Paris Olympics recap: USA gets two track golds, big wins in team sports
Team USA had a stunning and landmark day at the track, Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the space of an hour, American track and field athletes picked up two golds, a silver and two bronze medals.
The U.S. medal haul began in the men’s 1,500 meters when Cole Hocker stunned the defending gold and bronze medalists from Tokyo to win the race and his first gold medal in an Olympic record time. Hocker was joined on the podium by fellow American Yared Nuguse, who took bronze.
But that was just the first of gold-bronze finish for U.S. runners at the Stade de France. In the women’s 200, Tokyo bronze medalist Gabby Thomas stormed to victory to capture her first gold, while teammate Brittany Brown finished third to earn bronze.
Annette Nneka Echikunwoke made sure field athletes were part of the Olympic medal party, collecting silver in the women’s hammer throw. USA TODAY Sports has highlights and results from all of Tuesday’s action below.
Kristen Faulkner leads U.S. women team pursuit in quest for gold medal
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Kristen Faulkner’s parents had never seen her race in a velodrome before Tuesday. At France’s National Velodrome, they saw cycling’snewest sensation qualify for the chance to win another gold medal at the Olympics.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
Faulkner and teammates Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams and Chloe Dygert posted the second-fastest time in qualifying for women’s team pursuit in 4:05.238.
New Zealand had the fastest qualifying time (4:04.679), and Great Britain (4:06.710) and Italy (4:07.579) rounded out the top four.
The U.S. and Great Britain, the world’s most-decorated programs in the event, will race in Friday’s first round. Of the eight fastest qualifiers, the teams that post the two best times in Round 1 will meet for the gold medal.
Faulkner shocked the cycling world earlier in Paris when she won the gold medal in the women’s road race, the first time an American has won the event in 40 years. — Dave Birkett
Cuban wrestler wins fifth straight Olympic gold then immediately retires
PARIS — A Cuban wrestler made Olympic history Tuesday, and perhaps put himself in the conversation as one of the greatest Olympic athletes ever.
When it was over, López picked up his coaches in a pair of bear hugs before walking to the center of the mat and untying his shoes. In the international symbol for a wrestler’s retirement, he removed his shoes, left them on the mat and walked away.
Nicknamed ‘El Terrible’ for his imposing figure and sheer dominance, López won his first Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing, when he was 25 years old. He won his fifth just a few weeks shy of his 42nd birthday. — Tom Schad
US figure skaters will get 2022 Olympic gold medals — under Eiffel Tower
The Kamila Valieva doping saga, one of the most controversial, arduous and infuriating scandals in Olympic history, reaches its long-awaited conclusion Wednesday evening at the base of the Eiffel Tower when, for the first time in history, Winter Olympians will receive their gold medals at the Summer Olympics.
Exactly 2½ years to the day after the team figure skating competition ended at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, U.S. figure skaters will get their gold medals and their Japanese counterparts their silvers at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
Russia dropped from first place to third after Valieva was suspended for four years and her Olympic results were disqualified, but since Russia is not allowed at the Paris Olympics due to the war in Ukraine, their skaters will not be allowed at the medal ceremony and will receive their bronze medals elsewhere, probably in Russia at some later date.
All nine skaters on the U.S. team, their coaches and several members of each of their families flew to Paris on Tuesday courtesy of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee.
Medal ceremony outfits have been made for the Americans by the USOPC, which the skaters will wear at the Paris Olympics’ Champions Park for the ceremony beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday. — Christine Brennan
USWNT’s latest Olympic win shows how far team has come in a year
LYON, France — Exactly one year ago, the U.S. women’s national team was at the lowest point in its illustrious history, knocked out of the World Cup in the quarterfinals in what was the team’s earliest exit ever at a major international tournament.
On Tuesday, they reached the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It means everything,” said Sophia Smith, whose sublime goal in the 95th minute made the difference in the 1-0 win over Germany.
“We had a tough year last year. In every way possible,” Smith said. “But I feel like this is a new year and we’re really just showing the world that we didn’t ever drop off. We just needed a learning year and a growth year and we’re back. And, hopefully, on top after this next game.
The USWNT will face Brazil Saturday, Aug. 10 at 11 a.m. ET in the gold medal match. — Nancy Armour
Team USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt advances to gold medal wrestling match
American Sarah Hildebrandt got out early in the women’s 50kg wrestling semifinals with a snap-down, go-behind takedown to go up 2-0 on Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjav, a two-time world silver medalist. While Dolgorjav was in on a single-leg shot, Hildebrandt slipped out of the Mongolian’s grasp and countered with a single-leg takedown of her own. After a passivity point, she led 5-0 going into the second period and held on for a victory.
Hildebrandt, despite a significant height advantage, broke free or held on for a whistle on three shots that Dolgorjav was in deep on her legs to secure a shutout victory. While Dolgorjav had gotten the best of her on two occassions at the world championships prior, Hildebrandt was the more technically sound and tougher wrestler in this match.
