Paris Olympics highlights: Spectacular finishes lead to track medals

Team USA leads the overall medal count and the gold medal tally at the 2024 Paris Olympics after a stellar day of competition on Wednesday. 
U.S. sprinter Quincy Hall claimed gold in the 400-meter dash by way of a dramatic finish after trailing early in the race. He’s not the only one runner with a spectacular finish on the track to make the podium. Distance runner Kenneth Rooks put up a personal best in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase to take silver in a shocking turn of events. 
Meanwhile, Team USA picked up its second gold in as many days in wrestling after Sarah Hildebrandt defeated Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzmán, 3-0, in the 50-kilogram final. Cyclist Kristen Faulkner picked up her second gold medal of the Games after leading Team USA to its first-ever gold in the Women’s Team Pursuit.
The U.S. men’s water polo team and the U.S. women’s basketball team both advanced to the semifinals while the U.S. men’s volleyball team’s hopes of winning its first gold medal since 2008 ended with a quarterfinal loss to Poland. 
USA TODAY Sports captured all the action. Check out all the highlights, results and medal count from Wednesday: 
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
PARIS — What started in disgrace exactly two and a half years ago in the cold and darkness of a dismal Beijing COVID winter ended Wednesday in delight at the foot of the Eiffel Tower under a sparkling Parisian summer sky.
The right team received the Olympic gold medal. This was the glorious end of the Kamila Valieva doping saga, the Russian scandal that forced the original medal ceremony to be canceled and triggered an infuriating series of international delays and appeals, finally ending with a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling less than two weeks ago that paved the way for Wednesday’s unique celebration.
As the Eiffel Tower rose over the shoulders of the nine American gold medalists — the entire 2022 U.S. Olympic figure skating team — families, friends and spectators gathered around a runway inside Champions Park, roaring with joy. 
“Absolutely, it was definitely worth the wait,” U.S. team co-captain and ice dancer Madison Chock said, her 2022 gold medal around her neck. “I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined that we would get our Winter Olympic medal at the Summer Olympics in Paris let alone underneath the Eiffel Tower. Paris is one of my favorite cities ever since I was a little girl so this is a dream come true in many ways.” – Christine Brennan
SAINT-DENIS, France – Noah Lyles’ noteworthy summer extends off the track, too. Monday marks Lyles’ two-year anniversary with his girlfriend, Jamaican sprinter Junelle Bromfield. She qualified for the semifinals in the women’s 400, but didn’t advance to the final.
The two haven’t formally celebrated their anniversary – they are quite busy at the moment – but the fastest man in the world has “big plans” after he officially crosses the finish line.
“I got pretty big plans for a celebration. I’m trying to give her a little more time,” Lyles said. “Last year, we kind of went on a Noah Lyles campaign. Unfortunately, that cut into a lot of our vacation time, so I’m trying to be a better boyfriend and give her a lot more time for us to be a couple.” – Tyler Dragon
Ethiopian runner Lamecha Girma was stretchered off the track at Stade de France on Wednesday during the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final.
As the defending silver medalist in the event from the Tokyo Olympics was approaching a hurdle in the race, he tripped over the hurdle, resulting in a hard fall to the ground. He was placed in a neck brace and stretchered off by medical personnel. L’Equipe reported that Girma regained consciousness and was sent to the hospital for tests. – John Leuzzi
PARIS — The U.S. women’s basketball team defeated Nigeria, 88-74, to advance to the semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. A’ja Wilson led the U.S. in scoring with 20 points. Jackie Young added 15, Breanna Stewart put up 13 and Brittney Griner scored 11.
The Americans will face Australia in the semifinal on Aug. 9 for a spot in the gold medal game, which is on Aug. 11. They are going for their eighth consecutive gold medal and have not lost an Olympic game since 1992.
SAINT-DENIS, France — Canadian sprinter and defending Olympic 200 champion Andre De Grasse attempted to defend his title Wednesday while his coach Rana Reider is embroiled in controversy.
De Grasse finished third in the first heat of the men’s 200 semifinal and failed to qualify for the final. After the race, De Grasse said he was running at less than 100% after aggravating an old injury. When asked directly if the allegations of abuse levied against his coach were a distraction, he said, “Yeah, of course.”
