Simone Biles the biggest current Olympics superstar: Chris Rattue’s Winners and Losers

Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.

OPINION

WINNER: Simone Biles and the bling

Wearing her glittering $5000 USA leotard, the amazing gymnast made a triumphant qualification start to her French Olympic campaign, after a tumultuous few years including withdrawing from the Tokyo Games.

The American uniform designers appear to be taking a leaf out of the Super Bowl ring design playbook. Prediction: the big reveal of USA leotards will be part of the build up to future Games.

Biles did tweak a calf injury though. Hopefully, it is okay.

Simone Biles – a survivor of the abuse that went on in previous American team situations – is the Olympic Games’ current greatest star. She has shown amazing sporting skills along with courage.

WINNER: On a similar note…

It was great to see the 62-year-old Nadia Comaneci, the first gymnast to score a perfect Olympic 10, supporting her Romanian successors in Paris. The 1976 Games superstar was also the victim of horrific abuse as a young gymnast.

LOSERS: Warriors

Okay, the Warriors won with a typically mixed NRL performance against the horrible Wests Tigers at Mt Smart Stadium.

And a couple of results went their way, with the Dragons and Dolphins losing.

But the Raiders’ victory over the Rabbitohs put a dampener on the Warriors’ playoff hopes.

And more importantly, Andrew Webster’s side are not playing like contenders especially when you look at what high flyers like Penrith and Canterbury are doing.

With five games remaining, it has to be said that the Warriors have gone backwards after the magnificent 2023 season.

They also have an unusual issue as they battle for every competition point. With Adam Pompey, Shaun Johnson and Luke Metcalf on the sidelines, they lack anyone with a decent chance of landing goals from near the sideline.

Chanel Harris-Tavita, coming off his kicking woes against Canberra, gave a celebratory smile after landing a handy goal against the Tigers. But he struggles to get near the crossbar from more difficult angles.

LOSERS: Just about everyone over this Olympic football scandal… except a couple of Canadians

The cheating, drone-flying Canadians’ reputation is in the gutter after they were caught spying on our Olympic women footballers’ training sessions.

Canada’s coach Bev Priestman HAD to have known what was going on, even though she tried to wheedle her way out of it with a disingenuous statement about her accepting blame in “the spirit of accountability”.

In this, Priestman had the gall to try and turn herself into the hero, while a couple of staff members were sent home.

Her actions included a self-serving, self-imposed exile from the game against New Zealand.

Nobody was fooled. She’s been banned for a year. Her name is mud. The legitimacy of Canada’s gold medal from the Japan games is in doubt. Their title defence is in tatters. Canada Soccer’s funding has been clipped. There are fears that this cheating is or was systemic in Canadian football.

I also thought the New Zealand Olympic bosses should have hit out much harder than they did. (They should demand compensation from Canada).

It was a weird controversy in a way, involving two countries with boring reputations.

Canadian officials have done well though.

Football boss Kevin Blue wanted Priestman kicked out of the Games.

Canada’s Olympic chief David Shoemaker was on the mark in revealing he felt “sick to my stomach” because the Tokyo triumph was tarnished. And from almost the outset he said what everyone was thinking, that it was “highly likely” Priestman knew.

LOSERS: OlyWhites, Olympic football

What is the point of men’s football in the Olympic Games? Fielding junior sides with three over-age players is stupid.

The standard is too far below what we see throughout the year from the world’s best football leagues and tournaments such as Euro 2024.

Olympic football looks like a junior development tournament because it is.

The OlyWhites were embarrassingly bad against the USA. The score was 4-1 but it could easily have been 8-1. It should raise some concerns about how coach Darren Bazeley will cope in charge of the All Whites World Cup campaign.

On a slightly better note, New Zealand – a notoriously goal-shy football nation – has scored a couple of crackers.

Marginal Football Ferns left-back selection Mackenzie Barry did what many a Kiwi striker has been unable to do, scoring a fabulous goal to take the lead against Canada. Jesse Randall did something similar in scoring a consolation goal for the OlyWhites against the USA.

WINNER: Sevens

On the other hand, sevens rugby is a great way to kick off the Games. There was a fantastic atmosphere at Stade de France.

Being so different to standard rugby, it doesn’t suffer by comparison the way that the under-23 football does.

LOSER: The race of the century

The highly anticipated 400m freestyle swimming showdown between Aussie great Ariarne Titmus, the legendary American Katie Ledecky and rising Canadian Summer McIntosh was a dud. Titmus was too good.

WINNER: Sticking around

As the Olympic women’s 400m freestyle final showed, you can’t cherry-pick events with any guarantee of finding a classic.

Stick around and they come to you.

The men’s 100m breaststroke final was a sensation, with Italian Nicolò Martinenghi the winner by a split hair over Brit legend Adam Peaty and American Nic Frank, who tied for silver.

Princess Anne, who presented the medals, made it to France despite being kicked by a horse recently. Stony-faced, she didn’t present much joy though. She didn’t look well at all.

LOSER: Which brings us to… this question

Or maybe this is why she looked so glum.

The sport in which Princess Anne excelled – equestrian – took a huge image hit last week. British great Charlotte Dujardin quit the Games and has been suspended after video emerged of her repeatedly whipping a horse’s legs.

It begs the obvious question: how widespread are these sorts of practices?

Comforting to read that competitors in Paris are shocked and horrified by Dujardin’s actions. But questions remain.

LOSER: Olympic air pistol

The word boring doesn’t even cover it.

WINNER: Judo

My surprise hit so far. This is the beauty of the Games. I recall becoming transfixed by the equestrian dressage at a previous Olympic Games. It’s a smorgasbord of possibilities.

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton

Another F1 victory for the veteran star, but only after teammate George Russell had his Belgian victory snatched away because his Mercedes was 1.5kg underweight. All that money and technology, and they get that wrong.

WINNER: The New Zealand Olympic app

Works a treat. You’ll be lost without it.

Hear it as it happens with live commentary of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on GOLD SPORT & iHeartRadio, plus comprehensive coverage on Newstalk ZB.