Five things to watch in Paris on Day 1

PARIS — From Summer McIntosh's highly anticipated first swim to a superstar showdown in men's basketball, here are five things to look out for at the Paris Olympics as competition begins in full on Saturday, July 27:

SUMMER'S HERE

After narrowly missing the podium as a 14-year-old at the Tokyo Games, Summer McIntosh arrives in Paris as a multi-medal threat for Canada in the pool. The star swimmer from Toronto will make her first swim of these Games in the 400-metre freestyle heats on Saturday. McIntosh finished fourth in the event in 2021 in Tokyo, and set a world record in the discipline at the 2023 Canadian swimming trials before it was reclaimed four months later by Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus.

---

STAR SHOWDOWN

Two of the biggest stars in the NBA will face off when Canada takes on Greece in men's basketball. Canada is led by NBA first-team all-star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, while two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo highlights the Greek roster. Oklahoma City's Gilgeous-Alexander had two of his lowest-scoring outings last NBA season — 10 and 12 — points — when going up against Milwaukee's Greek Freak.

---

FAMILIAR FOE

Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime starts his bid for a gold medal when he takes on American Marcos Giron on the clay courts of Roland Garros. The 23-year-old from Montreal has a 3-1 record against Giron, including a meeting on clay in the Round of 16 at the 2022 Rome Masters. It's part of a packed day of Canadian tennis action. Leylah Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu are in women's singles action, with Fernandez also teaming up with doubles ace Gabriela Dabrowski.

---

JUST BEACHY

Heather Bansley looks to build on her run at the Tokyo Games when she makes her Olympic debut with new partner Sophie Bokovec on the opening day of the women's beach volleyball tournament. Bansely, from Waterdown, Ont., teamed with Brandie Wilkerson in Tokyo and advanced to the quarterfinals following an upset of third-ranked Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil of the United States. She briefly retired after Tokyo but returned to team up with Toronto's Bokovec. They will face China's Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi, who are ranked 10th in the world.

---

SURF'S UP

Not all action at the 2024 Summer Games is happening in France. Surfing competition starts Saturday in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, over 15,700 kilometres away from Paris. While the French capital has experienced a cloudy and rainy start to the Games, Saturday's weather forecast for Teahupo'o calls for partly cloudy skies with a high of 30 C and light winds of eight km/h. Sanoa Dempfle-Olin of Tofino, B.C., is the lone Canadian surfer competing in Tahiti.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.