Utah’s Olympic Ties Run Deep Through First Two Days Of Competition

TOKYO — Two full days of Olympic competition have wrapped up, and on Sunday, Utah had a number of local athletes competing for a Gold medal.

Expectations are Gold medal or bust for the USA Men’s Basketball team, but despite having a start-studded roster, they struggled in exhibition games and are off to a rough start in Tokyo.

They lost Saturday night to Rudy Gobert and France, 83 to 76, to start 0-1 in group play.

Evan Fournier led France with 28 points, while Team USA shot just 36% from the field.

The loss ends a 25-game Olympic win stream for Team USA that goes back to 2004.

Damian Lillard earned 11 points in the loss.

Rudy Gobert had a major impact on the win for France. He had 14 points and 9 rebounds, and did an excellent job protecting the rim.

His emphasis on defense is rubbing off on his teammates.

“I mean, we want to be a great defensive team. We know, we know that those guys are the most talented team by far in this tournament, so we know we really took up to the challenge. And everyone that came in from the bench took up to the challenge,” said Gobert.

Now to gymnastics, Utah gymnast MyKayla Skinner said before this Olympics that this would be her last competition.

She overcame so much just to get to Tokyo.

Unfortunately, the former Red Rocks star had her run come to end Saturday night after she failed to qualify for any event finals.

She performed well, but due to a rule that only allows two gymnasts per country to qualify for an event, she missed out.

Simone Biles tweeted out support for her longtime teammate.

so incredibly proud of this girl right here 🤍
thanks for always keeping gym light hearted and fun! love you! you’re amazing ms olympian 🤩 @mykaylaskinner pic.twitter.com/xSd3PAJCNn

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) July 25, 2021

What a career for MyKayla Skinner.

Jake Gibb is competing in his 4th Olympic games at the age of 45. He’s the oldest beach volleyball player in Olympic history.

His original parter, Taylor Crabbe, had to withdraw due to a positive COVID test, so Tri Bourne was brought in to compete alongside Gibb.

They won their debut over Italy Saturday night in straight sets.

Anastasija Zolotic won the United States’ first Gold medal ever in women’s taekwondo.

She beat a Russian athlete 25 to 17 to claim the featherweight division title.

Zolotic’s just 18-year-old. She will be a force at the Olympics for years to come.

We have a huge night Sunday in Tokyo.

Simone Biles competes in gymnastics, plus Team USA swimming tries to maintain their dominance in the pool. Caleb Dressel competes and Katie Ledecky takes on Arne Titmus.

Enjoy it all on KSL-TV.