Paris Olympics highlights: USA soccer, basketball have golden moments

The gold medal race at the Paris Olympics will come down to the final day as China leads the USA 39-38 with one day remaining. USA will hope to get to at least 40 with women’s volleyball and women’s basketball playing in finals on Sunday.

The U.S. maintained its Olympic men’s basketball dominance with a win over France for the gold.

Team USA held its first-half lead through the third, with France consistently trailing by fewer than 10 points. The third quarter ended 72-66, with the U.S. maintaining its pace into the fourth. Despite France cutting the lead to 3 with under three minutes remaining, Steph Curry responded with four of his eight total three-pointers today for a 98-87 win and the gold.

Victor Wembanyama scored an impressive 26 points for France, leading the team and the game in points. Steph Curry led the U.S. with 24.

This is the 17th men’s basketball gold for Team USA, who has only conceded first place to three other countries: Yugoslavia in 1980, Argentina in 2004, and the Soviet Union in both 1972 and 1988. Serbia, who nearly upset the U.S. earlier this week, took bronze, with France’s loss securing silver.

Sweden men’s beach volleyball secured the gold medal over Germany within just 34 minutes. Sweden took the first set with a decisive 21-10 win in just 17 minutes. Despite the efforts of Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler, Sweden clinched the gold in just two sets with a second 17 minute win 21-13.

Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonaton Hellvig collapsed in a sandy hug after their back-to-back sets, celebrating the win and the gold. Germany won silver, with Norway securing bronze after today’s win over Qatar.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has confirmed the results of an investigation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) into the scoring for the Olympic floor finals. As a result, Jordan Chiles now finishes in fourth place with Romania’s Ana Barbosu landing in third. No word yet from the IOC about medal changes.

Barbosu, who initially ranked third, did not receive the bronze after an inquiry from U.S. coaches bumped Chiles’ floor routine score to surpass Barbosu’s. However, Chiles’ score has now returned to its original 13.666. The FIG also wrote that Barbosu’s third place score is 13.766; however, her original score was 13.700. It is unclear where this change happened.

Team USA is battling France for the gold in men’s basketball, with a competitive first half ending 49-41 favoring the U.S.

A relatively tight first quarter saw France trailing the U.S. by just a few points most of the first, ending with Team USA up a bit more 20-15. With 7 points each, Devin Booker led the U.S. and Victor Wembanyama led France.

France kept things close to the NBA All-Star-studded team most of the second quarter, but the U.S. maintained its lead to end the half 49-41. Booker and Wembanyama still matched one another still with 13 points a piece, but France’s Guerschon Yabusele led the match at the half with 15 points.

The first-ever men’s breaking competition at the Olympics ends with an American on the podium.

B-Boy Victor, aka Victor Montalvo, won bronze, defeating Japan’s Shigekix, 20-7. Canada’s Phil Wizard defeated France’s Dany Dann, 23-4, in the gold medal battle.

As of now, breaking is not part of the Los Angeles 2028 program.

The United States is on the cusp of men’s basketball gold in Paris. Standing in the way the host nation France, who looks to snap the Americans’ streak of Olympic titles, which currently stands at four dating back to the Redeem Team at Beijing 2008.

Stephen Curry and LeBron James look to lead the Americans after their come from behind performance over Serbia in the semifinals two nights ago.

The French, led by phenom Victor Wembanyama, are seeking their first gold after settling for silver at the 1948, 2000 and 2020 Olympics, losing the final to the Americans in each of those tournaments. France held off World Cup champion Germany 73-69 to advance to Saturday’s final.

Off the world record by a tenth of a second, the United States team of Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holes dominated the field in the women’s 4x400m relay final, winning by more than four seconds.

The Americans ran the second fastest 4x400m relay ever with a time of 3:15.27 to win its eighth straight gold in the event dating back to 1996.

The Netherlands won silver while Great Britain took bronze.

The United States set an Olympic record in the men’s 4x400m relay final, running a time of 2:54.43 thanks to a brilliant anchor leg run by 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin, who held off 200m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana on the final straightaway.

Benjamin becomes the first to win the 400m hurdles and then anchor the 4x400m relay to gold in the same Olympics.

In the process, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson also won gold after he ran for the United States in the preliminary rounds of the 4×400 relay, becoming the youngest U.S. male track and field athlete to win a gold medal.

PARIS (AP) — Romania’s Ana Barbosu could replace American Jordan Chiles as the Olympic bronze medalist in gymnastics floor exercise after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided an appeal from Chiles’ coach that vaulted her onto the podium.

CAS ruled Saturday that the appeal by U.S. coach Cecile Landi to have .1 added to Chiles’ score that boosted Chiles from fifth to third came outside the 1-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

CAS wrote in its decision that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision,” but left it to FIG to decide who would get the medal behind gold winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and silver medalist Simone Biles of the U.S.

Read more here.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten redeemed himself after a poor performance in the 1500m final earlier this week by winning gold in the men’s 5000m, taking the lead in the final lap over rival Ronald Kwemoi of Kenya to win by nearly two seconds.