Hildebrandt will face India’s Vinesh Phogat, who has bursted onto the scene for the first time as a three-time Olympian by defeating Japan superstar Yui Susaki (four-time world champion and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist) in the first round. She is a two-time world bronze medalist. — Eli McKown, Des Moines Register
Imane Khelif has a shot at Olympic boxing gold after semifinal win
PARIS – Imane Khelif will be fighting for gold.
The Algerian boxer advanced to the finals of the women’s welterweight division Tuesday night with a victory over Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng at Roland-Garros Stadium.
It was Khelif’s third victory in as many fights at the Paris Olympics, earning her a spot in the gold medal match Friday despite being dragged into a controversy over gender eligibility.
Khelif, 25, previously beat Thailand’s Suwannapheng in the semifinals of the 2023 world championships. Soon after that bout, Khelif was disqualified for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests, according to the International Boxing Association (IBA), a discredited group that has no role in the Olympics.
The IOC said Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, another female boxer disqualified at the 2023 world championships, both met all criteria to participate in the women’s competition. They also competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Like Khelif, Lin has excelled here inside the ring. She won each of her two fights by unanimous decision and has advanced to the semifinals in the women’s featherweight division. — Josh Peter
U.S. men’s basketball team cruises to Olympic semifinals
PARIS – If U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr hammered home his points of emphasis against Brazil to reporters, imagine what he told his team ahead of Tuesday’s quarterfinals matchup.
Defend and rebound, and the rest will take care of itself, Kerr said in a variety of ways after the U.S. completed group play and advanced to the knockout stage.
His players listened.
The U.S. did exactly that on its way to a 122-87 victory against Brazil, advancing to Thursday’s semifinals where it will face Serbia. The winner will play the winner of France-Germany for the gold medal.
The U.S. outrebounded Brazil when it mattered, held Brazil to 42% shooting and relied on its offensive firepower to put up points.
Devin Booker led the U.S. with 18 points, and Joel Embiid finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 11 points, and LeBron James added 12 points, nine assists and three steals. The U.S. shot 58% from the field and 48% on 3-pointers
Bruno Caboclo scored a game-high 30 points for Brazil. — Jeff Zillgitt
Brazil beats Spain in women’s soccer semifinal, will face USWNT for gold
Brazil earned a date with the U.S. women’s national team this weekend with Olympic gold on the line.
Brazil jumped out to a big 3-0 lead over Spain in the second women’s soccer seminal before putting away the defending World Cup champions 4-2. Brazil and the USWNT will face off Saturday, Aug. 10 at 11 a.m. ET in the gold-medal match.
Brazil took a 2-0 halftime lead into the locker room after goals by Irene Parades and Gabi Portilho. Brazil surged to a 3-0 lead on a headed goal by Adriana, before Spain finally got on the board late in regulation on Salma Paralluelo’s goal. Brazil made it 4-1 with a breakaway goal in the first minute of extra time. Kerolin’s timely interception left her unguarded and sprinting towards goal. She fired the ball between Spanish keeper Cata Coll’s legs to give Brazil a three-goal lead.
But Spain wasn’t done and neither was Salma Paralluelo. After scoring her team’s first goal in the 85th minute, notched her second of the match in the 12th minute of stoppage time. But the deficit was too much to overcome for Spain, who will now face Germany for the bronze medal.
USA falls in women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals
No Americans are left in women’s beach volleyball after the pair of Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng fell to Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner of Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
The Swiss won the first 21-18 after falling behind early in the match. And, despite a late rally by the Americans in the second set to tie it at 19-all, Hueberli and Brunner scored two straight points to get the decisive second set win.
The only U.S. pair left in beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics is on the men’s side. Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh will play in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. — Jordan Mendoza
Brazil dominating Spain in women’s soccer semifinal
Brazil jumped out to a huge 3-0 lead over Spain in the second women’s soccer semifinal of the 2024 Paris Olympics before the defending Women’s World Cup finally got on the board in the closing minutes of regulation.
An attack by Brazil leads to mayhem in front of the goal, but Adriana’s header off a headed pass from Gabi Portilho put As Canarinhas up 3-0 in the 72nd minute. Spain countered with a goal by Salma Paralluelo in the 85th minute, off an assist by Jennifer Hermoso, to make it 3-1.
The winner of this match plays the United States in the gold medal match on Saturday. The loser faces Germany for bronze.
U.S. men’s basketball team up big on Brazil at halftime of quarterfinal
PARIS — Joel Embiid hears the boos from the French fans. It doesn’t bother him. Or at least it didn’t in the first half of the U.S. quarterfinals game against Brazil.
Embiid scored a team-high 14 points and had seven rebounds as the U.S. took a 63-36 lead into halftime against Brazil.
Brazil had a trimmed a 19-point deficit to 42-34, but the U.S. the half on a 21-4 run. LeBron James had 10 points and eight assists, and his final assist of the half came on an out-of-bounds alley-oop to Jayson Tatum just before the buzzer. Devin Booker had nine points for the U.S. which had 11 of its 12 players who played in the first half score points.
The U.S. shot 59% from the field and 50% on 3-pointers and held Brazil to 34% from the field and 29% on 3-pointers. The U.S. also limited Brazil’s offensive rebounds to four, and it entered the game as the best offensive rebounding team in the tournament at 13 per game.
