Paris Olympics Recap Day 11: USWNT, USA Men’s Basketball on Road to Gold; Big Day for USA on Track

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On another busy day of Olympic events, it was another good day for Team USA. The USWNT secured a chance to compete for gold, while Team USA had another dominant victory in men’s basketball to advance to the semifinals; with track and field getting underway, Team USA cleaned up with big wins in multiple events, while a young wrestler won a historic gold medal. However, a crucial elimination in beach volleyball leaves just one American pair left in the game.

Here are the top five stories of the day:

USWNT advances to gold medal match against Brazil with 1-0 win over Germany

The USWNT got a chance to play for a gold medal with a 1-0 win over Germany in Lyon, sending the Americans to the final. Sophia Smith saved the day with a stunning 95th-minute goal, assisted by Mallory Swanson, that broke the deadlock and gave the U.S. the win.

Naomi Girma locked things down at center back to hold off the German attack and earned praise after the game from manager Emma Hayes, who recognized her efforts with the Woman of the Match award. A pair of key saves from Alyssa Naeher — including one that was kept out of the net by Naeher’s left leg — kept the U.S. ahead and prevented the game from going to penalties.

As for Smith, her goal is her third of the tournament. The three members of the USWNT front three — Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman — each have three goals in the tournament. That production bodes well for the United States’ offense going forward.

The U.S. women’s national team returns to Paris to compete for its first gold medal since 2012, taking on Brazil, who defeated Spain, the reigning champions of the Women’s World Cup, in a convincing 4-2 victory.

US basketball team crushes Brazil in men’s quarterfinals

There was little doubt about this from the beginning.

The U.S. men’s basketball team took early control en route to a dominant 122-87 victory over Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games on Tuesday. The victory sets up a semifinal showdown with Nikola Jokić and Serbia, with a trip to the gold medal game on the line.

Devin Booker led Team USA with 18 points, while six U.S. players scored in double figures. Joel Embiid responded to French cheers in the stands with 14 points in the first half before the second half ended in a scoreless draw.

Kevin Durant became USA Basketball’s all-time leading scorer for men and women at the Olympics, passing Lisa Leslie’s previous record of 488 points with a third-quarter dunk.

He finished with 11 points, bringing his Olympic total to 494. LeBron James added 12 points and nine assists.

The U.S. will face Serbia on Thursday, while Victor Wembanyama and France will face 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup champion Germany in the other semifinal.

Gabby Thomas and Cole Hocker lead the US to a thrilling gold on the track

The United States is making a comeback in track and field, adding to its medal tally on Tuesday with podium finishes in the women’s hammer throw, women’s 200 meters and men’s 1,500 meters.

Annette Echikunwoke was disqualified from the Tokyo Games for a documentation error while competing for her parents’ native Nigeria. Three years later, Echikunwoke, who lives in Ohio, is a silver medalist after throwing a season-best 75.48 meters on her third throw, good for second behind Canada’s Camryn Rogers (76.97). China’s Zhao Jie took bronze (74.27).

In the women’s 200 meters, two Americans reached the podium: Gabby Thomas sailed to the gold medal in 21.38 seconds and Brittany Brown won bronze in 22.20 seconds. The silver medalist was none other than Julien Alfred, the winner of the 100 meters who gave Saint Lucia its first Olympic medal.

And to a surprise, American Cole Hocker pulled off a stunning upset in the men’s 1500 meters, crossing the finish line in 3:27.65, an Olympic record and almost three seconds faster than his personal best in this event.

20-year-old Amit Elor wins historic gold medal in wrestling

American wrestler Amit Elor, 20, made history on Tuesday by winning a gold medal in the women’s 68 kg class, becoming the youngest American wrestler, male or female, to ever win an Olympic gold medal.

Elor, who has not lost a match in five years as a senior wrestler, defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova 3-0 in the final at Arena Champ-de-Mars. Elor scored two points with a takedown in the first period and earned another point when Zhumanazarova was penalized after the activity period had expired. She then controlled the second period, denying Zhumanazarova any opportunities to score en route to victory.

Elor, a two-time world champion, dropped to the 68-kg weight class to qualify for the Olympics. As a result of the switch, Elor was unseeded and drew the division’s reigning world champion, Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu of Turkey, in the first Olympic round. She defeated Çavuşoğlu 10-2. Elor reached the final with an aggregate score of 28-2. She came to Paris undefeated in her last 37 international matches with a cumulative score of 322-16.

Now she has entered the history books.

Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng eliminated in beach volleyball

Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng, the only American team left on the women’s team, were eliminated on Tuesday after losing to Switzerland in straight sets. The reigning world champion Americans lost to Swiss duo Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner in the quarterfinals, losing the two sets 18-21, 19-21, with both sets being extremely close.

The United States has a history of dominance in women’s beach volleyball, with Americans winning gold at four of the last five Olympics. That trend was broken in Paris, where no American woman reached the quarterfinals. The other pair, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, lost to Canada in the round of 16 on Monday.

The loss of Hughes and Cheng means that only one American pair — Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh — remains in contention for a medal in beach volleyball. Partain and Benesh will play Qatar in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, hoping to become the first U.S. men’s pair to win a medal since 2008.

Team USA Medals

Highlight of the day

At just 14 years old, Australian Arisa Trew won the gold medal in the women’s skateboarding final, clocking a stunning time of 93.18 in the third and final round of the event to take first place.

One more thing

Talk about saying goodbye on a high note. Legendary Cuban wrestler Mijaín López made history Tuesday by becoming the first person to win five consecutive gold medals in an individual Olympic event. The 41-year-old Lopez defeated Chile’s Yasmani Acosta Fernandez 6-0 in their Greco-Roman wrestling 60kg match, leaving his shoes on the mat to symbolize his retirement.