Grant Fisher took the bronze to become the first American man to medal in both the 5000 and 10000 meter races in the same Olympics.

In the women’s 1500m final, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won her third straight gold in the event. Australia’s Jessica Hull took silver while Great Britain’s Georgia Bell won bronze.

In a tightly contested final, Masai Russell wins by a one-hundredth of a second over Frances’ Cyrena Samba-Mayella to grab gold for the United States in her first ever Olympic appearance.

Russell won with a time of 12.33 while Samba-Mayella placed second with a time of 12.34, earning France’s first medal on the track at these Paris Olympics. Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn took bronze.

Earlier in the evening, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the men’s 800 meter race. Canada’s Marco Arop won silver and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati grabbed bronze.

A younger roster ushers in a new generation of United States women’s soccer as Cincinnati’s Rose Lavelle Team USA defeats Brazil, 1-0, in the gold medal match at Parc des Princes.

Mallory Swanson’s second half goal was the difference in the latest chapter of the rivalry between the Americans and the Brazilians, who met in the Olympic final for the third time in 20 years.

It’s the first Olympic title for the United States since winning gold in London 12 years ago and the first major championship for the U.S., led by head coach Emma Hayes, since the FIFA World Cup in 2019.

Former Buckeye Kyle Snyder’s bid for gold ended in the semifinals of the freestyle wrestling 97kg weight class. Snyder lost to Bahrain’s Akhmed Tazhudinov, 6-4, and will wrestle for bronze on the final day of competition against Azerbaijan’s Magomedkhan Magomedov.

Snyder seeks his third consecutive podium finish after gold in Rio and silver in Tokyo.

The United States are on the board first thanks to a goal by Mallory Swanson in the 57th minute. Korbin Albert provided the assist with a through ball ahead to the front and Swanson provided the finish to the right corner of the net as Team USA takes a 1-0 lead in the gold medal game against Brazil.

Now the Brazilians are trying to inject some energy onto the field with six-time Olympian Marta coming in on off the bench. At 38, she becomes the oldest player to ever appear in a gold medal women’s soccer game.

The Americans are showing tired legs as they get to the locker room at halftime of a scoreless match against Brazil in the gold medal game of women’s soccer.

Brazil outshot the U.S., 4-3, but the Americans had more shots on target, 3-2.

Team USA seeks its first major title since winning the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France.

New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko now has a complete collection of Olympic medals. After a silver at Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo, Ko took gold at Le Golf National in Paris. She won by two strokes over Germany’s Esther Henseleit, who takes home the silver. China’s Li Xiyu Janet won the bronze.

Ko also cements her golf legacy with a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame, earning her 27th point to automatically qualify. She’s the first player to become a Hall of Famer based on points since South Korea’s Inbee Park, who won Olympic gold in 2016.

Rose Zhang was the top American finisher, finishing at 5-under for the tournament, tied for eighth.

China easily defeated Japan, 3-0, in the team event of women’s table tennis, thus extending its lead in the overall race for most gold medals.

The win marks a clean sweep by the Chinese of all five table tennis gold medals on offer at the Paris Olympics. South Korea won bronze with a sweep over Germany.

It’s China’s fourth gold medal of the day after wins in weightlifting, diving and rhythmic gymnastics. The Chinese now lead the Americans in overall gold medals, 37-33.

At Parc des Princes, the United States and Brazil are battling for gold in women’s soccer. Team USA seeks its first gold medal since London 2012, which was the third of three straight Olympic titles. Since then, the Americans missed the podium completely in Rio before winning a bronze in Tokyo three years ago.

The gold medal match also marks the final international game for legendary Brazilian forward Marta, who is listed as a sub against the United States. The 38-year-old is in her sixth Olympics.

Cincinnati native Rose Lavelle is also listed as a substitute for the U.S.

Spain defeated Australia, 11-9, in the gold medal game of women’s water polo, upgrading from its silver medal won in Tokyo.

The Netherlands won bronze after rallying from a four-goal halftime deficit against the United States as the Americans leave Paris empty-handed for the first time since women’s water polo was added to the Olympic program in 2000.

The U.S. blew another lead Saturday and lost 11-10 to the Netherlands on Sabrina van der Sloot’s goal in the final second of the bronze-medal game at the Paris Olympics. The U.S. had been the only program to medal in each women’s water polo tournament at the Olympics since it started in 2000.

“We’ve talked about just trying to learn from our mistakes and getting better,” U.S. captain Maggie Steffens said. “And I feel today we struggled to continually learn from our mistakes.”

The U.S. arrived at the Paris Games in search of an unprecedented fourth consecutive gold medal, while continually downplaying the significance of the streak. Steffens was the only holdover from the 2012 team, and one of six returning players from Tokyo.

For the first time in 12 years, Norway is back on top of the podium in women’s handball after an emphatic 29-21 win over France in the gold medal game.

The Norwegians led by two at halftime and built an insurmountable lead that the host nation could not overcome. The defending Tokyo gold medalists settle for silver while Norway wins its third Olympic title in women’s handball.