Right now, it’s too many defenders, rebounders and scorers for Brazil to handle. — Jeff Zillgitt
Amit Elor wins gold for USA, cements her status as rising wrestling star
PARIS — Team USA’s Amit Elor won the first gold medal of her promising wrestling career Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Olympics, crushing her latest opponent in the women’s 68-kilogram weight class − Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan − just like she has crushed almost everyone else who has stepped onto the mat with her over the past four-plus years.
Elor’s 3-0 victory in the gold-medal match at Champ-de-Mars Arena gives her 41 consecutive victories at the international level, across age divisions, dating back to 2019. It also makes Elor, 20, the youngest Olympic gold medalist in the history of U.S. wrestling and just the third American woman to take gold, joining two of her idols: Helen Maroulis and Tamyra Mensah-Stock.
Elor has won eight world championships in three different age divisions − including senior, under-23 and under-20 titles in each of the past two years. — Tom Schad
Gabby Thomas wins gold, Brittany Brown bronze for USA in women’s 200
SAINT-DENIS, France — The gold medal in the women’s 200 is coming back to the U.S.
Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred, the gold medalist in the 100, took the silver medal at 22.08 and Team USA’s Brittany Brown got bronze, running a 22.20.
American McKenzie Long finished seventh at 22.42.
Thomas is the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 200 since Allyson Felix won gold at the 2012 London Games. — Tyler Dragon
Bahrain runner wins women’s steeplechase in Olympic record time
SAINT-DENIS, France — Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi won an exciting 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Yavi jumped over the final barrier, ran past Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai and crossed the finish line with an Olympic record time of 8:52.76. Chemutai took second, running a 8:53.34 and Kenya’s Faith Cherotich finished third at 8:55.15.
Yavi danced and celebrated around the track after her gold-medal win.
Americans Courtney Wayment and Valerie Constien finished 12th and 15th, respectively. — Tyler Dragon
USA defeats Hungary to reach women’s water polo semifinals
NANTERRE, France — Team USA women’s water polo defeated Hungary, 5-4, in the last quarterfinal match on Tuesday to keep its Olympic run alive. Playing for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal, the Americans won to advance to the semifinals match against Australia, which topped Greece, 9-6, earlier in the day.
In a hard-fought contest, the two teams were fairly even throughout the match, and Team USA had a 3-2 lead after two quarters. Tied at 4-4 midway through the fourth quarter, a goal from Rachel Fattal delivered the go-ahead score and ultimately sealed the victory for the Americans.
Team USA’s captain Maggie Steffens led the team with two goals, and goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson made 17 saves on 21 shots on the day at Paris La Défense Arena.
The other semifinal match features Spain, which topped Canada, against Netherlands, which beat Italy in the quarterfinals Tuesday. Team USA and Australia are set to face off at 8:35 a.m. ET, while Spain and Netherlands will play the second semifinal at 1:35 p.m. ET. — Michelle Martinelli
Brazil takes 2-0 lead over Spain in women’s soccer semifinal
Irene Parades gave Brazil an early 1-0 lead over Spain in the second semifinal of women’s soccer. Paredes scored in the 15th minute with Brazil controlling the attack in the early minutes. Then, in the waning minutes of the first half, Brazilian striker Gabi Portilho buried a shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner of the net to make it 2-0.
The winner of this match plays the United States in the gold medal match, Saturday in Paris.
USA’s Annette Nneka Echikunwoke wins silver in women’s hammer
SAINT-DENIS, France — American Annette Nneka Echikunwoke is an Olympic medalist.
The 28-year-old, whose previous best finish at a world championship with 12th, had her greatest day of 2024, throwing a season-best 75.48 meters (247 feet, 7¾ inches) to earn the silver medal in the women’s hammer throw at the Paris Games.
Echikunwoke’s silver gives the Americans medals in each of the throwing events so far, after Ryan Crouser won men’s shot put for the third consecutive Olympics, and Valarie Allman won women’s discus gold for the second consecutive Games. Neither javelin final has happened yet.
Canada’s Camryn Rogers, who competed at the University of California in college, won gold with a throw of 76.97 (252 feet, 6¼ inches), which she tossed on her fifth attempt. Until that heave, it looked like Echikunwoke would might win.
The bronze went to Jie Zhao of China, who threw 74.27 (243 feet, 8 inches).
The other American in the final, Deanna Price, finished 11th with a throw of 71.00 (232 feet, 11¼ inches). — Lindsay Schnell
Americans Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse take gold and bronze in men’s 1,500
SAINT-DENIS, France — Cole Hocker stunned Great Britian’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the men’s 1,500 in dramatic fashion.
Hocker was in fourth place during the final lap but had one final kick left with roughly 60 meters to go and shockingly ran by favorites Kerr and a fading Ingebrigtsen as the crowd cheered.
Hocker crossed the line in first and immediately threw his hands up in jubilation as the scoreboard displayed that he had run an Olympic record 3:27.65 to win gold. Hocker becomes just the fourth American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 1,500.
