2024 Paris Olympics: U.S. women will try for soccer gold; Gabby Thomas claims 200m victory

Thanks to Cole Hocker and Gabby Thomas in track and field and Amit Elor in wrestling, the U.S. pulled ahead of China in gold medals.

The countries had been tied in gold medals. Today, Team USA won three golds to take the lead, with 24, to China’s 22.

The U.S. continues to lead in the overall medal count and now has 86 — 24 gold medals, 31 silver medals and 31 bronze medals.

China is also second when it comes to overall medals, with 59.

Soccer stars Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman are getting a lot of love from all over the world as they dominate in goals for Team USA, but potentially no one is more adoring than their own team.

The U.S. women's soccer team declared them the "best American trio since Destiny's Child." Any comparison with Beyoncé is high praise indeed.

Together, Swanson, Smith and Rodman have scored nine of 11 goals for the U.S. at the Olympic tournament. Fans and game analysts have tried to give them a nickname, cycling through options such as "The Big Three," the "Trinity" and the "Trifecta."

NBC's commentators seemed to land on the "Trident" during today's win over Germany.

Sophia Smith, the woman with the winning goal in Team USA's semifinal against Germany, gifted herself the promise of an Olympic medal for her birthday.

The U.S. women's soccer team has its final match of the Paris Games against Brazil on Saturday, which also happens to be Smith's 24th birthday.

She's guaranteed a silver medal after the U.S. won today, but there's no doubt that she and the rest of the American women will be fighting for gold.

For the fans, the U.S.’ quarterfinal win over Brazil might have looked easy, but Stephen Curry insists it was anything but. “No matter what the score was at the end of the game, it’s very hard to win,” he told reporters afterward. “We might make it look easy, but it’s really, really difficult what we do.”

This tournament has been dominated by talk of just how strong the men’s roster is, with comparisons to the Dream Team of 1992. “There’s a lot of noise, and everybody has an opinion about how the games are going to turn out,” said Curry, the Golden State Warriors star. “But we don’t really invest into that. We just know if we play well, we can beat anybody.”

Though he may be the NBA’s 3-point king, Curry, 36, is making his Olympic debut in Paris. “I’m having blast: as a player, as a fan, going to see a bunch of different events all around, different athletes,” he said. “So there’s a lot of pride being here able to represent Team USA.”

Earlier, hosts France caused an upset by dumping Canada out of the men's competition. “That’s the beauty of single-elimination tournament basketball, right?” Curry said. “Like, any given night, you never know what could happen. It just reminds you how hard it is to win a gold medal, let alone a medal of any kind. So we don’t need any other reminders.”

The U.S. men's basketball team might have wowed the crowd at the Bercy Arena, but it got upstaged.

By far the biggest cheer of the night came when cameras spotted France's quadruple gold medalist swimmer Léon Marchand in the bleachers.

He stood up and gave a humble wave, and then the attention turned back to the court — where Team USA made quick work of Brail on its way to a semifinal match.

The U.S. defeated Brazil 122-87 today at the Paris Games to advance to the semifinals and will face Serbia, whom it beat by 26 points in pool play.

France will play Germany to kick off the semifinals, and with a win, France would clinch its spot in the gold medal match for the second consecutive Olympics.  

France, led by reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, defeated Canada 82-73 to advance.

Germany, the reigning FIBA World Cup champions, is in search of its first ever medal in 5-on-5 basketball. It defeated Greece 76-63 to advance.

Serbia, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, defeated Australia 95-90 in overtime to punch its ticket to the semifinals.

Ireland’s Kellie Harrington defended her 2020 Tokyo Games lightweight boxing gold with a championship bout win over China’s Yang Wenlu.

It's no surprise that U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas said her gold medal performance in today's 200 meters was “obviously” the favorite race of her career.

“You prepare for this moment and train so hard for this moment, but when it actually comes, it’s indescribable,” Thomas said.

“I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would become an Olympic gold medalist, and I am one. I’m still wrapping my head around that.”

Gabby Thomas took bronze in Tokyo, but there was no doubt she was destined for gold today. She led the entirety of the finishing stretch of the 200 meters, winning her first Olympic gold medal.

With her gold, she now has an Olympic medal in every color. (Thomas won 4x100-meter silver in Tokyo.)

Thomas' gold is just the second by a U.S. woman in the event in the last 32 years. Allyson Felix last did it in 2012.

Thomas was joined on the podium by fellow U.S. sprinter Brittany Brown, who captured bronze. The race was the first time the U.S. has put two women on the podium in this event.

Julien Alfred claimed her second medal of the Games — and the second for St. Lucia — with her silver finish. Earlier in the week, she stood atop the podium after the 100 meters.

The U.S. dispatched Brazil in the men’s basketball quarterfinals today, handling business en route to a 122-87 win.

It was a complete effort on both ends of the floor.

Brazil was held to only 41.6% shooting and forced into 15 turnovers. Meanwhile, the States shot 57.7% from the field, including 48.4% from 3.

Pick an American and he most likely had a good game. Devin Booker led the team with 18 points. Anthony Edwards scored 17, Joel Embiid added 14, and LeBron James had 12 points and nine assists.

Outside of a brief Brazil run in the second quarter that cut the game to eight, the U.S. was pretty much never threatened.

The U.S. will play Serbia in a group stage rematch Thursday. It defeated Serbia 110-84 on July 28.

Bronze medal winner Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand said she lost a fair semifinal fight to Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif, the fighter at the center of false claims about her gender.

