The Tokyo Olympics are set to open July 23rd, nearly one year to the date after they were originally scheduled to begin before being postponed due to COVID. 

Over 11,000 athletes are expected to compete in 339 events during the course of the Olympics, which, despite being postponed, are still being branded as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

As the opening ceremony nears, here’s everything you need to know about the Tokyo Olympics. 

What are the dates? 

The Tokyo Olympics commence with the June 23 opening ceremony and will conclude with the closing ceremony on Sunday, August 8. The opening ceremony will be held on the evening of June 23 in Tokyo and will air at 7 a.m. EST in the United States.

How do I watch? 

NBC will provide primetime coverage for the games with additional streaming options available on NBCOlympics.com, NBC Sports, and Peacock.

Will fans be allowed at the Tokyo Olympics? 

The Olympics will allow a limited number of local fans. International fans have already been barred from traveling to Japan for this summer’s Games because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Organizers say that nearly 3.7 million tickets have been sold to Japanese residents. Venues will allow up to 50% capacity but will be capped at a maximum of 10,000 spectators. Fans will not be allowed to cheer, must wear masks, and are being told to go straight home after each event. 

What is the COVID situation in Tokyo like? 

Tokyo is currently under a state of emergency due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the region. The state of emergency is set to expire on July 12 despite scrutiny regarding the decision to hold the games. A month out from the Tokyo Olympics, only eight percent of the Japanese public is fully vaccinated, adding to public health concerns.  

When is Gymnastics? 

The women’s team final begins at 6:45 a.m. EST on July 27 and the all-around final will air at 6:50 a.m. EST on July 29. Individual events are scheduled for July 30, 31 and August 1. 

When is Swimming? 

Swimming events begin on the first day of athletic competition, July 24, and run through July 31.

When is Track and Field? 

The 100m finals will be July 31. The 200m, 400m, relays and more will begin August 2 and run through the end of the week.

When are the women’s basketball finals? 

The gold-medal game will air on August 7 at 10:30 p.m. EST. 

When are the women’s soccer finals? 

The USWNT will begin group stage play against Sweden on July 21 at 4:30 a.m. EST. The soccer tournament will culminate with the final, which airs on August 5 at 10 p.m. EST.

What sports have been added? 

The Tokyo Olympics will see the introduction of several new sports, including 3×3 basketball, freestyle BMX and madison cycling. Host organizing committees are also allowed to add new sports to the Olympic program. In Tokyo, these sports include karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding, all making their Olympic debuts, while softball and baseball have also returned for the first time since 2008. 

The must-see athletes:

The Tokyo Olympics will feature both already-legendary female athletes competing for further Olympics glory, as well as several notable first-time competitors looking to break onto the global stage.

Simone Biles, gymnastics: 

Simone Biles is, by all accounts, the greatest gymnast of all time. With four elements bearing her name, Biles is truly in a league of her own. During the Tokyo Olympics the American icon will look to add to her five medals, including a second-consecutive all-around gold. 

Katie Ledecky, swimming:

At just 24 years old, Ledecky has dominated swimming for nearly a decade. In Tokyo, the two-time Olympian will look to add to her six medals, competing in the 200m free, 400m free, 800m free and 1500m free. 

Allyson Felix, track and field: 

Allyson Felix is on the precipice of an unprecedented comeback. The 35-year-old is set to race in her fifth Olympic games, only two years after giving birth to her first child. Felix will compete in the 400m in Tokyo, hoping to add to her nine medals and defy expectations for sprinters’ longevity.

Storylines to track: 

Volleyball: Can April Ross finally win that elusive gold? In 2016, Ross and beach volleyball partner Kerri Walsh-Jennings fell short in the semifinals, going on to win bronze in the third-place match. In 2012, Ross lost to Walsh-Jennings in the gold medal match, in what was the final competition for Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor. Now, Ross and her partner Alix Klineman enter the Olympics as the favorite to win. It could be Ross’ best and last chance to finally claim that elusive gold. 

Skateboarding: The sport’s Olympics debut brings with it a generation of up-and-coming skaters ready to announce themselves to the world. Can 14-year-old Misugo Okamoto, 13-year-old Rayssa Leal or 12-year-old Sky Brown make themselves the face of the sport with a podium finish?

Gymnastics: The US Gymnastics team will once again be favorites. You already know Simone Biles. Now meet the rest of Team USA: Sunisa “Suni” Lee, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, Jade Carey, and McKayla Skinner. Biles, Lee, Chiles and McCallum will compete in the team competition, where they’ll be heavy favorites to the US’ third straight team gold. Carey and Skinner, meanwhile, both earned individual spots. 

Soccer: The USWNT will try to become the first team to ever win the World Cup and Olympics back-to-back. In his first major tournament at the helm, coach Vlatko Andonovski picked a veteran roster — 17 of the 18 players were on the 2019 World Cup team.  

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.