Serbia leading after 3Q but can't shake Germany
Do the Serbians hear footsteps?
After blowing a 17-point lead in a heartbreaking semifinal loss to the United States, Serbia seems to have been in control of this bronze medal game against Germany.
Serbia leads, 72-63, after three quarters, but the Serbs had been up by 19 points just a few minutes earlier.
The Germans are hanging around despite shooting just 35% from inside the arc.
In one third-quarter play that typified German frustration, Franz Wagner drove for what looked like an uncontested score. But out of nowhere, Filip Petrušev came to the rescue with a clean, not-in-my-house block.
The best moments from yesterday's competitions
Go inside the rings and relive all the biggest moments from Day 14 at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Wrestler Kennedy Blades has been dreaming of Olympic gold since she was 8
Kennedy Blades defeated an Olympic silver medalist to win the wrestling Olympic trials and punch her ticket to Paris. But there’s still something missing for her, and she can feel it.
“This whole time I’ve been thinking about Olympic gold rather than just being an Olympian. There’s something missing. That’s why I’m still hungry to keep training,” Blades said.
Blades’ father introduced her and her sister, Karina, to the sport when they were young. The sisters, 10 months apart, were quickly drawn to combat sports. Despite trying others, they couldn’t help but return to wrestling.
Medal watch alert in sport climbing and some history on the line
Brooke Raboutou is in prime position to claim the first-ever medal for a U.S. women’s sport climber as she is fractions of a point behind the world’s number one ranked climber Janja Garnbret after bouldering.
Only the lead event remains.
On the final of the four challenges in bouldering, Raboutou really took her time to evaluate the challenge. She had fewer attempts than the other climbers but that approach landed her a crucial 10 points and could be the difference in a gold or silver medal.
Serbia ahead in bronze basketball game
The Serbs don't feel sorry for themselves.
Less than 48 hours after a gut-wrenching semifinal loss to the United States, Serbia isn’t letting down in what could've been an anticlimactic bronze medal game against Germany.
Charlotte Hornets guard Vasilije Micic scored 12 points and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokić added 10 more as Serbia leads Germany at halftime, 46-38.
Water polo: Netherlands take bronze as winner comes with one second left
It was a dramatic ending to the women's water polo bronze medal match with the Netherlands mounting a huge comeback against Team USA to score the winner with just one second left on the clock.
It means they take the bronze medal, and Team USA — gold medalists in the last three Olympic Games — miss out on making the podium entirely for the first time since women's water polo made its Olympic debut in 2000.
It is back-to-back brutal losses for Team USA. They blew a three-goal halftime lead in their loss to Australia in the semifinals. Once again in control in the half, a four-goal lead was squandered this time.
The Netherlands outscored Team USA 5-1 in the final quarter, with Sabrina van der Sloot's winner coming with just one second left on the clock. She scored six of the Netherlands' 11 goals in this contest.
Water Polo: Netherlands pull it back against Team USA, now a one-score game
The momentum in the bronze medal match has certainly turned, with Team USA clinging on against the Netherlands.
Team USA were four goals ahead at halftime, but with two minutes left on the clock, the Netherlands are now back within a score. It's 10-9 and we're set for a tense finish in the battle for bronze.
Water Polo: Team USA in control entering final quarter
The bronze medal is Team USA's to lose at this stage in women's water polo with the team 9-6 ahead against the Netherlands through three quarters.
After a tight first quarter, the Netherlands's defense was sloppy in the second, with their coach Evangelos Doudesis furious at his side as he called a timeout midway through the quarter. His words didn't massively help the Netherlands with U.S. racing out to a 7-3 halftime lead.
The Netherlands have managed to reduce the deficit by one in the third quarter. The score is 9-6 heading into the final eight-minute quarter.
How weightlifting works
Olympic weightlifting has a good amount of strategy involved.
Each event consists of only a final, which features two phases: the snatch, and the clean and jerk.
For each phase, competitors can take three attempts at weights of their choosing. Athletes’ best result from each category is added together to determine the total weight lifted, which will equal the total score. The athlete with the highest score takes the gold.
Before the start of each phase of the competition, athletes must indicate their intended weight for their first lift, with the option to change it twice before they’re up — perhaps in response to how competitors’ lifts are going.
Here’s the catch: The barbell only gets heavier with each lift.
Since each athlete only gets three attempts per lift, the choice of a starting weight is a bit of a psychological strategy to intimidate competitors. However, since the barbell only gets heavier, athletes have to hit a sweet spot. If their initial lift is too heavy, they can fail at their future lifts and “bomb out,” but if it’s too light, an athlete can put themselves out of contention for a top spot.
The athlete requesting the lightest weight lifts first. Both lifts must be executed with two hands, and the weight must be held until referees give a down signal, indicating the lifter has become motionless in all parts of the body.
Three referees oversee each lift to determine if it is acceptable or not. The validity of a lift is determined by majority vote — two of the three referees. Each decision is immediately analyzed by a jury, which can decide to reverse the original call.
Water Polo: Maddie Musselman drawing ‘inspiration’ from her cancer-stricken husband
U.S. water polo star Maddie Musselman is one of the stars on the U.S. women's water polo team. She told NBC News ahead of the Games that she is drawing strength from her ailing husband, Patrick Woepse — who is in the stands this morning cheering the team on.
“We’re not sharing our story for people to feel sorry for us or feel bad for what we’re going through,” Musselman, 26, told NBC News as the Games got underway. “If anything, it’s for inspiration and that you can get to the other side of things with the people that are right next to you. We hope for that.”
Woepse, 30, who has Stage 4 lung cancer, said being in Paris and being able to cheer his wife on as she goes for the gold has done them both a world of good.
“For me to be here and support her in her Olympic journey is really special,” Woepse said in a separate interview with "TODAY." “It’s really special for Maddie. It gives me a lot of strength watching her play and I think having me in the stands gives her a little extra energy.”