Suwannapheng said the semifinal fight was legitimate and fair. “It was a fair fight because we were under the same rules," she said.

Khelif won a unanimous decision, 10-9 on all five judges’ cards for all three rounds. It was the most competitive of Khelif’s three bouts in France, as the 5-foot-7 Suwannapheng showed quick feet to stay competitive against her 5-10 opponent.

Cole Hocker came to win.

He was in fourth place, trailing favorites Josh Kerr of Great Britain and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1,500 meters, when he made his big move.

“With 100 meters to go, I knew I had enough,” Hocker said. “I haven’t seen the race replay or anything, but I saw Jakob. I feel like he was thinking about Kerr and started drifting out, and I thought I’d take advantage of that and try to punch that inside, which I’ve been able to do a couple times in my career. He’s a smart enough racer where he closed that down immediately, so I had to reassess. It was special to be able to attack not only once, but twice.”

Canada's Camryn Rogers took gold in women's hammer throw, the first time the country has both women's and men's gold in the same Olympics. Ethan Katzberg took gold for the men.

Rogers is the second Canadian woman to win an individual track and field gold medal. The first was 96 years ago — Ethel Catherwood in the high jump. Rogers is a three-time NCAA champion at the University of California.

Team USA's Annete Echikunwoke took silver — the first American to ever medal in the event at the Olympics. She was set to represent her parents' country, Nigeria, in Tokyo but was ineligible because of Nigeria's "negligence" in drug testing.

China's Zhao Jie took bronze. The country has medaled in both women's throwing events in Paris after Feng Bin won silver in discus.

Simone Biles said she closed her time at the Paris Olympics “bawling my eyes out” to her teammates, after a glorious run in which the 27-year-old superstar secured four medals — three gold and a silver.

Speaking about how she felt ending her stint at the world’s greatest competition stage, the 11-time Olympic medalist said it hasn’t quite sunk in.

“I don’t think I will until one day I decide to retire. But yesterday, once we got back to the village, I looked at Jordan [Chiles] and just started bawling my eyes out,” she said today on NBC’s “TODAY” show. “And she was like, ‘I knew it was going to happen — I just didn’t know when!’”

“I think I was just so full of emotion and I finally released all of that. I was so proud, happy, bittersweet that the journey’s over. It’s so crazy. It happened too quick. My third Olympics!” she added.

But she may not be done with the Games just yet.

“You know, you never say never. The next Olympics is on home turf. I’m just going to relax and see where life takes me,” she told Hoda Kotb about the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Read the full story here.

Switzerland knocked out the U.S.’ top-rated team of Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes in beach volleyball at the Paris Games today — an early elimination that has not happened to a U.S. woman’s team since 2000.

The U.S. women won Olympic gold in 2004, 2008 and 2012, powered by the team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings won bronze in 2016, and then Alix Klineman and April Ross won gold in Tokyo.

The last time a U.S. women’s team didn’t make it to the semifinals was at the Sydney Games in 2000, when two American pairs made it to the quarterfinals but both lost.

Beach volleyball has been an Olympic sport only since 1996, when it debuted in Atlanta.

At these Paris Games, the Swiss team of Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli beat Cheng and Hughes in straight sets in what was considered an upset.

Women’s freestyle wrestler Amit Elor has been undefeated for five years.

That streak continued today in the women’s freestyle wrestling finals, where Elor defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova to take home the gold 3-0.

Elor, 20, was heavily favored coming into the match, and she did not disappoint. Elor stayed poised at the center of the mat, staying true to her signature style reminiscent of men's Greco-Roman wrestling, which focuses on upper-body attacks.

Elor is the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in U.S. history. One day outside the cutoff, she could not compete in Tokyo in 2021. So instead, she found junior championships and won six titles in two years, including the under-20, under-23 and senior world championships.

"It's pretty much unreal. I wanted to go to Tokyo so badly, but life happens, Covid happened," Elor said in an interview after her win. "My coach told me, 'Don't focus on negativity; you can't change it.'"

"Focus on training and getting better and make the next Olympics," she said.

She defeated her opponent in the semifinals in only one minute, 44 seconds and defeated the reigning world champion in the quarterfinals.

Elor’s parents are from Israel, where she has become an online sensation. Her path has been filled with obstacles, including the loss of her brother, who was shot and killed in a robbery in 2018.

"I'm sharing this medal with my whole entire family. I'm sharing this family with my entire country, with everyone I've met on and off the mat," Elor said. "I have to do this — if not for me, then for them."

President Joe Biden today called star U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky and gold-medal winning sprinter Noah Lyles to congratulate them on their Olympic success, the White House said.

"This afternoon, the President called Team USA Olympic Athletes Katie Ledecky and Noah Lyles. The President congratulated swimmer Katie Ledecky on winning two gold medals in the Paris 2024 Olympics and becoming the most decorated woman in U.S. Olympic history," White House senior deputy press secretary Emilie Simons said.

"The President congratulated sprinter Noah Lyles on winning gold in the 100-meter dash and being the fastest man in the world. He also wished Lyles good luck in the 200M and 4x100M relay," Simons said.

The prime minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, said he plans to boycott the Olympic closing ceremony after two gymnasts from his country controversially missed a medal in yesterday's women's floor exercise final.

“I decided not to attend the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, following the scandalous situation in the gymnastics, where our athletes were treated in an absolutely dishonourable manner,” Ciolacu said on Facebook. “To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal … is totally unacceptable!”