“I try to keep my head and stay mentally strong. It’s always tough not having your coach out there with you,” De Grasse told reporters. “He kind of leads you through these Games, and been with him all year. It’s definitely a tough one.” – Tyler Dragon
The U.S. is rolling with a 76-48 lead through three quarters. Four players have scored nine points or more, led by Jackie Young’s 15. And every player has scored at least one point, and the Americans are shooting 60% from the field. It’s safe to say Australia is counting on playing the U.S. at this point.
The Americans lead 52-33 at halftime in the women’s basketball quarterfinals. They shot 59% from the field, 36% from 3. Breanna Stewart led the U.S. with 13 points, A’ja Wilson putting up 10 and Brittney Griner adding 5.
PARIS — Over the past four years, Sarah Hildebrandt has established herself as one of the best wrestlers in the world in her weight class. She won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Then silver at the 2021 world championships. Then another bronze, at worlds. Then another.
Yet on Wednesday night, Hildebrandt wasn’t one of the best. She was the best.
And the Olympic gold medal draped around her neck was proof.
Hildebrandt gave Team USA its second wrestling gold medal in as many nights (following Amit Elor) at the 2024 Paris Olympics, defeating Yusneylys Guzmán of Cuba, 3-0, in the 50-kilogram final at Champ-de-Mars Arena. It is the 30-year-old’s first senior title at the Olympics or world championships – the gold medal she’s been chasing after disappointment in Tokyo. – Tom Schad
SAINT-DENIS, France – American Kenneth Rooks, ranked 24th in the world in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, shocked the field with a silver medal Wednesday, clocking a personal-best 8:06.41. After 1,000 meters, Rooks trailed 11 racers, and was running just ninth after 2,000 meters. From there, however, Rooks found another gear and passed the entire field to take the lead with a few hundred meters remaining.
He was overtaken by gold medalist Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco (8:06.05), and Rooks barely beat bronze medalist Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya (8:06.47). Rooks, the only American in the race, earned Team USA’s first men’s steeplechase medal since Evan Jager won silver in the 2016 Rio Games. – Chase Goodbread
PARIS — U.S. women’s weightlifter Jourdan Delacruz significantly improved on her finish from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but fell short of a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics Wednesday.
Competing in the 49 kilograms weight class, Delacruz placed fifth, lifting a combined weight of 195 kilograms, which is nearly 430 pounds – 185 pounds in snatch and 244 pounds in the clean and jerk.
Delacruz, who won bronze at the 2023 world championship, finished last in Tokyo after she unable to complete a lift for the clean and jerk. She had no problem completing her lift in Paris.
“I’m not 100% sure yet, but I do think this may be one of my last competitions,” Delacruz said. “It was just a moment to thank the barbell for everything that it’s taught me and for the person I’ve become in the last 10 years. It was just a moment to acknowledge the sport. Aside from what happened on stage, that barbell has taught me a lot.
“I wish it went better. I had higher expectations. I thought I’d be on that podium today, but I’m actually surprisingly not as sad as I thought I’d be. I think that’s just because my family is here, and I’ve had such an amazing Olympic experience so far. This is something I’ll remember forever.”
China’s Hou Zhizui won gold (206 kilograms or 454 pounds) and set an Olympic record in clean and jerk, lifting 117 kilograms (258 pounds). Romania’s Mihaela Valentina Cambei earned silver and Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao took bronze. – Jeff Zillgitt
Team USA women’s hoops takes on Nigeria with a chance to punch their ticket to the semifinals of the Olympic basketball tournament. USA TODAY Sports will provide highlights, updates and more from the matchup.
SAINT-DENIS, France – Take that, Noah Lyles. 
United States runner Quincy Hall won the gold medal in the men’s 400-meter dash Wednesday – besting Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith and Zambia’s Muzuala Samukonga and posting a time of 43.40 to set a personal best.
Hall trailed early but a spectacular straightaway dash allowed him to catch Hudson-Smith steps before the finish line.  – Chris Bumbaca
Alex Bowen came through again for the U.S. men’s water polo squad on Wednesday.
Down a goal late vs. Australia, Bowen netted a game-tying goal that sent the match to a shootout. Team USA would down Australia 11-10 (4-3 in shootout) to advance to the semifinals.