Kerr finished second in a nation record 3:27.79 and fellow American Yared Nuguse snuck in to get the bronze, running a personal-best 3:27.80. It’s the first time Team USA has had two medalists in the men’s 1,500 in 112 years.
Ingebrigtsen took a disappointing fourth place and was in disbelief at the finish. Ingebrigtsen won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and Kerr got the bronze. This year’s 1,500 was supposed to be a showdown between the two, but Hocker stole the show and set the Olympic record. — Tyler Dragon
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone leads three Americans into women’s 400 hurdles final
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looks like her usual spectacular self, and that’s bad news for everyone else.
McLaughlin-Levrone easily won her heat — what else is new? — in the women’s 400 hurdles semifinals Tuesday evening at Stade de France, turning in a 52.13 in a race where she barely looked like she was trying. McLaughlin-Levrone is the world record holder (50.65), and heavy gold medal favorite. In this race, everyone is basically running for silver. She turned in the best semifinal time by more than fourth-tenths of a second.
McLaughlin-Levrone has said she wants to go below 50 seconds, and given her history of world records on the biggest stages, anything seems possible in Thursday’s final. At the very least it seems like a given that McLaughlin-Levrone will set a new Olympic record, which currently sits at 51.46. She set that in Tokyo three years ago.
American Jasmine Jones also qualified, finishing second in her semifinal at 53.83. The third American hurdler, Anna Cockrell, also advanced to the final, using a strong kick to pull in front of Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon. Cockrell finished in 52.90. — Lindsay Schnell
USWNT beats Germany to reach soccer’s gold medal match
LYON, France — The United States women’s national soccer team defeated Germany, 1-0, in the semifinals on Tuesday to advance to the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sophia Smith scored a goal in overtime, assisted by Mallory Swanson, to keep the Americans’ chances of winning their first gold since 2012 alive. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made an incredible save with her foot deep into extra time to keep Germany off the board.
The USWNT will face the winner of Spain vs. Brazil, which kicks off at 3 p.m. ET, on Saturday in Paris. — Nancy Armour
France lineup change pays off vs. Canada in men’s basketball quarterfinal
PARIS – French coach Vincent Collet made a massive lineup change ahead of France’s quarterfinal game against Canada, a game in which the loser was knocked out without a chance to medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Collet benched Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, who each started the three games in group play, and the jolt worked.
France advanced to the semifinals with an 82-73 victory against Canada Tuesday at Bercy Arena. It will play Germany Thursday for a spot in the gold-medal game.
Frank Ntilikina, Nic Batum, Isaia Cordinier, Victor Wembanyama and Guerschon Yabusele started for France, which took an early 19-5 lead. The defense forced Canada to miss 10 of its first 12 shots and commit five turnovers.
Yabusele scored 22 points, Cordinier scored 20 and Fournier added 15, and Gobert logged just four minutes.
France phenom Victor Wembanyama did not have a great offensive game (just seven points on 2-for-10 shooting), but he had 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block and kept Canada’s guards from scoring at will in the paint.
Canada shot 38% from the field, 24% on 3-pointers and put France on the line 42 times. France outscored Canada 33-18 from the free throw line. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada with 27 points, and RJ Barrett had 16 points. — Jeff Zillgitt
U.S. women’s volleyball team sweeps Poland to reach semifinals
The United States women’s volleyball team made short work of Tuesday’s quarterfinal, sweeping Poland 25-22, 25-14, 25-20 to move into Thursday’s semifinal against powerhouse Brazil.
The Brazilians haven’t dropped a set in four matches in these Olympics. They swept the Dominican Republic in a quarterfinal earlier Tuesday.
Against Poland, the U.S. rolled through the first two sets in a total of only 45 minutes of playing time. The Americans then overcame a 7-1 deficit to start the third set, rallying to take the lead at 15-14 and eventually close out the match to advance within one victory of another Olympic medal.
The U.S. has earned a medal in women’s volleyball in each of the past four Olympics, including a gold in Tokyo. Brazil beat Team USA for gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, while the Americans won the final match against Brazil in 2021.
In pool play in 2024, the Americans lost their first match of the Olympics against China but rebounded to edge Serbia 3-2 in a critical second match. From there, the U.S. hasn’t lost a set, sweeping host France and Poland. — Gentry Estes
USA women’s soccer vs. Germany: Sophia Smith breaks through with extra time goal
It took extra time, but Sophia Smith netted the first goal in the USA vs. Germany women’s soccer tilt on Tuesday, giving the USWNT the 1-0 lead in the 95th minute.
All three Americans qualify for 400 final
SAINT-DENIS, France — Quincy Hall looks ready for the 400 final.
Hall raced around the track and had a clear lead ahead of all the other sprinters at the 300-meter mark. Down the homestretch, Hall maintained a five-meter lead over his competitors and cruised to the finish line in 43.95 to win his semifinal heat.
Hall won the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in the event. His season-best of 43.80 is the second fastest time in the world this year.
Grenada’s Kirani James ran a season-best 43.78 to win the second heat. While U.S. sprinter Christopher Bailey finished third, running a 44.31. Bailey’s time was good enough to advance to Wednesday’s final.