American Jordan Chiles won the bronze after she appealed her score. Before her inquiry, two Romanians, Sabrina Voinea and Ana Bărbosu, had tied for third, but Bărbosu retained the bronze medal position because of her superior execution score.

Bărbosu thought she had earned her first Olympic medal and was already waving the Romanian flag joyfully when the scoreboard changed. Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comăneci took to social media to claim that Voinea, the Romanian gymnast who lost the tiebreaker to her teammate, was incorrectly penalized by the judges for going out of bounds in her routine.

Without the deduction, Voinea would have won bronze over Chiles.

Simone Biles discussed her expectations for the Paris Olympics and how proud she was of her performances, which earned her three gold medals and a silver medal. She said the night after she finished competing, she became emotional, realizing the Olympics were over.

The U.S. women’s team pursuit squad finished second in the qualifying round. It set a national record of 4:05.238. The Americans will face Great Britain in the first round tomorrow. 

The women's water polo team will continue its quest for its fourth consecutive gold medal in Paris.

The U.S. beat Hungary 5-4, eliminating it from podium contention. The Americans advance to the semifinal against Australia on Thursday.

The U.S. defense held strong throughout the game, keeping Hungary scoreless in the second and fourth quarters.

Goalie Ashleigh Johnson saved a tournament-high 17 shots, stopping 81% of Hungary’s attempts. Rachel Fattal scored a needed goal to put the Americans over one point, securing their spot in the semis for the seventh straight Olympics.

With every tumble, handspring and stuck landing at the Paris Olympics, trailblazing two-time gold medal gymnast Carlos Yulo of Team Philippines ignited a wave of Filipino pride. 

Yulo, 24, cemented his legendary status after he took the top spot in the men’s floor and vault events, making him the first male athlete in the Philippines' history to win a gold medal. And the Filipino diaspora (rightfully) had no chill. They’ve been expressing their deep admiration for their “golden boy’s” major accomplishment. 

Yulo first made history Saturday when he beat out previous floor champ Artem Dolgopyat of Israel for gold, only to follow it up with another the next day when he bested Armenia’s Artur Davtyan and Great Britain’s Harry Hepworth in vault. The wins made Yulo the second person ever to take home gold for the Philippines after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won the women’s 55-kilogram event in 2021 at the Tokyo Games. He also accounts for the totality of the Philippines’ medal count this year.  

Read the full story here.

The president of Paris’ region, Île-de-France, Valérie Pecrésse, told FranceInter yesterday that she wanted to keep the Olympic cauldron in Paris.

“It’s obvious, just as we kept the Eiffel Tower after the universal exhibition, we have to keep this cauldron,” she told French public radio.

She said she would prefer to keep it in the Tuileries Garden in the center of the city, where it currently is, but she also mentioned La Villette Parc, in the northeast of Paris, as another option for the cauldron.

The U.S. comes out on top over Brazil 122-87 in a men’s basketball quarterfinal, setting up a semifinal against Serbia — and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic— in two days.

Brazil advances to the gold medal match against the Americans after defeating Spain 4-2 in a women's soccer semifinal.

It was a bad game for Spain, who despite owning possession of the ball failed to take advantage of its opportunities. The Spanish squad made mistake after mistake, the most embarrassing being an own goal in the sixth minute that gave Brazil an early 1-0 lead.

A scramble in the second half was too little too late as Spain failed to gain ground and Brazil dominated with three more goals.

Spain scored again just in front of the Brazilian net, bringing the score to 4-2 with less than three minutes of stoppage time left.

The result has rarely seemed in doubt here, and the crowd is still being treated to some exhibition basketball.

Several moments stuck out during the third quarter: a 3-pointer from LeBron James to make it 74-46 on 6:26, and an outrageous putback slam from Anthony Davis around two minutes earlier.

The U.S. is in total control over Brazil here.

After her win in the ring, Khelif and her opponent briefly embraced.

Roland-Garros Stadium went crazy to show its support for Khelif, who has been the subject of false claims about her gender.

Some of Khelif's fans are bouncing up and down with Algerian flags, and some look like they’re on the verge of tears.

Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif will fight for gold after defeating Janjaem Suwannapheng from Thailand in a unanimous decision at center court of famed Roland-Garros Stadium.

Khelif has been fighting under a cloud after a Russian-controlled boxing body raised questions last year about her gender.

The gold medal bout is set for Friday night.

The Swiss team of Hüberli and Brunner has advanced to the semifinals, beating the U.S. 2-0.

The second set was nail-bitingly close, with the U.S. looking like it might make a comeback after dropping the first set. At 20-19, Switzerland won the match point, sending American's Cheng and Hughes packing.

Both of Team USA's women's beach volleyball teams have been eliminated. The last time the U.S. did not win a podium position in the sport was 2000.

The U.S. is leading Brazil 94-71 heading into the fourth quarter.

Brazil actually outscored the States 35-31 in the third, but only after the States pushed its lead to 28 and took its foot off the gas a bit.

LeBron James went back to the locker room in the third, and it would be a surprise if he played again with the U.S. pulling away so much.

Brazil increased its cushion as Spain failed to protect its net, allowing Brazil's Kerolin to score in the first minute of stoppage time.

There are 15 minutes of stoppage time added to the end of regulation, but it will require a tremendous effort from Spain to turn this around.