SAINT-DENIS, France — Team USA artistic swimmers won their first Olympic medal in the team competition in 20 years, winning silver behind China with gold (996.1389) and ahead of Spain with bronze (900.7319). They entered Wednesday night’s team acrobatic routine and overall final ranked second behind the gold medalists and held on to finish second with a total score of 914.3421.
Team USA’s most recent Olympic medal in the team competition was bronze at the 2004 Athens Games.
The last time Russia (or athletes competing under the Russian Olympic Committee) did not win Olympic gold in artistic swimming’s team competition was at the 1996 Atlanta Games, when Team USA finished first in the event’s Olympic debut.
The team competition is broken into three routines: the team technical routine, the team free routine and the team acrobatic routine. Following the acrobatic routine Wednesday night, the scores from all three routines are added together to determine the final rankings.
After the team technical routine Monday, Team USA was ranked fourth (282.7567) behind China, Spain and Japan. But the Americans stunned in the team free routine Tuesday, finishing second (360.2688) behind China and setting themselves up to contend for their first Olympic medal in 20 years. – Michelle R. Martinelli
PARIS — Standing outside the park venue Wednesday after American Tom Schaar won the silver medal, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk said he’s been pushing as hard as he can for more forms of skateboarding to be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“It’s LA,” he said. “It’s what people consider the birthplace of modern skateboarding. We should celebrate all styles of skateboarding.”
That includes, of course, his hope that the International Olympic Committee will add a vert competition – the style of skateboarding most associated with Hawk’s tricks.
“I’ve been trying my best to have words with them at every turn here,” Hawk said. – Dan Wolken
There are many things athletes look forward to when hanging out in the Olympic Village.
Unfortunately for one British swimmer, food isn’t one of them.
“The catering isn’t good enough for the level the athletes are expected to perform. We need to give the best we possibly can,” Adam Peaty, who won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, said to Inews this week.
Peaty said in other Olympic stops, like Tokyo and Rio, the food was excellent.
“I like my fish and people are finding worms in the fish. It’s just not good enough,” Peaty said. “The standard, we’re looking at the best of the best in the world, and we’re feeding them not the best.”
SAINT-DENIS, France — Rai Benjamin cruised through the men’s 400-meter semifinals to Wednesday to secure his spot in the Friday-night finals.  
Benjamin won his heat – almost too easily – with a time of 47.85 second. His best time this season is 46.46 seconds. 
During heats, Benjamin jogged the end of his run – conserving fuel for the races to come. The defending Olympic silver medalist in the event won a gold in Tokyo as part of the men’s 4×400-meter relay team.
Benjamin took his time out of the gates but dialed it up at about the one-third mark and essentially jogged the straightaway once again. 
CJ Allen of the USA took an early lead into the straightaway during the second heat. But he ran out of steam and finished fourth. Allen, the American indoor 400-meter record-holder, did not make the final with a time of 48.44. 
American Trevor Bassitt, the eighth-ranked 400-meter hurdler per the world rankings, also finished fourth in the first heat and didn’t make the finals either. 
Norway’s Karsten Warholm, who set the world record in the event at the Tokyo Olympics, won the first heat with a time of 47.67 seconds. Warholm also had the fastest time during heats. 
Frenchman Clement Ducos took second in the first heat to make the finals, much to the delight of the crowd at Stade de France. – Chris Bumbaca
She quite didn’t make her way to the podium, but either way, French track and field athlete Alice Finot was the one giving out hardware.
After she set a European record but just missed out on a medal Tuesday in the 3000-meter steeplechase, Finot went over to her partner, Bruno Martínez Bargiela, and got down on one knee to propose. But, instead of a ring, she unhooked an Olympic pin that she wore during the race and offered it to him as they embraced to the cheering of the crowd at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. – Lorenzo Reyes
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – The more celebrated Nelly Korda becomes as a golfer, the more noticeable it is when she seeks to experience life as something else.
It’s all amplified for her. The tournaments in which she doesn’t play. The interviews she doesn’t give. This idea that it’s her responsibility, more than any peer, to expand the LPGA Tour’s popularity.