In the third and final semifinal heat, Great Britian’s Matthew Hudson-Smith took his foot off the gas with 20 meters remaining and coasted to a 44.07 to win. Hudson-Smith has the fastest time in the world this year (43.74).
Michael Norman finished second in the heat (44.26) to secure the other automatic qualifying spot.
The top two in each heat, plus the next two fastest times advanced to the 400 final.
Olympic wrestling: American Sarah Hildebrandt heads to gold medal match
At the Tokyo Olympics, Sarah Hildebrandt tasted Olympic glory. Now, she has an opportunity to make it sweeter.
Hildebrandt, the reigning Olympic 50kg bronze medalist in women’s wrestling, will grapple in the final on Wednesday. The 2021 Games medalist defeated Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Dolgorjay to advance to the final.
Hildebrandt will face India’s Vinesh Vinesh.
USWNT vs Germany scoreless in first half
The U.S. recorded six shots (five on target) the first half, but weren’t able to get one in the back of the net. Meanwhile, the Germans recorded zero shots on goal.
Skateboarder Bryce Wettstein finishes outside of medal range
PARIS — Bryce Wettstein nearly made history Tuesday in the women’s park final by becoming the first American woman to medal in skateboarding at an Olympic Games. Instead, the American women will have to wait until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Wettstein ended up sixth in the eight-person final after finishing the preliminaries second overall. Her score of 88.12, which came on her first run, wasn’t enough in a finals in which the women threw down. Wettstein fell in the second and third rounds.
Australia’s Arisa Trew, 14, took gold; she entered Paris as the No. 2 park rider in the world. No. 1-ranked and defending silver medalist Hiraki Cocona, who will turn 16 later this month, of Japan repeated with silver.
Great Britain’s Sky Brown, who at 13 years old won bronze in Tokyo three years prior, took bronze again.
Trew took the lead in the final round with a splendid 45 seconds of skating. The judges rewarded her with a 93.18 to move into first. Hiraki’s final run bumped her ahead of Brown but she could not leapfrog Trew. – Chris Bumbaca
Team USA basketball TV schedule
Start time: 3:30 p.m. ET
USA Network is airing the game, Peacock is live streaming it.
USWNT lineup today
Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
Defenders: Crystal Dunn, Tierna Davidson, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox
Midfielders: Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan, Sam Coffey
Forwards: Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
The USWNT is back to full strength. Tierna Davidson, who missed the last two matches with a leg contusion, is in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s Olympic semifinal against Germany. So, too, midfielder Sam Coffey, who missed the quarterfinal win over Japan because of yellow-card accumulation. The rest of the lineup remains unchanged. – Nancy Armour
USA women’s soccer vs. Germany: Live updates, score and more
The U.S. women’s soccer team is looking to win its first Olympic gold medal since 2012, and that quest continues in a semifinal matchup vs. Germany on Monday. USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the tilt.
Simone Biles discusses ‘pin trading’ with husband Jonathan Owens
Jonathan Owens seems to have gotten the full taste and experience of the 2024 Paris Olympics — including some inside pin trading.
Thanks to the Chicago Bears granting him some time away from training camp, Owens was able to watch his wife, decorated women’s gymnast Simone Biles, win several Olympic medals, including helping the USA women’s gymnastics team return to gold in the team-all-around event.
And while the first-year Bears safety was able to take in the excitement and history of Biles becoming of the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast (both men or women), Biles told TODAY’s Hoda Kotb Tuesday morning that he was just as excited to pin trade at the Paris Games.
‘He was so excited. He was more excited to pin trade,’ Biles said. ‘He was loving to pin trade. I didn’t think he would but I did warn him that pin trading was really huge. So he absolutely loved that.’ – John Leuzzi
Olympic basketball: Nikola Jokic, Serbia hold off Patty Mills and Australia in OT
PARIS – Trailing by 24 points in the second quarter against Australia, Serbia chipped away at the deficit until it took a fourth-quarter lead – only to watch Patty Mills force overtime on a jump shot with two seconds left in the fourth quarter.
However, Serbia has three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. The Serbian star scored consecutive buckets in the final 67 seconds of overtime, lifting Serbia to a 95-90 victory over Australia in a their men’x 5×5 basketball quarterfinals game Tuesday.
Jokic (Denver Nuggets) had 21 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, and Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks) had 17 points, six assists and five rebounds for Serbia. Mills (free agent) scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half, and teammate Josh Giddey (Chicago Bulls) scored 25 points for Australia.
Australia led 44-20, bit Serbia cut that to 54-42 at halftime and took a lead in the third quarter.
Serbia will play the USA-Brazil winner in the semifinals Thursday. – Jeff Zillgitt
Meet the ukulele-playing USA skater fighting for medal
PARIS — Before her third and final run of the women’s park skateboarding preliminaries, Bryce Wettstein wished she could slow down time.
“I think when you work that hard to get here, and you’re like, ‘I’m here, I need to enjoy it,’” Wettstein said. “So I’m feeling out of this world … that was my dream run.”