What feels like the majority of Roland-Garros is screaming “Imane, Imane, Imane” throughout the beginning of Algerian fighter's Imane Khelif semifinal fight.

She's been at the center of online abuse based on unsubstantiated claims about her gender.

Algerian flags are littered all over the arena. Cheers erupt every time she lands a punch. Her opponent Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand was actually the one hearing boos.

Spain is making every effort to stay alive after a scramble at the Brazilian net finally gave Spain a goal.

Salma Paralluelo scored with an assist from Jennifer Hermoso as the two women fought in front of Brazil's goalkeeper in the 85th minute.

Spain followed up with two failed attempts at the goal by Alexia Putellas in a desperate bid to even the score before the end of the match.

Brazil may have secured its spot in the gold medal match with a third goal against Spain in the 72nd minute of the game.

It was a scramble in front of Spain's net as Brazilian Adriana attempted a goal but missed that initial shot. But Gabi Portilho grabbed a header on the rebound to pass it back to Adriana.

A second shot sank into the back right corner of Spain's net.

The Swiss team of Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli is up 1-0, taking the first set of the quarterfinals against the U.S. team of Kelly Cheng and Sarah Hughes.

Brunner and Hüberli took the first set 21-18.

The first team to win two sets wins the match.

The U.S. is really pouring it on now, spending most of the first half against Brazil seemingly coasting, while occasionally flipping the switch to conjure a dazzling play, like the one that led to a slam dunk from Jayson Tatum in the final seconds.

Team USA leads Brazil 63-36, and the game already risks turning into an exhibition, with a rotating cast of elite NBA talent taking turns to wow this sell-out crowd. 

Joel Embiid is relishing his villain status. At one point when he was taking a free throw, the boos from the French crowd got so loud that they set off a decibel warning on my smart watch.

At halftime in Paris, the U.S. leads Brazil 63-36 in the quarterfinal.

Brazil briefly threatened in the second, cutting a 19-point lead to eight after a 13-2 run. But the States regrouped, finishing the quarter on a suffocating 21-2 run of its own.

Joel Embiid has been dominant, scoring 14 while grabbing seven rebounds. He’s been giving it back to the French crowd as well, responding to their boos with some taunts of his own.

LeBron James still looks like the best player on the team, though, scoring 10 points to go along with eight assists.

It’s been a really solid game from USA in general. Everyone who has checked in has scored. The States are shooting nearly 60% from the field, are a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw and defense has been stingy.

After trailing by as much as 19, Brazil went on a 13-2 run in the second quarter to cut the lead to eight, 42-34.

Marcelo Huertas is heating up, and he’s up to 9 points for Brazil.

This star-packed Team USA basketball team is dazzling, charming, beguiling the Paris crowd, who is just having the best night watching the gold medal-holders race to a 33-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The French fans are even enjoying booing Joel Embiid — who chose to play for the U.S. rather than the host nation, for whom he was eligible. The Philadelphia 76ers center is responding in kind, scoring 8 points including two baskets from downtown.

The U.S. is shooting 62% from the floor and 4-of-7 from distance.

Brazil's Gabi Portilho scored with an assist from Yasmim, doubling the lead against Spain in the final minutes of the extra half.

Spain has played a sloppy first half against Brazil in this semifinal, putting its opponents ahead minutes into the match with an own goal and unable to make up for the loss. 

Brazil was an underdog walking into this semifinal but has blocked Spain at every turn despite the Spanish squad's domination of possession of the ball.

Whoever wins will advance to play Team USA in the gold medal match Saturday, while the loser will face Germany for bronze on Friday.

Brazil has lost the Olympic gold medal to the U.S. twice before, in 2004 and 2008.

Omari Jones will settle for a welterweight bronze medal after dropping a split decision to Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev from Uzbekistan.

Three of the five judges scored it for Muydinkhujaev, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28. 

Two judges had it for the Orlando native, 29-28, 30-27.

Jones congratulated his rival, corner and referee before retreating from  the canvas, not clay, of the famed Roland-Garros Stadium.

The U.S. leads Brazil 33-21 after one quarter in their quarterfinal showdown.

Devin Booker is pacing the States early, with nine points, three assists and three rebounds.

It’s been a balanced attack, though, with every starter in the scoring column. LeBron James has been distributing, racking up five assists. And Joel Embiid is having one of his best starts of the Olympics so far, with eight points in the first.

Bruno Caboclo leads Brazil with nine points.

After winning bronze in Tokyo, Gabby Thomas won a long-awaited gold in the women's 200-meter final in Paris. The Harvard grad bested newly minted 100-meter champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia.

Thomas also dominated the qualifying races and sealed her gold in the final with a 21.83 time.

Alfred won silver and another U.S. runner, Brittany Brown, took bronze. Thomas is the first American woman to win the event since Allyson Felix in 2012.

Team USA leads Brazil 16-6 only a touch over four minutes into their quarterfinal matchup.

Every starter has scored, while LeBron James is in quarterback mode, with four early assists. Devin Booker currently leads everyone in scoring with five points.

Paris just got its first glimpse of the men’s U.S. basketball team, and gave them the most almighty rapturous welcome. 

All of the full-court basketball so far has been played in the northern French city of Lille. But with the quarterfinals starting today, the show has come to Paris.

As LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and the rest of the team ran out onto the court to start their warm-up, the 15,000-capacity Bercy Arena went wild. If that lifted the roof, it almost got blown off its walls as James wound up and sunk his first practice dunk.