She may be a reluctant sports star at times, but she’s the biggest one going in the women’s game. And it’s not that the world’s No. 1 player is burned out on golf, she explained after Wednesday’s opening round at the Paris Olympics. It’s that she doesn’t want to become burned out.
“As important as it is to sometimes grind it out,” Korda said, “it’s also important to just put your clubs away and just be a regular human being. … It feels nice when you’re in a groove, but when you play under pressure and you’re in the final group and you feel the emotions that you do, it takes a toll on you mentally.” – Gentry Estes
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — The U.S. finally has its elusive gold medal in women’s team pursuit.
The U.S. team of Kristen Faulkner, Chloe Dygert, Lily Williams and Jennifer Valente beat New Zealand in the gold medal match of the cycling race Wednesday at the National Velodrome, finishing in 4:04.306.
New Zealand was about 6/10ths of a second behind in 4:04.927, while Great Britain beat Italy for the bronze.
The U.S. is one of the world’s leading powers in team pursuit having medaled in the event in each of the first three Olympics the sport was a part of in 2012, 2016 and 2020. But until this year, the American had never struck gold.
On Wednesday, the U.S. beat Great Britain in a tight first-round heat before nipping New Zealand in the final.
Dygert and Valente also were a part of the U.S.’s silver medal-winning team in 2016 and the group that took in 2020. Dygert also won Olympic bronze in the time trial in road cycling this year, while Faulkner heads home with two golds in her first Olympics after winning the road race on Sunday.
The U.S. won silver in team pursuit at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Great Britain also has medaled every year team pursuit has been part of the Olympics. Just three other countries have a medal in the sport: Germany, Canada and now New Zealand. – Dave Birkett
Katie Moon, Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek and others are in action this afternoon as Olympic track and field events continue. USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more for all of Wednesday’s happenings.
PARIS — A gold medal escaped the U.S. men’s volleyball team again.
After taking a 2-1 set lead against world No. 1 Poland in the semifinals, the U.S. dropped the final two sets and Poland advanced to the gold-medal game with a 25-23, 25-27, 14-25, 25-23, 15-13 victory in five thrilling sets Wednesday in an energetic, music-filled environment at South Paris Arena.
Poland will play the winner of Italy-France for gold, and the U.S. will play the loser for bronze.
In the fourth set, the U.S. had a 16-14 lead but could not hold off Poland for the victory and fell short of the gold medal game. Poland carried momentum from its fourth-set win into a strong fifth-set performance. The U.S. trailed 14-10 and made it 14-13 in the fifth set before Poland closed out the game.
In Paris, the U.S. men were 3-0 in preliminary play and beat rival Brazil in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics but finished 10th at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. hasn’t won gold since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. – Jeff Zillgitt
PARIS — Dallas Oberholzer came to Paris knowing he would finish last in the men’s park skateboarding competition. He’s 49 years old, for goodness sakes, competing in a sport ruled by Gen Z. He’s also from South Africa, a country where skateboarding has no infrastructure or funding. He’s spent decades traveling the world, funding this journey himself, often barely scraping by in search of the next good vibe.
Before the sport went corporate, before the Olympics, before Tony Hawk and Shaun White, that’s what skateboarding was really all about.
But being here hasn’t been all bad. Even as he approaches his 50th birthday he’s still growing, still learning. He even went to visit an osteopath in the Olympic Village the other day because, well, the knees don’t feel so good these days coming off the board. – Dan Wolken
PARIS — American Tom Schaar can add Olympic medalist to his long list of skateboarding accomplishments.
The youngest-ever X Games gold medalist and the first skateboarder to successfully pull off a trick with 1,080 degrees of rotation in competition, Schaar took silver at the men’s park competition on Wednesday.
Though he had two successful runs, he slightly trailed Australia’s Keegan Palmer. With one more chance to post the best score, Schaar upped the ante but came off the board toward the end of his run, ensuring the gold medal for Palmer.
Palmer’s winning run was scored 93.11, just barely ahead of Schaar’s 92.23. Brazil’s Augusto Akio took the bronze medal.
Palmer also won the first-ever Olympic gold in park three years ago when he was just 14 years old.
Tate Carew, Team USA’s other medal hope, finished fifth.
