SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Millions of dollars are being wagered on who Kamala Harris will pick as her vice president. In a minute, we will hear from someone who studies political behavior on why keeping an eye on those bets is a useful tool. But first to Paris, where it is the first full day of the Summer Olympics and one of the most highly anticipated swimming events of the Games just wrapped up, the women's 400-meter freestyle. It saw an American favorite Katie Ledecky come up short of a gold medal.
Our ALL THINGS CONSIDERED co-host Juana Summers is part of the NPR team covering the action and joins us from Paris. And Juana, unless you tell me otherwise, I'm going to assume you are doing this hit from the perch on the Eiffel Tower that Celine Dion sang from last night.
JUANA SUMMERS, BYLINE: Yeah, that's absolutely right - glass of wine and baguette in hand.
DETROW: Excellent. That is that is that is fact going forward, but let's talk about this race. Work ground to a halt at ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. We all stopped to watch it. Walk us through what happened.
SUMMERS: Scott, I mean, no matter what happened, this was always going to be such an incredible race between Australia's Ariarne Titmus, defending her Olympic title, Katie Ledecky and Canada's Summer McIntosh. Titmus pulled away from the field early. Her lead kept growing over the course of the eight laps. And by lap five, Scott, she had gained - get this - an entire body length on Ledecky. Titmus took the win with McIntosh in second place, less than one second behind Titmus. Ledecky came in behind both of them three seconds later, likely not the result she was hoping for, but that still put her back on the podium for her 11th career Olympic medal. And believe it or not, this was just her first bronze medal.
DETROW: I mean, Titmus was amazing. What did she say afterward about defending gold medal at this event?
SUMMERS: Yeah, Scott. So she told reporters that she was really relieved more than anything else, and she said that she probably felt the expectation and pressure for this race more than anything in her whole life. She also spoke very warmly of her rivalry with Katie Ledecky, saying that that rivalry just really doesn't exist beyond the races. She also said she admired Ledecky's longevity in the sport. We should point out this is Katie Ledecky's fourth Olympics, and I just want to point out here that if you, like all of us, were watching this race intently, this is not the last time we are going to see Titmus and Ledecky face off. We will be seeing these two again real soon at the 800-meter freestyle that's happening next weekend.
DETROW: I'm excited to see that. And there was action all over Paris today. What else were you and the team keeping track of?
SUMMERS: Well, I got to tell you, there was a whole lot to keep us busy. Early on in the day, the United States won the first medal of the Paris Olympics, when Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook took silver in women's synchronized three-meter diving competition. And that's the first time Team USA has medaled in that event since the 2012 games. And yesterday on the show, folks may remember that we introduced you to Ashleigh Johnson, a member of the U.S. water polo team. And I just want to say that team today had no trouble demolishing Greece - big win there - water polo on the hunt for a fourth straight gold.
And I also just want to drop a brief update here for a story that our team has been following that has to do with the Canadian soccer team using a drone to spy on opponents. Today, FIFA, which is soccer's world governing body, suspended the head coach for a year, as well as two former officials on the team. And in addition, FIFA deducted six points from the team in the Olympic women's soccer competition, which all but guarantees Canada is not going to be able to get a medal here.
DETROW: Wow. I mean, other than Celine Dion's phenomenal performance, I feel like the highlight of the opening ceremonies was that unfortunate pouring rain. Is the weather any better today?
SUMMERS: It is. I did not have to keep my raincoat on all day, like I did last night, but...
DETROW: Congrats.
SUMMERS: ...I have to say, the clear skies are here now. But weather conditions did force schedule changes during the first full day of the games. The first skateboarding event, men's street skateboarding, was postponed due to the rain. A bunch of tennis matches were delayed or postponed as well. Road conditions were also quite tough for cyclists who were battling slick conditions. There was one participant in the Olympic cycling individual time trial, Taylor Knibb, who actually fell several times in those wet conditions. That's pretty scary. And, of course, there are also some lingering conditions about what impact all of this rain that we've been seeing here in Paris could have on the water quality for swimming in the Seine, with the triathlon set to begin Tuesday.
DETROW: Lastly, this is your first Olympics. I am insanely jealous but very happy for you. What are you looking forward to over the next few days?
SUMMERS: I mean, the coolest thing about covering the Olympics is that everything is sort of a dream assignment. One thing I'm keeping my eye on is the U.S. Women's Olympic basketball team. They are going after a record eighth consecutive Olympic gold, so looking forward to see what's happening. That roster is just absolutely stacked - and looking forward to see what those players will do.
DETROW: Juana Summers, thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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