World record holder and Tokyo Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran her 400-meter hurdles semi-final in 52.13. That's the fastest semi-final time in Olympic history.

The three-time U.S. Olympian easily clinched the chance to defend her Olympic title in Thursday's final. She clipped a hurdle in her first Paris race, but had no such errors in today's semifinal.

Jamaican Rushell Clayton won the first heat of the 400-meter hurdle in 53 seconds, flanked by American Jasmine Jones. They will join McLaughlin-Levrone in the final, along with reigning world champion, Dutch runner Femke Bol.

Cuba's Mijaín López made Olympic history tonight, becoming the first Olympian ever to win the same event during five Olympics in a row.

The greco-roman wrestling champion defeated Chilean Yasmani Acosta 6-0. Acosta left Cuba to train in Chile years ago after it became clear he would live in López's shadow if he stayed in the same country as him.

After López's victory, he took off his shoes and lay them at the center of the mat, indicating that he is retiring after this match. On that mat, he leaves behind shoes that might prove impossible to fill, after the man who has dominated the sport since the 2004 Athens Olympics walks away having made history.

U.S. long-distance runner Cole Hocker defeated two favorites, including the reigning Olympic champion, Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, to win gold in the 1,500-meter final.

The reigning world champion, Great Britain's Josh Kerr, took silver. Ingebrigtsen finished out of the medals, while another American, Yared Nuguse, rounded out the podium.

It's a bad start for Spain in this game after team captain Irene Paredes accidentally had an own goal against her goalkeeper.

That allows Brazil to take the lead in the first six minutes of the semifinal match.

PARIS — Brazil great Marta lost her appeal against a two-game ban at the Paris Olympics and will miss today’s semifinal against Spain.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judge hearing the urgent case dismissed the application by Marta and the Brazilian team.

FIFA imposed a two-game ban on the Brazil captain for the red card she received in a group-stage 2-0 loss to Spain for a foul on Olga Carmona.

Marta sat out Brazil’s 1-0 quarterfinal victory over host France.

CAS published the ruling 4 1/2 hours before Brazil kicks off against Spain in Marseille. The winner advances to play the United States in the final in Paris on Saturday.

Marta will be eligible to play in the gold-medal game or for the bronze medal, on Friday in Lyon.

That is likely to be the last game of the 38-year-old forward’s international career at her sixth Olympics. She has two silver medals, from the 2004 Athens Olympics and in Beijing four years later.

Brazil and Spain began the last Olympic semifinal game of the day, determining who will advance to the bronze medal match and who will play for gold this weekend.

U.S. hurdler Anna Cockrell raised her hand before the starter pistol went off in the third and final semifinal for the 400-meter hurdle.

The rules state that any athlete can raise their hand ahead of the gun if they aren't ready or are distracted for any reason. The gun went off regardless, but the officials halted the race.

After a restart, Cockrell secured the second automatic spot in her heat.

It was a tough but successful game for the U.S. women's national team, whose defeat of Germany advances them into the gold medal match this weekend.

After a scoreless regulation game, the U.S. and Germany were forced into an extra 30 minutes of play to break the tie. Thankfully for the Americans, forward Sophia Smith was able to break through five minutes into extra time to sink a goal in the back of Germany's net.

Germany did not give up without a fight, putting pressure on the U.S. in an attempt to equalize the game, but the European team was ultimately unsuccessful.

Team USA will play either Spain or Brazil on Saturday in the Olympic final for the women's tournament.

Yabusele Guerschon scored 22 points, Isaïa Cordinier added 20 and Victor Wembanyama grabbed 12 rebounds as France held on for an 82-73 win over scrappy Canada.

France led by double digits most of the way, but Canada got it down to 5 points in the final quarter and couldn’t get any closer.

Sophia Smith finally puts a number on the scoreboard with a beautiful goal against Germany five minutes into extra time.

Team USA leads 1-0 with 25 minutes left to play.

Team captain Lindsay Horan has been replaced with Korbin Albert as the women's soccer semifinal moves into extra time.

Jenna Nighswonger has also been brought on to replace Crystal Dunn, leaving the U.S. team with fresh players but lacking the most experienced members of the squad.

It's extra time for women's soccer as the U.S. vs. Germany semifinal ended regulation time scoreless.

Germany, which lost to the American squad 4-1 in the group stage, has played a solid defensive game that has repeatedly broken down the U.S. offense. So far in this tournament, the American team has been able to play with controlled possession that had consistently applied pressure on the opponents.

But the German women have forced a more chaotic game, leaving Team USA to scramble after what should have been scoring plays were blocked over and over again.

Five minutes of stoppage time has been added as the U.S. and Germany women's game remains scoreless.

Germany's defender, Marina Hegering, was replaced in the 78th minute with Biabiane Schulze Solano after sustaining an injury on the field.

Hegering has played a stunning match so far against the American women, with her aggressive attacks resulting in a yellow card in the first half. This could be an opportunity for the U.S. team to break through the German defense, but her replacement is also coming in with fresh legs.

Four attempts at goal in just three minutes — two by Lindsay Horan, one by Trinity Rodman and one by Sophia Smith — failed to put any numbers on the scoreboard.

The Canadians are doing just enough to hang around — but need at least one big run to get back in this.

France leads, 61-50, after three periods in this quarterfinal game, on the strength of its aggressive play and visits to the free-throw line.

The French have converted 24 of 31 charity shots while Canada is just 13-of-17.