This event concludes the skateboarding competition for Paris. Team USA will have to wait four more years to Los Angeles to take home its first skateboarding gold. – Dan Wolken
PARIS — A female wrestler from India was disqualified from her gold-medal bout at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday morning after weighing in about 100 grams above the maximum limit for her weight class.
For context: That’s about 0.22 pounds or 3.5 ounces − roughly the weight of a bar of soap.
The shocking news not only knocked Vinesh Phogat out of the 50-kilogram Olympic final against American Sarah Hildebrandt, where she would’ve been guaranteed to win no worse than a silver medal. Under international wrestling rules, Phogat’s failure to make weight resulted in a full disqualification. She will technically finish dead last. – Tom Schad
PARIS — For the first time in 40 years, an American man has won an Olympic medal in weightlifting.
Hampton Morris, a 20-year-old who trains primarily out of the garage at his family’s Georgia home, ended the decadeslong drought by winning bronze at the 2024 Paris Games on Wednesday.
Morris was sitting in fifth place after his snatch but he leapfrogged into medal position thanks to the second lift of competition, clean and jerk, where he is the reigning world-record holder in his weight class. Between the two lifts, the 135-pound Morris hoisted a combined weight of 298 kilograms, which is about 657 pounds. – Tom Schad
Nelly Korda is looking to defend her 2021 Olympic gold medal in the women’s golf tournament this week. USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates and more for Korda’s defense.
Both Team USA divers Sarah Bacon and Alison Gibson failed to qualify for the women’s 3-meter springboard top-18 semifinals after finishing 19th and 28th, respectively, in Wednesday’s prelims. 
Gibson had a scary start to her prelims and struggled to recover from a rough zero-score first-round dive, finishing with a total score of 198.30. 
A two-time Olympian, Gibson’s first dive was an inward 2 1/2 somersaults in the pike position. But mid-air at the end of her final rotation, the 25-year-old diver smacked her feet on the board and fell into the water. Thankfully for her, she only hit her feet, and she was able to continue competing. But it was a frightening moment that left at least her right foot a little cut up and bloody. 
Gibson received zeros across the board for the dive, essentially leaving her to try to qualify for the semifinals in her only Olympic event on four dives when everyone else had scores for five.
Meanwhile, Bacon’s best of her five rounds was her first dive, earning a score of 64.50 off an inward 2 1/2 somersaults in the pike position with a 3.0 degree of difficulty. But a low-scoring third round ensured it would be difficult for her to qualify for the semifinals, finishing with a score of 264.40.
Bacon, a 27-year-old first-time Olympian, previously won silver at the Paris Olympics in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard with partner Kassidy Cook. 
China’s Chen Yiwen qualified first with a score of 356.40, while Australia’s Maddison Keeney was second (337.35) and Mexico’s Aranza Vazquez Montano was third (321.75). – Michelle R. Martinelli
If you grew up on the X-Games, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” or maybe even picked up a board yourself, Andy Macdonald is a name that conjures up some nostalgia.
The very same and now 51-year-old skateboarder qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics and participated in the men’s park preliminaries on Wednesday. Fellow skateboarding legend Tony Hawk was in attendance, and clapped his hands and pumped his fists in approval of Macdonald’s run.
Macdonald will finish out his run with a 77.66 for 18th place in the heat. He wouldn’t make the final, but he would make plenty of skateboarding fans smile.
What were you doing during the summer when you were 11 years old?
Chances are you were not competing on the world’s biggest stage at the Olympics trying to win a medal, but that’s exactly what 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao is doing. And to think, she only took up the sport five years ago, soaring through the rankings to earn her spot at the Olympics.
Zheng is representing China during the 2024 Paris Games and was the youngest athlete competing, in becoming her country’s youngest Olympian. She doesn’t turn 12 until Sunday and is currently 26th in the World Skateboarding Ranking. − Scooby Axon
PARIS — The track and field bromance that took center stage at the Tokyo Olympics is once again in the spotlight three years later.
Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim shared the gold medal in the high jump at the last Summer Games. The pair, whom are adversaries on paper but also friends thanks to nearly 15 years of competing against one another in the same meets, decided to share the gold rather than do a jump-off to decide a winner – taking advantage of a loophole in the World Athletics rulebook.
