisions in France, ARD/ZDF in Germany, and BBC Sport in the United Kingdom, among others.
Check listings in other regions for your local broadcaster.