Lynn Williams has been substituted in for midfielder Rose Lavelle early in the second half as the game remains scoreless.

There was a brief moment when it looked like Williams might come in for Trinity Rodman after the forward went down in a rough tackle from the German squad.

"Is she OK?" coach Emma Hayes was heard yelling as Rodman was checked out.

But Rodman returned to her feet and Williams went in for Lavelle as planned.

The French are in control and two quarters away from a men’s basketball semifinal appearance.

They’ve held Canada to 33% shooting and lead 45-29 at halftime, to the delight of a loud home audience at Bercy Arena.

This French lead comes despite getting just 2 points from the NBA’s top rookie last season, Victor Wembanyama.

Germany came into the semifinal prepared to fight and fight these women did, committing 11 fouls against the American squad in the first 45 minutes.

That chippy defense has made it tough for the U.S. women's national team to persist in the controlled and domineering offense that has already become a signature of the new Emma Hayes coaching era in the Olympics.

Multiple opportunities to score have arisen for Team USA, including a few free kicks, but nothing has found success against this German squad. And though prior games have shown the forwards as the most notable part of the U.S. offense, this match has been a big one for midfielders Rose Lavelle and Lindsay Horan.

While the young new forwards have been getting heaps of praise and attention in the Games so far, the veterans in midfield deserve some love as well for helping to maintain control in this first half against Germany.

Most fans know the names Rose Lavelle, Lindsay Horan and Crystal Dunn as key members of the roster from the national team's 2019 World Cup win. Lavelle and Horan in particular have created a few opportunities to shoot, though none has sank to the back of the net.

But each woman is showing that experience in this game as the German team gets particularly chippy, hitting the Americans with seven fouls in less than 30 minutes of play.

That aggressiveness from Germany has hurt the ability to keep control in front of the net, shutting down opportunity to score for the forwards.

A raucous French crowd greeted ice cold Canada.

Highly energized France jumped out to a 23-10 lead over Canada after one period in their quarterfinal game. 

The Canadians were just 3-of-15 from the floor and 1-of-7 from distance. 

Isaïa Cordinier led the French with 10 points.

Australian skateboarder Arisa Trew, 14, won gold in the women's park final, with a come-from-behind performance. Trailing after the first run, Trew put together strong second and third runs. Her final run included a stack of tricks that wowed the judges and sent her to the top of the leaderboard with a best score of 93.18.

Japan's Cocona Hiraki earned silver, while Britain's Sky Brown finished third with a bronze medal.

After the first of three scheduled runs, Japan's Hiraki Cocona leads with a score of 91.98. Team USA's Bryce Wettstein is second and Brazil's Dora Varella is third.

The USA women’s soccer team squares off against Germany in a huge Olympic semifinal clash in Lyon at 12 p.m. ET today.

Emma Hayes’ side battled past Japan 1-0 after extra time in the quarterfinals, as a stunner from Trinity Rodman secured their passage to the final four as they will at the very least get a shot at winning a medal in Paris. The U.S. are, for many, the favorites to win gold as the four-time Olympic champs are in a new era and are a joy to watch when they click in attack.

Germany edged past Canada on penalty kicks in their quarterfinal and they will be looking to avenge their 4-1 defeat to the USWNT in the group stage. Germany created plenty of chances in that game but just couldn’t find the finishing touch often enough and that is a warning for the Americans. German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was superb against Canada and will be busy against the USA.

Read the full story here.

At age 21, Australian star Josh Giddey has multiple Olympics ahead of him.

But the same can't be said for 35-year-old Patty Mills, perhaps the best-known Aussie hoopster of the past decade-plus. Giddey said his teammates were crushed they couldn't get the veteran further in this tournament.

"It was up to us to help him get that ultimate goal of a gold medal," a downcast Giddy said after Australia's quarterfinal OT loss to Serbia. "He's poured so much into this program and his legacy will never, ever be forgotten within this country in this tournament."

Mills, who scored a game-high 26 points, hit an off-balance jumper over Nikola Jokic at the end of regulation to force OT.

U.S. medalists from track and field, 3x3 basketball and skeet joined "TODAY" to celebrate their victories.

With the Eiffel Tower behind them, Taylor Knibb, Valerie Allman, Rhyne Howard, Vincent Hancock and others rocked their medals and told the anchors about their triumphant Olympic experience.

"Show of hands, who's going to be in Los Angeles 2028?" Craig Melvin asked the athletes.

Ever since John and Sumner Paine represented the U.S. in shooting at the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, brothers and sisters have competed at the Games.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are no exception. If competition drives Olympians, what could be more competitive than sibling rivalry?

Yesterday, Australia’s Noemie Fox won gold in kayak cross after she eliminated her older sister (and world No. 1) Jessica Fox in the prelims. Luckily, Jessica had already won two gold medals in the single kayak and canoe races.

Hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg teamed up with Martha Stewart to give a play-by-play during Olympic dressage action, which featured a horse aptly named Gin & Juice — prompting Snoop to drop a freestyle of his classic tune!

Nikola Jokic scored two buckets in the final 67 seconds of overtime, rallying Serbia to a 95-90 quarterfinal victory over Australia.

Serbia, which had trailed by as much as 24 points, will play the winner of the United States and Brazil in the semifinals.

Patty Mills hit an off-balance free-throw line jumper, over the outstretched arm of Nikola Jokic, to tie it, 82-82, and force OT.

Serbia had taken the lead, overcoming a 24-point deficit.