Wettstein laid down a run oozing with confidence, difficulty and skill that resulted in a 85.65 from the judges. But before the score even showed up on the video board at Place de Concorde on Wednesday, the 20-year-old pumped both of her arms through the air.
The score placed her in second place entering finals, which took place later in the day.
Wettstein fell early in her first run and posted a 75.22 in the second, which would have left her on the cusp of making finals. She told herself to remove the doubts and go full swing. − Chris Bumbaca
Track coach losses credential amid abuse allegations
SAINT-DENIS, France — The Canadian Olympic Committee has revoked the accreditation of Rana Reider, the personal coach for track and field athlete Andre de Grasse, on its Olympic team, amid recent allegations of sexual and emotional abuse. Reider also coaches Italian Olympian Marcell Jacobs and American Trayvon Bromell.
Three lawsuits have been filed in Broward County, Florida against Reider and the track club he runs, among a list of other defendants.
The first complaint, which was filed in December 2023, lists the plaintiff as Jane Doe and includes an allegation of rape. The other two cases were filed in June by a 35-year-old retired long jumper from Great Britain and a 28-year-old American sprinter, who allege that Reider sexually harassed them by grabbing their buttocks or making suggestive comments about their appearances, among other claims.
USA TODAY does not identify individuals who allege sexual abuse without their permission. Attorneys for Reider did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment Tuesday. − Chase Goodbread
Serena Williams claims she was denied by a Paris restaurant
Stars, they’re just like us: They post negative reviews of restaurants online too. Even during the Paris Olympics.
Just look at Serena Williams’ tweet from earlier this week: ‘Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids,’ the tennis champion posted on X. ‘Always a first.’
The restaurant, for its part, offered statements to media outlets apologizing to Williams while claiming it was fully booked. It replied to her tweet: ‘Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved.’
It’s unclear exactly what happened, though as is usually the case in incidents of this nature, people on both sides have weighed in. − David Oliver
Americans go head-to-head in sport climbing
LE BOURGET, France — Due to their time seeding, two American speed climbers had to go head-to-head in the first elimination run of speed qualifications at sport climbing.
American Sam Watson set a new world record time 4.75 seconds, a record he held and lost a few runs earlier in seeing to Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo. “Taking (the world record) back after I lost it by a couple thousandth of a second definitely means a lot,” said Watson after the competition.
American teammate Zach Hammer was eliminated.
Only seven climbers who won their elimination heats and one lucky loser with the fastest time advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday, Aug. 8. − Sandy Hooper
Olympic wrestling day 2 live updates: Highlights, matchups and more
Day two of six has begun for wrestling at the Olympics early Tuesday.
Team USA has already at least secured a silver medal from Amit Elor at 68 kilograms, after she outscored her opponents 28-2 to reach the gold medal match against Meerim Zhumanazarova (Kyrgyzstan), a bronze medalist at Tokyo.
Alongside her on day two for Team USA is Sarah Hildebrandt (women’s freestyle, 50 kilograms), Josef Rau (men’s Greco-Roman, 97 kilograms) and Kamal Bey (men’s Greco-Roman, 77 kilograms). Hildebrandt secured a spot in the semifinals, pushing Team USA to a strong start in women’s freestyle. However, Bey has been eliminated while Rau needs a win from his opponent in the round of 16 to stay alive. − Eli McKown
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French crowd motivates Americans in sport climbing
LE BOURGET, France − In the boulder round of the women’s sport climbing semifinal, the tops were plentiful, unlike the men’s qualification round the day before.
Reigning gold medalist Janja Garnbrett finished the four boulder problems with an almost perfect score of 99.6 points out of 100 for first place. “It should be (one) hundred,” Garnbrett said jokingly after the competition.
Americans Brooke Raboutou finished qualification in third with 83.7 points and Natalia Grossman finished fifth with 69.2. Grossman had one of two flashes (no falls) on boulder number 2.
France’s two athletes Oriane Bertone and Zelia Avezou got the loudest cheers from the majority French crowd, which appeared to distract the rest of the climbers. “It was distracting to hear all that cheer, but it was also motivating,” said Raboutou.
The women’s semifinal will continue on Thursday with the lead event. The climber’s scores for both boulder and lead will be combined, and the top eight finishers will move on to finals. − Sandy Hooper
Germany defeats Greece to reach men’s 5×5 basketball semi’s
PARIS — Germany overcame a slow start and double-digit deficit to beat Greece 76-63 in a men’s 5×5 basketball quarterfinals game Tuesday at Bercy Arena. Germany will play the winner of France-Canada in the semifinals Thursday.
Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic) led Germany with 18 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) had 22 points for Greece. Greece led for much of the first quarter, but Germany, headed by several NBA players, including Dennis Schroder (Brooklyn Nets), pulled away in the second half. Schroder, who has been sensational in the Olympics, had 13 points and eight assists. − Jeff Zillgitt
Men’s diving 3m springboard prelims: Two Americans advance
Team USA divers Carson Tyler and Andrew Capobianco both finished among the top-18 divers in Tuesday’s men’s 3-meter springboard prelims to advance to the semifinals on Wednesday.
