Turkey's nonchalant sharpshooter wins silver without high-tech aids
At Olympic shooting events, you'll usually see competitors using a big pair of ear protectors and fancy lenses to help them aim. But Turkey's Yusuf Dikec didn't need any of that during Tuesday's mixed air pistol team event — all he needed was his humble pair of prescription glasses.
The 51-year-old Dikec strolled up to the shooting line without the fancy gizmos of his rivals. What he did next has taken the internet by storm.
With the relaxed insouciance of a man waiting for a bus, the Turkish athlete placed his left hand in his pocket and coldly took his shots as he helped his country to silver. Dikec and his partner were ultimately beaten to gold by Serbia, but the man's casual aura will surely be unmatched throughout the rest of the Games.
South Korea's Kim Yeji also went viral earlier in the Olympics with her shooting style as she took silver in the women's individual 10-meter air pistol event.
Lauren Scruggs on her fencing silver and making Olympic history
American Lauren Scruggs made history at the Paris Olympics on Sunday when she took the silver medal in women’s foil fencing.
Scruggs, from Queens, New York, became the first Black American woman and the first Black out lesbian to win an individual fencing medal.
She described the experience as "surreal" and said she hopes her medal shows other people that fencing, which has historically lacked diversity, "is for you."
Team USA wins historic rowing gold in men's four
Team USA has claimed its first gold medal in the men's four since the 1960 Rome Olympics. It is Team USA's sixth gold medal of the Games.
In a nail-biting race, the U.S. and New Zealand were largely even throughout, but a final surge in the last 200 meters saw Team USA take the gold. World champions Great Britain were the favorites, but an awful start saw them languish behind, eventually recovering to take bronze.
The American quad consisted of Michael Grady, who was the lone returnee from the boat that finished fifth in this event in Tokyo, alongside Liam Corrigan, Justin Best and Nick Mead — all of whom competed in the eight boat in Tokyo. The group had won silver at last year's World Championships, and it has now added Olympic gold.
U.S. Rowing made big changes after failing to medal in rowing in Tokyo for the first time ever. New technical director Josy Verdonkshot's more data-driven approach has paid instant rewards, with other U.S. boats also going strong at these Games. Team USA also finished fifth in the women's four final earlier, with the Netherlands edging out Great Britain for gold.
Bullied as a kid, Jennifer Lozano responded with a boxing career
U.S. boxer Jennifer Lozano started thinking about how far the sport could take her at 9 years old in Laredo, Texas. When she secured her spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics at October’s Pan American Games, she finally realized a dream years in the making.
“That was surreal. I just couldn’t believe what was right in my hand,” she told NBC News. “Something I was working so hard for. Something I had dreamt of for so long for years since I was a kid and everything I had to go through just to be here.”
But getting to this point wasn’t easy. Lozano, who fights Finland's Pihla Kaivo-oja later today, was often teased in school for her weight and her Spanish accent, even though she lived in a city where about 90% of the population speaks Spanish at home. When she sought advice about how to handle bullying, she turned to the person she trusted the most: her grandmother.
Just what is that odd-looking Paris Olympics mascot?
Many Paris Olympics fans have wondered just what the smiling red mascot of the Games is. Well, wonder no more.
Tennis: America's last man standing faces Carlos Alcaraz
Tommy Paul is the last American standing in the men's tennis singles at Roland Garros, and now he faces one of the most daunting tasks in the sport — taking on Carlos Alcaraz.
Spain's Alcaraz is one of the favorites for gold in Paris after winning both the French Open and Wimbledon over the last few months. Alcaraz beat Paul in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last month and will be the favorite to take down Paul on the clay at Roland Garros.
But the American is in strong form and has won each of his three singles matches so far at the Olympics in straight sets. Paul and Alcaraz are second up on Roland Garros' central court today, getting underway at 8 a.m. ET.
The American is due to perform double duty today — he is also due to team up with Taylor Fritz in the men's doubles as they take on Great Britain's Andy Murray and Dan Evans tonight. Other notable matches include Novak Djokovic taking on Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas tonight and women's world No. 1 Iga Swiatek taking on China's Qinwen Zheng.
China wins women's race walking, bagging its 11th gold of the Games
China has extended its lead at the top of the gold medal table after taking its 11th gold of the Games in the women's 20k race walk.
In sweltering conditions where many racers opted to wear ice towels around their necks, China's Yang Jiayu led for over half of the race as she took the top spot on the podium by a comfortable 25-second margin ahead of Spain's Maria Perez. Australia's Jemina Montag took bronze.
China claims another shooting gold
China has claimed a third shooting gold of the Games, with Yukun Liu taking victory in this morning's men's 50-meter rifle three-position event.
Ukraine's Serhiy Kulish took silver, with Swapnil Kusale winning bronze to secure India's third medal of these Olympics.
Katie Ledecky wins 1,500-meter freestyle and 8th gold medal
Team USA’s Katie Ledecky won her signature event at the Paris Olympics, the 1,500-meter freestyle, earning her eighth Olympic gold medal. French swimming superstar Leon Marchand won his second gold. And the men’s and women’s triathlons were held after the water quality of the Seine was deemed safe enough.
Track and field gets underway as Ecuador takes race walking gold
The first medals of Day 6 of the Olympics have already been handed out, with Ecuador's Brian Daniel Pintado taking gold in the men's 20km race walk.
Pintado pulled away from the rest of the field with 2 kilometers to go, and the Ecuadorian pulled out Cristiano Ronaldo's signature "siuuu" celebration as he crossed the line. Silver went to Brazil's Caio Bonfim, who finished 14 seconds behind, and bronze went to Spain's Alvaro Martin.
Those race walking medals are the first of the Paris Games track-and-field events. The main difference between race walking and running is that athletes must have one foot in contact with the ground at all times, with time penalties if that rule is broken.
The women's race is now underway — Team USA did not qualify for either event.