Simone Biles

Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Gabby Douglas and Caeleb Dressel feature in the biggest questions in Olympic sports in 2023, ahead of the 2024 Paris Games.

Then last week, Japanese officials announced a pause in the active promotion of the Sapporo bid that may include a national survey asking the public whether it wants to host the Games. In a change from Tokyo, the U.S. men’s basketball team may face a gigantic threat at the Paris Games (more on that in the next burning question), but first comes the quadrennial FIBA World Cup in August and September. [Walsh Jennings said last spring](https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2022/04/19/kerri-walsh-jennings-logan-tom-beach-volleyball/) that she wanted Tom to be her new partner, [then said in October](https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2022/10/28/kerri-walsh-jennings-beach-volleyball-hall-of-fame/) that she should have an answer on her 2024 Olympic bid plans after the start of the new year. [said in September](https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2022/09/08/simone-biles-paris-2024-olympics-gymnastics/) that she plans to be at the Paris Olympics. “There’s a lot of things that are appealing to me at the moment, and I just have to decide which direction I want to go. Walsh Jennings, 44, last played a tournament in June 2021, when she and then-partner Brooke Sweat were eclipsed for the second and last U.S. As rules currently stand, Russians must compete at their continental championships this year (April for Europe, May or June for Asia) to remain eligible to qualify full teams for the Paris Games. Olympic sports leaders have discussed since at least September how athletes who do not endorse the war could return in the future. Russians and Belarusians in most Olympic sports have been banned from international competition since the invasion of Ukraine 10 months ago. The women’s 400m freestyle could pit Ledecky (reigning world champion) against Australian Ariarne Titmus (reigning Olympic champion) and 16-year-old Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh. But doing both through the finals would still be a challenge: racing six consecutive days at the Olympics (and a seventh day at the end if adding the 4x400m relay).