In the six-round prelims, Tyler, 20, finished with a score of 389.80 to qualify in 10th place, while Capobianco, 24, was 15th with a score of 382.05.
A first-time Olympian, Tyler finished strong with his fifth- and sixth-round dives: first a reverse 3 1/2 somersaults in the tuck position with a 3.5 degree of difficulty, followed by a reverse 1 1/2 somersaults with 3 1/2 twists in the free position, also with a 3.5 degree of difficulty. Each dive earned Tyler a score of 73.50, his highest of prelims.
Two-time Olympian Capobianco also had his prelims high score on his final dive, a forward 4 1/2 somersaults in the tuck position with a degree of difficulty of 3.8, which got him a score of 79.80. That was strong enough to move him inside the top 18 ahead of Wednesday’s semis.
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Capobianco finished 10th in the men’s 3-meter springboard, but he earned a silver medal in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard competition.
Men’s 3-meter springboard semifinals are set for Wednesday at 4 a.m. ET. − Michelle Martinelli
Three Americans qualify for long jump final
SAINT-DENIS, France — American Tara Davis-Woodhall is going into the long jump final as a confident jumper. Her jump of 22 feet, 7¾ inches leads all jumpers into the final.
Jasmine Moore is sixth going into the final with a leap of 21 feet, 10¼ inches and Monae’ Nichols has the eighth best mark at 21 feet, 9½ inches.
The opening round did have a little bit of drama. Defending Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo scratched her first two attempts and needed her third jump to qualify into the final.
On Mihambo’s third attempt, she took off over 30 centimeters behind the board and still qualified for the final with a mark of 22 feet, 6¼ inches. − Tyler Dragon
400 hurdles: U.S. runner qualifies through repechage round
SAINT-DENIS, France — Trevor Bassitt shook off a bad round Monday and advanced in the men’s 400 hurdles via the repechage round.
Bassitt led for almost the entire race and crossed the finish line in 48.64 to win his heat. Bassitt will now have a chance to run in Wednesday’s semifinal.
U.S. hurdler Rai Benjamin has the top time in the world this year in the event at 46.46. − Tyler Dragon
Kendall Ellis bounces back in women’s 400
SAINT-DENIS, France — Kendall Ellis rebounded following a tough time around the track on Monday.
Ellis easily won her 400 heat in the repechage round to advance to Wednesday’s semifinal.
The U.S. Olympic track and field trials champion finished fifth in the first round and didn’t initially advance to the semifinal. — Tyler Dragon
Freddie Crittenden advances in 110 hurdles in repechage round
SAINT-DENIS, France — U.S. hurdler Freddie Crittenden took full advantage of his second chance.
Crittenden got first place in his repechage heat of the men’s 110 hurdles. His first-place finish gives him a chance to race in the semifinals of the 110 hurdles.
The Paris Olympics introduced the repechage round. It allows runners who don’t initially qualify from the first round to the semifinals to have a chance to rescue their Olympic dreams via the repechage rounds.
The semifinals for the 110 hurdles are set for Wednesday. USA track and field team co-captain Grant Holloway is the gold-medal favorite in the event. — Tyler Dragon
Faith Kipyegon, three Americans qualify for 1,500 semis
SAINT-DENIS, France — A day after being re-issued her silver medal in the 5,000, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon was back on the track to defend her Olympic title in the women’s 1,500. The world-record holder and two-time Olympic champion in the 1,500 got through safely in the event, taking fourth place in the second heat with a time of 4:00.74.
Three American middle-distance runners will join Kipyegon in the 1,500 semis.
Emily Mackay grabbed the sixth and final qualifying spot in the first heat, running a 3:59.63. Nikki Hiltz ran a solid race and finished third in the second heat at 4:00.42. While Elle Purrier St. Pierre crossed the finish line at 4:03.22 to take third in the final heat.
The women will take to the track again on Thursday for the 1,500 semifinals. — Tyler Dragon
Olympics schedule today
Here are some Olympic schedule highlights. Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds in Paris.
(All times Eastern)
Track and field prelims and qualifying rounds start at 4:05 a.m. The evening session opens with the men’s 400m semis and closes with the women’s 200m final. NBC is airing the evening session. USA Network is airing the morning session.
Women’s soccer holds the semifinals today. The USWNT will play Germany at noon (USA Network), followed by Brazil vs. Spain at 3 p.m. (E!).
Men’s basketball holds four quarterfinal games today, Germany vs. Greece at 5 a.m. (E!), Australia vs. Serbia at 8:30 a.m. (USA Network), Canada vs. France at noon and Brazil vs. the U.S. at 3:30 p.m. (USA Network).
Volleyball features a women’s quarterfinal between the U.S. and Poland (11 a.m.).
Skateboarding holds prelims (6:30 a.m., E!) and finals for women’s park (11:30 a.m., E!).
Beach volleyball and women’s water polo are into the quarterfinals. The U.S. plays Hungary in the women’s water polo quarterfinals at 2:35 p.m.