Earlier in the day, Denmark defeated Sweden, 30-25, to take the bronze.

PARIS (AP) — Ethiopian runner Tamirat Tola won the men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics on Saturday to end Kenya’s dominance of the race.

Tola finished in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 26 seconds, with Belgium’s Bashir Abdi finishing 21 seconds behind and Benson Kipruto taking bronze for Kenya, 34 seconds back.

The 32-year-old Tola looked back as he neared the line, but he was well clear and had time to soak up the applause. Two weeks ago, he entered the Olympic marathon as a substitute for injured teammate Sisay Lemma.

Read more here.

Cao Yuan scored a 86.40 in his sixth and final dive to win the men’s 10m platform, completing a perfect sweep of the diving gold medals for China.

Cao becomes the first diver since American Greg Louganis to win four career gold medals. He also successfully defends his Olympic platform diving title won in Tokyo while Japan’s Rikuto Tamai won silver and Great Britain’s Noah Williams takes home the bronze.

China is the first to go 8-for-8 in the diving gold medals since the program was expanded to eight events at Sydney 2000.

China has added a gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics, winning the group all-around competition. Israel takes silver and Italy wins bronze.

It makes a big impact on the race for the most golds at Paris 2024. China and the United States entered the penultimate day tied with 33 gold medals each. And with the Chinese on the cusp of more golds in table tennis and diving, the United States will have some catching up to do as Day 15 progresses. But more medals are at stake in track and field, men’s basketball and women’s soccer.

PARIS (AP) — Dire financial straits are leading droves of Olympic athletes to sell images of their bodies to subscribers on OnlyFans — known for sexually explicit content — to sustain their dreams of gold at the Games. As they struggle to make ends meet, a spotlight is being cast on an Olympics funding system that watchdog groups condemn as “broken,” claiming most athletes “can barely pay their rent.”

The Olympics, the world’s biggest sporting stage, bring in billions of dollars in TV rights, ticket sales and sponsorship, but most athletes must fend for themselves financially.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not express concern about the situation. When asked by The Associated Press about athletes turning to OnlyFans, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, “I would assume that athletes, like all citizens, are allowed to do what they can.”

Read more here.

China is on the verge of history as the final diving event — the men’s 10m platform final — is past its halfway point with the defending champion Cao Yuan in front after three rounds. China looks to be the first nation to sweep all the diving titles at the Olympics since the United States pulled off the feat at the Helsinki 1952 Olympics.

China won the first seven diving golds in its quest to become the first nation to claim all eight since the diving program was expanded from four to eight events at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The 29-year-old Cao was looking to defend his platform title from the Tokyo Games and capture the fourth gold medal of his stellar career. He also won the springboard at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and a synchro gold on the 10-meter platform at London in 2012.

Read more here.

Former Buckeye Kyle Snyder is two steps closer to making the podium for a third straight Olympics. The Rio 2016 champion won his first two matches in the 97kg freestyle division and is into the semifinals that will take place later today.

Snyder defeated China’s Habila Awusayiman by points, 9-5, in the opening round before winning by technical fall over Cuba’s Arturo Silot Torres, 3:36 into the match.

The 28-year-old will face Bahrain’s Akhmed Tazhudinov in a semifinal at 12:45 p.m. EDT.

Brooke Raboutou became the first American woman to medal in sport climbing after winning silver in the boulder and lead final while Janja Garnbret defended her Tokyo title for Slovenia.

Garnbret, who won the combined gold when sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games three years ago, overcame Raboutou for the victory on the last climb of the day in Le Bourget to secure the gold.

No other athlete has won as many international climbing titles as Garnbret, who attracts just as many headlines for her dominance in the sport as she does for being an advocate for eradicating eating disorders from sport climbing.

In front of a jubilant crowd at home, the France men’s volleyball team defeated Poland 3-0 in the gold medal match. During the game, which lasted an hour and 16 minutes, France won the first set 25-19, the second set 25-20 and the third set 25-23.

The win marks back-to-back golds for France after winning it in an empty arena in Tokyo three years ago.

It’s Day 15 – the final full day of competition at Paris 2024. And it’s a Super Saturday with medals being awarded left and right. As the day gets started in the United States, we’ve already had several big developments.

In the pool at La Defense Arena, the Americans will not medal in the women’s water polo for the first time since the sport was introduced at Sydney 2000. Team USA fell to the Netherlands in the bronze medal match, 11-10, despite having a four-goal lead at halftime.

The men’s marathon took place through the streets of Paris on Saturday, with Ethiopia’s Tamirot Tola setting an Olympic record to win gold by a time of 2 hours, six minutes and 26 seconds. Tola’s win ends a 24-year Ethiopian drought in the event, becoming the country’s first gold medalist in the men’s marathon since Gezahenge Abera at the Sydney Olympics.

Plenty of team sports will crown Olympic champions later today, including women’s soccer and men’s basketball, where the United States will contend for gold.