PARIS (AP) — With the Paris Olympics halfway through, the world is eager to see the rugby star and social media phenomenon known as the “Pommel Man”, a 51-year-old Turkish shooter who has appeared on reality shows such as “Love Island” and “The Real John Wick.”

These Olympics have been full of memorable moments since the dazzling opening ceremony: the Seine River was too polluted for the triathlon swim to take place as planned, a gender debate erupted in women’s boxing and Leon Marchand led France with four gold medals in four swimming events, and of course Simone Biles dazzled by winning two gold medals with many more to come.

Here are some of the unforgettable moments that took place as the 2024 Olympics reached the halfway point.

Simone Shines

The first week of the Paris Games belonged to Biles, who entered the halfway point with gold medals in the women’s team final and all-around, drawing a star-studded crowd every time she competed. She now has nine medals in her Olympic career, including six golds, more than any other American gymnast.

Biles also has three other events: Vault on Saturday night and balance beam and floor exercise on Monday.

Three years after withdrawing from most events at the Tokyo Olympics due to her mental health, Biles returned as the third woman to win the overall title twice, joining Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1960 and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia in 1964 and 1968.

The 27-year-old became the oldest athlete to top the all-around podium since 30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya of the Soviet Union won the first Olympic all-around title in Helsinki in 1952.

Illona Maher, Yusuf Dikec and other stars appear

The world was introduced to Stephen Nedoroscik, aka “The Pommel Horse Man,” when he helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team win its first Olympic medal in 16 years.

The bespectacled 25-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, sat almost motionless in the men’s team final as he waited his turn to compete in his only event in Paris, the pommel horse. When his turn came, he performed a stunning 45 seconds.

The celebration began immediately after his jump, before his feet even touched the mat, and Nedoroscik became an instant phenomenon on social media.

Ilona Maher, who became the star of Tokyo with her behind-the-scenes posts on social media, brought the USA to the podium for the first time in the rugby sevens category.

Maher has used her platform to promote body positivity and document life in the athlete village, which she renamed “The Villa” in reference to her beloved reality show “Love Island”.

But the most unexpected name was Yusuf Dikec.

The 51-year-old Turkish pistol shooter went viral on social media for his seemingly relaxed demeanor en route to a silver medal in the mixed 10m air pistol, with commentators dubbing him the “real John Wick” after Keanu Reeves’ character in “The Matrix” series.

Dikec was shooting in a T-shirt, had one hand in his pocket, was wearing standard glasses and had an emotionless expression on his face. He was likened to an ordinary guy competing in the Olympics or even a hitman.

Gender Questions

An Algerian boxer faced gender discrimination after her Italian opponent pulled out seconds after the bout had started.

Imane Khelif has faced fierce criticism from former US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after she was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing the now-banned International Boxing Association’s unspecified and opaque fitness tests for the women’s event.

Khelif was born a girl and this is stated in her passport, which is the threshold determined by the International Olympic Committee for boxing eligibility.

Marchand and Katie Ledecky reign in the pool

The pool belonged to Marchand, who thrilled the home crowd on Friday night when she won her fourth Olympic-record gold in the 200-meter individual medley. She also won gold in the 400-meter individual medley, the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter backstroke.

Ledecky is aiming to catch Michael Phelps, the only two swimmers to win four gold medals in the same event.

Ledecky is aiming to complete four laps of the women’s 800-meter freestyle, an event she first won at the 2012 London Olympics. Another win would be the ninth Olympic gold of her career, giving her the second-most Olympic gold medals in any sport, Summer or Winter.

Phelps, who won the 200-meter individual medley championship four times, won 23 gold medals.

Opening ceremony controversy

The opening ceremony sparked a storm of anger over a controversial scene featuring drag queens and other performers.

Although artistic director Thomas Jolly has repeatedly stated that he was not inspired by “The Last Supper,” critics interpreted part of the show as a mockery of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of Jesus Christ and his apostles.

Paris police launched a hate speech investigation following Jolly’s complaint over death threats.

Fragrant Seine River

Organisers insisted the swimming portion of next week’s triathlon and marathon swimming events can be held safely on the Seine River, despite health concerns about the quality of the water.

Triathlon swimming races, postponed several times because of rising bacteria levels, made a good showing on television as athletes cycled and ran past some of Paris’ most beautiful sights.

It was part of an ambitious plan to clean up the long-polluted Seine, with 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) spent on infrastructure improvements. Several swimming practice sessions had to be cancelled and the men’s race was postponed a day because of water quality.

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