Other sports in action: Volleyball, canoe sprint, handball, diving, equestrian, sport climbing, table tennis, wrestling, sailing, field hockey, water polo, beach volleyball, track cycling, artistic swimming, boxing.
How to watch Olympics today
NBC is airing and streaming the Paris Olympics from all angles: Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds; NBC, USA Network, CNBC and E! are carrying various live events and replays throughout the day. Here are 6 tips and tricks for getting the most out of Peacock during the Olympics.
Medal count today
Our 2024 Paris Olympics medal count tracker updates after every single medal event.
Tallying up gold, silver, bronze for each country in Paris
How many medals has Team USA won?
Which country has won the most golds?
How many gold medals does Team USA have so far?
Which U.S. teams are playing at the Olympics today?
(All times Eastern)
The U.S. women’s volleyball team plays Poland in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m.
The U.S. women’s soccer team will play for a place in Saturday’s gold medal match when it faces Germany in the semifinals at noon.
The U.S. women’s water polo team plays Hungary in the quarterfinals at 2:35 p.m.
The U.S. men’s basketball team is playing a quarterfinal game against Brazil at 3:30 p.m.
What Olympic medals can be won today?
(All times Eastern)
Track & field: women’s hammer throw final (1:55 p.m.), men’s long jump final (2:15 p.m.), men’s 1,500m final (2:50 p.m.), women’s 3,000m steeplechase (3:10 p.m.), women’s 200m final (3:40 p.m.) NBC is airing the finals.
Skateboarding: women’s park final (11:30 a.m., E!)
Boxing: Six semifinal bouts (3:30 p.m. start), women’s 60kg final (5:06 p.m.)
Weightlifting: Six medal events (1:30 p.m. start)
Sailing: men’s and women’s dinghy medal races (times TBD)
Equestrian: jumping individual final (4 a.m.)
Diving: women’s 10m platform (9 a.m., NBC)
Cycling track: men’s team sprint bronze (2:02 p.m.), men’s team sprint gold (2:07 p.m.)
Olympic track and field schedule today
(All times Eastern)
Qualifications: men’s javelin throw group a (4:20 a.m.), women’s long jump (5:15 a.m.), men’s javelin throw group b (5:50 a.m.)
Repechage rounds: men’s 110m hurdles (4:50 a.m.), women’s 400m (5:20 a.m.), men’s 400m hurdles (6 a.m.), men’s 200m (6:30 a.m.)
Round 1s: women’s 1,500m (4:05 a.m.)
Semifinals: men’s 400m (1:35 p.m.)
Finals: women’s hammer throw (1:55 p.m.), men’s long jump (2:15 p.m.), men’s 1,500m (2:50 p.m.), women’s 3,000m steeplechase (3:10 p.m.), women’s 200m final (3:40 p.m.)
Olympic track today: What to watch
The final event of the night will be the women’s 200 meters. American Gabby Thomas won silver at the 2023 world championships, followed by Sha’Carri Richardson, who took the bronze. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the reigning world champion, is ranked No. 1 in the world as of late May.
Why do athletes ring the bell at Stade de France?
U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles rang it after winning a gold medal in the men’s 100-meter final. So did the United States women’s rugby sevens team after winning an unprecedented bronze medal.
The large bell stationed at Stade de France, which hosts track and field events and rugby sevens, has become an instant hit at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with athletes hoping to have their chance to ring in the new Paris tradition after earning a gold medal.
The bell is engraved with ‘2024 Paris,’ and will continue to be a part of the city’s history in the time following the 2024 Games.
Fans have wondered what the bell’s importance is, and why so many Olympic athletes have gravitated toward it after finishing their respective events. — Austin Curtright
Stop the madness with 3×3 basketball. This ‘sport’ stinks
We invented basketball. Name the form of it: 5×5, 3×3, Streetball, Slamball, HORSE. Doesn’t matter. We have the deepest pool of talent in the world to draw from. We’re supposed to win. We don’t celebrate bronze medals around here, and if this were a sport USA Basketball were actually serious about, everyone involved in the men’s 2-5 showing in Paris (after not even qualifying for Tokyo) would be fired.
But I’m here to tell you something after watching it up close in Paris: The effort isn’t worth it. — Dan Wolken
Olympic skateboarding today: What to watch
In the women’s park event, expect to see a battle of teenage stars. At the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to COVID, Kokona Hiraki made history at age 12 as Japan’s youngest Summer Olympian. She won silver in women’s park behind her teammate Sakura Yosozumi. Hiraki is back, ranked No. 1 in the world leading up to the Paris Olympics, with 14-year-old Arisa Trew of Australia ranked No. 2.
Olympic wrestling today: What to watch
In women’s freestyle wrestling, American Amit Elor is a medal contender at 68 kilograms despite this being her first Olympics. The 20-year-old has taken the international wrestling scene by storm, winning eight world titles over various age divisions in the last three years.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to face familiar foe in semifinals
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is headed back into the ring Tuesday at the Paris Olympics.
She’ll be fighting for a chance to win a silver or gold medal despite an ongoing ordeal during the Games, and she’ll be facing a familiar opponent. — Josh Peter
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