The reaction was priceless, with Tamberi leaping onto Barshim and wrapping himself around the Qatari. 
On Wednesday, during high jump qualifying, the duo was back at it in the heartwarming sense. Barshim began his run for liftoff over the bar but pulled up lame and immediately grabbed for his left calf. Tamberi was the first person to Barshim’s side on the ground and helped him stretch the calf.
The extent of Barshim’s injury is unknown, but he did qualify for the final by clearing 2.27 meters. − Chris Bumbaca
PARIS – Some skateboarding experts thought the Americans had a chance to sweep the podium in the men’s park skateboarding event, but only two of the three Team USA members advanced to the finals that will be held later Wednesday.
Tate Carew, a 19-year old from San Diego, came into the Paris Games ranked No. 1 in the world in park and didn’t have to sweat too much as his best score of 90.42 was enough for fourth in qualifying, comfortably within the top-eight needed to make the finals.
Tom Schaar, a 24-year old from Malibu, Calif., who made his X Games debut when he was just 12, posted the second-highest qualifying score at 92.05. This is his first Olympics.
The big upset was Gavin Bottger, ranked No. 3 in the world, failing to reach the finals. Bottger, 17, only finished one error-free run in his three attempts. His score of 86.95 looked like it might be enough to hold up for the eighth spot, but he got passed by skaters in the third head and dropped below the qualifying line to 10th place.
The Americans will have to deal with No.2-ranked Keegan Palmer from Australia, who posted the top qualifying score, and three strong Brazilian skaters if they want to make the podium.
Alex Sorgente, who was born in Florida but has dual citizenship through his father, is competing for Italy and also made the finals. − Dan Wolken
SAINT-DENIS, France — Some athletes adopt the mindset that they don’t lose, they learn. Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson is one of those athletes.
Thompson, who still owns the best 100 time in the world this year, came into the Paris Olympics as a gold-medal favorite. But he came in second behind Noah Lyles by five-thousandths of a second in the most competitive men’s 100 final in Olympics history during which all eight runners finished under 10 seconds for the first time ever, according to World Athletics.
The race was so close that Lyles thought Thompson had won.
“I did think Thompson had it at the end,” Lyles said. “I went up to him when we were waiting and I said, ‘I think you got that one big dog.'”
Thompson told USA TODAY Sports, that he wasn’t sure who had won immediately after the race.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I won. I knew it was close between first and second,” Thompson said. “I know I cleared the person on my exact right, and I saw I was in front of the person on my left. But I wasn’t too sure if I got it. It was that close.”
Nobody inside Stade de France knew who won until the photo view results were displayed on the video board seconds after the race. − Tyler Dragon
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – The U.S. is guaranteed to keep its medal streak alive in women’s team pursuit.
The U.S. team of Kristen Faulkner, Chloe Dygert, Lily Williams and Jennifer Valente beat Great Britain in the third heat of the first round at the National Velodrome on Wednesday to advance to the gold medal match later today.
The U.S finished the 4,000-meter race in 4:04.629 and will meet New Zealand in the finals. The time was just short of Germany’s world record (4:04.242) set at the Tokyo Olympics.
Great Britain will race against Italy for the bronze after finishing in 4:04.908.
New Zealand finished its heat Wednesday in 4:04.818.
Both the U.S. and Great Britain have won medals in women’s team pursuit every year since it started as an Olympic sport in 2012. The U.S. won silver in 2012 and 2016, and bronze in 2020.
Dygert and Valente were on the 2016-20 teams and can tie Great Britain’s Laura Trott-Kenny as the only three-time medalists in the sport. − David Birkett
Nelly Korda, the women’s world No.1 player and defending gold medallist, headlines a strong field in Paris. But it’s Lilia Vu of the US who has stormed atop the leaderboard (-3) through nine holes at Le Golf National. She is tied with Celine Boutier of France for the lead. Korda is even par thru 17 holes.
PARIS — An Australian athlete has been taken into custody by French authorities for attempting to buy cocaine, according to reports.
The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office told 9News Australia an unidentified member of the men’s field hockey team was involved in an alleged “cocaine transaction at the foot of a building in the city’s 9th arrondissement” Tuesday. Police officers witnessed the incident, according to the 9News report.
