2024 Paris Olympics: Quincy Hall takes gold in 400 meters; Team USA women headed to hoops semis

Runner Quincy Hall, wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt and members of the women's cycling team won gold for the U.S. today on Day 12 of competition at the Paris Games, keeping it on top in gold medals.

The U.S. won three gold medals, four silver medals and a bronze medal today, to bring its total medal count to a leading 94.

The U.S. has 27 gold medals — the most of all the competing nations. China is second with 25, and Australia is at third with 18.

Americans aren't ones to take basketball lightly, a fact that's showing at the 2024 Paris Games as both the men and the women head into the semifinals.

Today's game in the women's tournament ended with the Americans besting Nigeria 88-74. Team USA is stacked with some WNBA superstars, including A'ja Wilson, who led the team with 20 points.

The Las Vegas Aces star played with other notable names, such as Brittany Griner, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Steward and Napheesa Collier.

The men's team will play Serbia tomorrow, while the women are set to compete against Australia on Friday.

When the U.S. claimed silver today in artistic swimming, it was extra special for Anita Alvarez, who was competing in her third Games.

During the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the Buffalo native lost consciousness during the competition and sank to the bottom of the pool. Alvarez’ coach rescued her, but she was out for nearly two minutes.

“I remember swimming the routine and being so present,” she told NBC News. “And then all of a sudden waking up, looking up at the sky and all these medical people were around me.”

Alvarez pushed herself to return to the sport and was medically cleared to compete in the Games. Her silver medal was the U.S.’ first in the sport since 2004.

China won gold — its first in the sport — and Spain took bronze.

In his first Olympics, American Kenneth Rooks made a bold choice — and it paid off big.

With less than two laps to go in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Rooks, a former NCAA champion at Brigham Young University, moved to the front and held off a strong charge on the finishing straight to claim silver.

Soufiane El Bakkali of Morrocco took gold, and Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya rounded out the podium.

Rooks and Evan Jager (2016 silver) are the only American men to win medals in the event since 1984.

Through eight days of track and field competition at the Paris Games, the U.S. men have won a medal in every event on the track.

A cheerful ringing is pouring out from Stade de France, the Olympic track and field stadium, but it’s not applause from the stands.

It’s from a bell.

After they win their track and field events, gold medalists get to ring a giant bell in the stadium. Athletes like American runners Gabby Thomas and Noah Lyles have pulled on the rope to make it ring loud and proud.

The bell is from Normandy, France, and was created at a foundry — a factory that crafts metal castings — called the Fonderie de Cloches Cornille Havard, or Cornille Havard Foundry in English. The workshop was built in 1865, according to the foundry’s official website.The bell, which was present for other field events during the first week of the Olympics, including rugby, is now being rung exclusively by gold medalists in the track and field events.

The bell will be taken to Paris' famed Notre-Dame, the medieval Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine. From there, it will be placed among the smaller bells set in the spire inside the roof, which was rebuilt after it was ravaged by fire in April 2019.

With a quarter of the 400-meter race to go, a medal didn't look likely for Quincy Hall of Kansas City, Missouri. But he closed the fastest of anyone in the field and won gold by 0.04 seconds with a time of 43.40.

The U.S. won gold in this event at seven straight Olympics from 1984 to 2008 but had only one medal (LaShawn Merritt, 2016 bronze) in the last three Games.

This is only Hall’s second year as a 400-meter specialist; before last year, he focused on the 400-meter hurdles. He was an NCAA hurdles champion at South Carolina.

Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain broke his own European record on his way to silver, and Muzala Samukonga of Zambia crossed the line third. That's the third Olympic medal across all sports for the country.

Team USA has an excellent chance at the gold as the men's 200-meter final tomorrow will feature three American runners racing for the podium.

Noah Lyles is looking for a repeat after he earned a gold in a photo finish in the men's 100 meters this week. Lyles, 23, won both events at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, finishing the 200 meters in 19.52 seconds.

He'll be competing against fellow Americans Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton, who also have excellent times in the 200-meter race and rank behind Lyles in the world standings. Both men's personal bests fall just slightly behind Lyles' time in Budapest, offering him stiff competition.

Arguably, the biggest competition for the American men is Botswana's Letsiles Tebogo, ranked No. 4 in the world. He has run excellent heats throughout the qualifying races, and his personal best time for the 200 meters is 19.50 seconds.

When the U.S.' Katie Moon and Australia's Nina Kennedy faced off at the 2023 World Championships, they decided to share gold medals rather than participate in a jump-off. But with an Olympic gold on the line, that wouldn't do today.

After 3½ hours and 123 total jumps, Kennedy walked away with the top prize in Paris.

Moon, who was looking to repeat her Tokyo performance, settled for silver.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be running for gold tomorrow in the 400-meter hurdles, a race she's the favorite to win.

Part of the reason for her success? Her relationships, she says.

She says being married has changed her life for the better and helped her become stronger on and off the track.