It’s a barn burner from Bercy Arena! 

Serbia leads, 81-80, with 32.3 seconds left as three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and his teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic are trying to complete their rally from a 24-point deficit.

Vasilije Micić hit three free throws to give Serbia an 81-78 lead with 2:52 left when he was fouled on a jumper by Josh Giddey. 

China's Quan Hongchan won gold in the women's 10-meter platform, successfully defending her title from the 2020 Olympics. Her final score of 425.60 secured victory over teammate Chen Yuxi. This marks Hongchan's second gold medal in the Paris Olympics, after winning the women's synchronized 10-meter platform.

North Korea's Kim Mi Rae finished third, securing bronze.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Leon Marchand joined "TODAY" to talk about his achievements during these Olympics. The French swimmer has won five medals including four individual golds in Paris — no other French athlete has accomplished such a feat — in a haul that puts him alongside Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz.

Each win only endeared him more to an enraptured French crowd, which cheered him on at every event. "When I went on the poolside, I could hear the whole pool just going crazy. I’ve never seen that before as a swimmer," he said. "I was really using that crowd to swim faster."

Serbia has turned it around and enters the fourth quarter with a 67-65 lead over Australia.

Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic heated up, having scored 17 and 13 points apiece so far for Serbia.

Through four rounds, China has two swimmers in the top three of the women's 10-meter platform, as Quan Hongchan leads by 5 points over Chen Yuxi in second.

North Korea's Kim Mi Rae is third, with Canada's McKay Caeli and Mexico's Agundez Garcia Gabriela currently rounding out the top five.

Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo became his country’s first double Olympic gold medalist last week, winning on the floor and on the vault on consecutive days. He's only the second ever athlete from the Philippines to win an Olympic gold, after weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won at the Tokyo Games.

But now Yulo will return home with more than just precious metals and happy memories. The Philippines government will give the gymnast around $173,000 and the country's House of Representatives will give him just over $100,000 in cash incentives. That's in addition to the $50,000 originally promised when Yulo won his first gold over the weekend, according to Filipino outlet Philstar.

And that's not all. National real estate giant Megaworld has promised Yulo a completely furnished three-bedroom condo in McKinley Hill — Manila's biggest condominium complex.

Numerous national restaurant chains such as JT's Manukan Grille, which is also giving away free chicken inasal to customers named Carlos, have pledged to provide Yulo a lifetime supply of meals. Vikings Group buffets has also offered him free lifetime buffets. Meanwhile, and hopefully not relatedly, Dr. Virgil Lo, gastroenterologist, has proposed to provide Yulo lifetime free consultations and colonoscopies.

Serbia has put a dent into Australia’s big lead, but will need a lot more stops in the second half.

The Aussies torched the Serbs, shooting 62% from the floor and going into the dressing room with a 54-42 lead.

The scrappy guys from Down Under have even out hustled the powerful Serbians in rebounds, winning that battle, 18-16.

The U.S. women’s national soccer team is looking to continue its undefeated streak at this year’s Olympics as the squad prepares for a second match against Germany in the semifinals.

It may feel like another Tuesday for the American women, as the team has not lost to Germany in an international tournament for two straight decades. That’s especially true of the 2024 Paris Games as the U.S. clobbered the European team in a 4-1 game in the group stage.

Nothing can be ruled out at the Olympics as the hunger for national glory has been known to bring dramatic upsets, but the U.S. women’s team certainly walks in with an edge.

Though the squad struggled to break through Japan’s defense in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning, a single goal by forward Trinity Rodman, 22, in extra stoppage time sailed the women into the next round.

Read the full story here.

It might be getting late early for Serbia.

The Australians cannot miss and have extended their lead to 44-20 with 6:52 left in the second period.

The Aussies are shooting the lights out, connecting on 79% of their attempts from the floor. 

This winner will play the winner of the quarterfinal between the U.S. and Brazil in the semifinals. 

Red-hot Australia race to an early lead, shooting a scorching 76% from the floor to lead Serbia 31-17 after one period.

Patty Mills and Josh Giddey paced Australia with 12 and 8 points, respectively.

Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic each have 6 points for Serbia.

Simone Biles says she broke down in tears at the Olympic village after her rollercoaster final day of competition yesterday, in which she fell during the balance beam final and won silver in the floor exercise final.

America’s most decorated Olympic gymnast, and her four Paris Games medals, joined "TODAY" in Paris this morning and she told Hoda Kotb that "I was so full of emotion and I finally released all of that. I was so proud, happy, bittersweet that the journey is over."

Biles spoke about her happiness when U.S. teammate Jordan Chiles won the bronze in the floor exercise, and how during the medal ceremony, she and Chiles bowed to Brazilian gold medalist Rebeca Andrade in a show of admiration.

"It’s all about sportsmanship," adding "we were so happy for her. She deserved it. She had the best floor routine of that day and the Olympics." Biles also left open the possibility of competing at Los Angeles in 2028. "You never say never. The next Olympics is on home turf so you just never know."

Breaking — essentially break dancing — gets underway Friday and it's the only new sport making its Olympic debut in Paris. But what can we expect and how does it work?

NBC’s Steve Kornacki is on hand at the big board to give a crash course.

China's General Administration of Sport — the country's top sports-governing body — has opened an investigation into its swimming director for "inappropriate" online remarks, according to state newspaper China Sports Daily.