The Australian Olympic Committee confirmed an arrest to Reuters but did not confirm the player’s identity. − Chris Bumbaca
SAINT-DENIS, France – With a time of 1:46.15, Hobbs Kessler of Team USA finished third in his heat to advance to the semifinals of the men’s 800-meter event at the Paris Olympics’ track and field venue at Stade de France. In a preliminary that required a top-three finish to automatically qualify, Kessler found himself in fourth place and trailing Italy’s Simone Barontini halfway through the race, but overtook Barontini to earn the qualification.
Also qualifying was American Bryce Hoppel, who opened an early lead in the event’s final heat and finished second with a time of 1:45.24. Kessler and Hoppel will compete in semifinals Friday morning, and if they advance, in medal finals Saturday night.
Americans who qualified in other events at the morning session included Shelby McEwen (men’s high jump), Alaysha Johnson, Masai Russell and Grace Stark (women’s 100m hurdles), and Graham Blanks and Grant Fisher (men’s 5,000m). − Charles Goodbread
PARIS — The term GOAT is so often tossed around in sports. Not always carelessly, but frequently enough that it’s diminished the original meaning behind the greatest of all time acronym. 
But in some instances, GOAT truly applies, and few would disagree that Michael Phelps deserves the label. GOAT swimmer. GOAT Olympian.
There will never be another — at least not in this lifetime. 
Over the years, especially since Phelps retired following the 2016 Rio Games, many have been deemed “the next Michael Phelps.” At one point, it was American Caeleb Dressel. At the Paris Olympics, it’s France’s Léon Marchand. 
However, there’s a huge difference between a superstar and “the next Michael Phelps,” and Dressel agreed, calling Phelps “not even a once-in-a-lifetime” swimmer but “maybe once in a, I don’t know, end-of-the-world type guy.” − Michelle Martinelli
American sport climber Colin Duffy has advanced to the men’s boulder-and-lead finals set for Friday at the Paris Olympics.
Duffy, a 20-year-old from Colorado, entered the competition Wednesday in 11th place after the boulder semifinals on Monday. His strong performance in lead lifted him into seventh place overall, and the top eight climbers qualified for the finals.
“Just very proud,’’ said Duffy, who finished seventh at the Tokyo Games in 2021 in sport climbing’s Olympic debut. “I wanted to go out and give a climb that I could be proud of and I was able to do that.’’
Fellow American Jesse Grupper, a 27-year-older from New York making his first appearance at the Olympics, finished 18th among the 20 climbers in the boulder-and-lead semifinals.
Also, Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw won the gold medal in the women’s speed climb while China’s Lijuan  Deng took silver and Poland’s Aleksandra Kaluka took bronze Wednesday. American Emma Hunt reached the quarterfinals but slipped during her heat and failed to advance to the semifinals. – Josh Peter
Greek pole vaulter Eleni-Klaoudia Polak has been provisionally suspended after testing positive at the Paris Olympics, according to the IOC.
Polak, 27, competed in qualifying, clearing a jump of 13 feet, 9 ¼ inches but didn’t advance to the final. Paris was her second Olympics as she didn’t make it out of qualifying at the Tokyo Games.
At the world championships, Polak’s best result was 22nd at the 2022 worlds held in Eugene, Oregon. According to her bio on the IOC web site, she took up the sport at age 14 after a coach saw her training in gymnastics and encouraged her to try pole vault.
Team USA diver Carson Tyler improved significantly from his prelims performance and finished seventh in Wednesday’s men’s 3-meter springboard semifinals, advancing to the final among the top-12 divers. 
Tyler, a 20-year-old first-time Olympian, finished with a score of 438.00 – his prelims score was 389.80 – and will try to make the podium in the final set for Thursday. His highest-scoring dive came in the fifth and sixth rounds, the final two – first a reverse 3 ½ somersaults in the tuck position with a 3.5 degree of difficulty, followed by a reverse 1 ½ somersaults with 3 ½ twists in the free position with a 3.5 degree of difficulty – earning him scores of 78.75. 
Two-time Olympic diver Andrew Capobianco, 24, placed 15th with a final score of 407.65, missing the cut for the final. The 24-year-old American struggled through the semifinals, but he earned his best score of 83.60 on his sixth-round dive: a forward 4 ½ somersaults in the tuck position with a degree of difficulty of 3.8.
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. 
The divers to beat in the men’s 3-meter springboard are the three defending Olympic medalists from the 2021 Tokyo Games: Xie Siyi, who won gold, Wang Zongyuan with silver and Jack Laugher with bronze. 
Wang and Xie, representing China, enter finals ranked first (537.85) and second (505.85), respectively, while Great Britain’s Laugher is ranked third (467.05). 
The men’s 3-meter springboard final is set for Thursday at 9 a.m. ET. — Michelle Martinelli
SAINT-DENIS, France — Americans Graham Blanks and Grant Fisher advanced to the medal finals of the men’s 5,000-meter race at the Stade de France track and field venue of the Paris Games on Wednesday. Blanks made up some critical ground over the last 1,000 meters to finish sixth in a time of 14:09.06 in Heat 1. He made his move just early enough to avoid a calamitous tumble that occurred right behind him, as one racer tripped, fell, and triggered falls for three others.
The top eight in each of two heats qualified for the finals, and Blanks was running 10th after 4,000 meters. In Heat 2, Fisher finished fourth with a time of 13:52.44 to give Team USA two runners in a medal-finals field of 16. American Abdihamid Nur was in fourth place after 4,000 meters, but a late fall cost him a last-place finish of 14:15.00. — Chase Goodbread
There will be a heavy Team USA presence Friday in the semifinals of the women’s 100 hurdles event at the Paris Games’ Stade de France venue for track and field. Three of four Americans competing earned automatic qualifications in the preliminaries on Wednesday, including Alaysha Johnson, Masai Russell and Grace Stark.
Johnson placed second in Heat 1 with a 12.61 clocking, while Russell tied for the win in Heat 3 (12.53, same as the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser). Stark ran in the final heat and posted a 12.72 time to finish third.
Team USA’s Ebony Morrison ran a 12.93 to finish sixth in Heat 2.
Medal finals in the event are scheduled for Saturday. — Chase Goodbread
Here are some Olympic schedule highlights. Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds in Paris.
(All times Eastern)
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.
Our 2024 Paris Olympics medal count tracker updates after every single medal event.
Quincy Hall could be one to watch in the men’s 400. Hall ran hurdles at the University of South Carolina but had a breakout performance at last year’s world championships. In Budapest last August, Hall ran a personal-best 44.37 in the men’s 400 final, taking the bronze. He went on to run the opening leg of the men’s 4×400 relay that won gold.
The women’s tournament gets under way with Nelly Korda, the Tokyo Olympic champion, expected to play in Paris. Korda recovered from a double bogey in the final round in Tokyo, finishing two-under 69 and one shot ahead of Japan’s Mone Inami and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.
Jagger Eaton is ranked No. 2 in men’s park leading up to the Paris Olympics. The skater from Mesa, Arizona, is expected to compete in both street and park events. The park competition, with the prelims and final on Aug. 7, is held on a course of ramps, bumps and jumps designed to what athletes would see at a skatepark.
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified before the women’s 50kg freestyle final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday after failing to make weight, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said.
Phogat had been set to lock horns with Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States for the gold medal.
“It is with regret that the Indian contingent shares news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from the women’s wrestling 50kg class,” the IOA said in a statement.
“Despite the best efforts by the team through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning.”
The disqualification means Phogat will not receive a medal.
United World Wrestling, the international governing body of the sport, has yet to issue a statement. — Reuters
PARIS — If the United States is about to relinquish its stranglehold on Olympic men’s basketball this week, they’ve nicely hidden the plot twist.
Watching this U.S. team at full force inspires nostalgia for simpler NBA times, back in the days you knew before the season started that Golden State and Cleveland were going to be in the Finals. It also keeps a thought in the back of your mind: This is an end more than a beginning. — Gentry Estes
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, where they will face Brazil, which beat Spain 4-2 to advance.
In exactly 366 days — 2024 is a leap year, you know — the Americans have gone from the despair of that shocking exit to playing for another major title. What a difference a year makes. — Nancy Armour
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