While it wasn't clear what Yuan Haoran had done, the news came after he dismissed claims by a live-streamer and other social media users about Western swimmers engaging in doping.

Users of the social media platform Weibo accused Western swimmers of turning pink and purple after races, which they said was proof of their use of performance-enhancing drugs. Posts with the tag "TeamUSApurpleface" have garnered at least 170 million views on Weibo, a microblogging platform similar to X.

"I was sitting closest to the swimming pool, but I really didn’t notice this," Yuan wrote on his personal Weibo account, adding that a live-streamer’s "biased filter" could be to blame. Yuan was later accused of anti-China sentiment by other posters. He later deleted his Weibo account.

After intentionally jogging through his heat Sunday due to some nagging discomfort, U.S. athlete Freddie Crittenden breezed through his repechage round in 13.42 seconds to advance to the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals.

It's the end of the road for America's women's table tennis team. Despite healthy support and chants of “USA” from the crowds throughout the Games, Rachel Sung, Amy Wang and Lily Zhang have not managed to break the U.S. dry spell in table tennis.

Team USA has been defeated by Germany by 2-3. Lily Zang won the fourth game to level the score with Germany to 2-2, but Rachel Sung lost to Annett Kaufmann in the fifth game.

Germany moves on to the quarterfinals, which starting later today, and will face India tomorrow. Table tennis is one of the five summer sports in which the U.S. has never won an Olympic medal.

Franz Wagner scored 18 points and teammate Dennis Schroder passed out eight assists as Germany pulled away for a 76-63 quarterfinal victory over Giannis Anetokounmpo’s Greece.

The Greeks raced to an early 21-9 lead but the Germans eventually outclassed their opponents, winning the assist, rebounding and turnover battles.

All-time German great and retired Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki was in attendance and cheered by fans when cameras showed him on the Bercy Arena scoreboard.

Olympic swimming wrapped up in Tahiti overnight, with Team USA's Carline Marks striking gold. Take a look at how she did it.

Germany’s Christian Kukuk is individual Olympic champion with a time of 38.34 in the three-way jump-off. As a kid he wanted to play professional soccer, but began riding at age 13.

The silver medal went to Steve Guerdat of Switzerland and bronze to Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands.

Think of this as March Madness international style! 

Four survive-and-advance games of the men’s basketball tournament tip-off in Paris today with known NBA players on each squad.

• Dennis Schroder’s Germany is facing Giannis Anetokounmpo’s Greece right now. They're tied, 36-36, at halftime.
• Nikola Jokic’s Serbia takes on Patty Mills’ Australia at 8:20 a.m. ET and 2:20 p.m. local time.
• Victor Wembanyama leads host France against Jamal Murray’s Canada at 12:00 p.m. ET and 6:00 p.m. local time.
• And the in the night cap at 3:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. local time, the United States plays Brazil. The underdogs feature forward Gui Santos, who played 23 games with the Golden State Warriors last season. 

All 30 riders have completed their rounds and only three riders avoided penalties. Now they will go into a jump-off to decide the medals.

In the three-way duel: Steve Guerdat of Switzerland, Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands and Christian Kukuk of Germany.   

There was high drama when world number-one Henrik Von Eckermann was thrown from his horse midway through his run. Thankfully the Swede was not hurt.

America’s Laura Kraut was unlucky to incur a fault at the final fence and finishes in eight place. Karl Cook of the USA placed 16th. 

Gabby Thomas posted a 21.86-second semifinal in the women’s 200-meter yesterday to book her spot in a second consecutive Olympic final, to be held today at 3:40 p.m. ET and 9:40 p.m. local time.

Fellow Americans Brittany Brown and McKenzie long will also run the final, which also includes Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred and Great Britain's Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith.

Team USA's Sam Kendricks was flying high at Stade de France as he picked up pole vault silver for his second career Olympic medal.

Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands leads the field after ten rounds at the Château de Versailles.

America’s Laura Kraut sits in fourth place.

With 30 riders in the finals, there are plenty of medal contenders still to compete, including Karl Cook of Team USA.

The jumping competition is being held in a temporary outdoor arena at the heart of the palace’s gardens.

U.S. sport climber Brooke Raboutou is reaching new heights, having qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“It’s been pretty crazy to see the sport evolve,” said Raboutou, the first woman to represent the U.S. in sport climbing when she competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games. “I was one of the first Olympians back in 2020. There was only 20 of us.”

“Since then, we’ve seen a lot of growth in the sport, more participation, more gyms pop up, more funding for the athletes, and it’s really cool to see that growth and see our sport get to be loved by so many,” she added.

Read the full story here.

If casual American basketball fans didn’t already know this, then the world made it loud and clear in Paris: The United States has a ways to go before becoming a 3x3 powerhouse.

American men were eliminated in the quarterfinals, while the defending champion women had to scratch and claw their way to a bronze medal Monday night.

“We have to pour as much (into 3x3) as we do five-on-five,” said Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby after sinking the go-ahead free throw that helped the United States secure bronze with a hard-fought 16-13 victory over Canada.

Read the full story here.

Take a moment to watch (or rewatch) the moment Rebeca Andrade performed her near-flawless floor routine yesterday.

The Brazilian gymnast upset Simone Biles — who appeared to land awkwardly on her ankle moments before her routine — on her way to the gold, which made her the most decorated Brazilian Olympian in history.. Team USA's Biles and Jordan Chiles took silver and bronze, respectively.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock.

Full prime-time coverage begins tonight on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET.