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

Olympic events tomorrow

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 Rooksmade a bold choice — and it paid off big.

With less than two laps to go in the 3,000-metersteeplechase, 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.

RooksandEvan 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 bellis 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 thefoundry’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 Hallof 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-Smithof 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.

Tom Schaar, a 12-time X Gamesskateboardingmedalist, has a taste of Olympic glory after his silver medal finish today in men's park skateboarding.

Australian Keegan Palmer defended his Olympic gold medal after he landed an impressive 93.11-point run, and Brazil's Augusto Akio took bronze.

The U.S. is still looking for its firstskateboardinggold

Celine Boutier fired a 65 to lead after Round 1 of the Olympic women’s event. Watch and hear from the French favorite at Le Golf National.

Andy Macdonald may have spent decades as a professional skateboarder, but the veteran athlete was an excited newcomer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Macdonald, 51, was cheered on today by fellow skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, 56, as he became the oldest skateboarder to compete in an Olympic Games. Macdonald went pro in 1994 and is decades older than his fellowTeam Great Britain skateboarders, 16-year-olds Sky Brown and Lola Tambling.

Macdonald, a 23-time X Games champion, zipped through the skate park during the preliminaries, showing off flashy moves, including a Madonna and a body varial 540.

While he didn’t win a medal, Macdonald called the experience the thrill of his professional career.

“I could have fallen on every run and just be as happy as I am now. It doesn’t matter,” MacdonaldtoldOlympics.comafter the event. “It’s just been the experience of a lifetime.”

Reporting from Paris

It wasn’t the typical medal ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Paris. But after 2½ years, the nine members of the U.S. figure skating team were awarded their gold medals today after the Russian team was disqualified.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his country’s athletes today after a boxer scored a gold medal.

“Another gold medal for Ukraine at the Olympics in Paris! Boxer Oleksandr Khyzhnyak has taken the first place,” Zelenskyy said on X. “Thank you for your strength, your confidence, and for this important victory!”

Khyzhnyak defeated Nurbek Oralbay of Kazakhstan today in the final, earning Ukraine’s first gold in the men’s middleweight class.

World record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh won gold for Ukraine in women’s high jump Sunday, earning her first Olympic medal.

“I jump for my Ukrainian people, my Ukrainian nation,” said Mahuchikh, who fled her hometown near the Russian border soon after that country's invasion in 2022.

“Since the war, mentally I get stronger than I was before,” she said. “I will not give up at the Olympics.”

With 3 seconds remaining, Serbia’s Nikola Jakšić scored a game-winning goal to give his team a win over Greece and advance to the men’s water polo semifinals.

Henrik Christiansen, known online as the Olympic Muffin Man, is not impressed by Paris' Seine after he had to swim in the river in preparation for themen's 10-kilometer marathon swimming event.

Christiansen is one of Norway's best distance swimmers, but he has become famous these last two weeks for his obsession with a chocolate muffin served at the Olympic Village. His funny TikTok videos found new focus today after having to swim in the controversial waters.

The first video Christiansen posted used a disparaging sound bite from former "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Nene Leaks, panning the camera to the Seine. He was dry in that one.

His next video shows him in his swim gear, clearly wet.

"I'm not ashamed to admit it; it's hell in there," Christian mouths in the video. "It's horror. You have to be a certain type of person to survive."

U.S. swimmer Caeleb Dressel was giving“dad energy,”according to fans, when he participated in a popular TikTok trend with other Olympians.

Inthe nearly 1-minute clip, shared by U.S swimmer Gretchen Walsh, Dressel, 27, looks confused as other athletes say, “Just give me my money,” one after the other.

As the athletes go on, they get a round of applause from the group, but when it comes Dressel’s turn, he tells them he doesn’t know what to do.

“No, dude. I’m not doing it. I don’t get it,” he says, laughing.

However, the group of athletes keep egging him on.

“Come on,” they say.

Dressel then participates in the trend and gives it his best shot. However, when he says, “Just give me my money,” like everyone else, he looks confused about whether he did it right.

And then there were none — no American teams left in the beach volleyball competition, that is.

Miles PartainandAndy Benesh fell 2-0 to Qatar today and missed out on the semifinals.

The remaining women's beach volleyball team was knocked out of the competition yesterday.

This is the first time since beach volleyball made its Olympic debut in 1996 that no American team (men or women) will win a medal.

The U.S. entered the final quarter of the game with an almost 20-point cushion. When the final buzzer sounded, it came away with an 88-74 win over Nigeria.

Every member of the American team scored. A’ja Wilson led with 20 points, followed by Jackie Young with 15.

The team held off Nigeria's smart defensive moves with passing plays that opened up the court to score.

Team USA will advance to the women's basketball semifinal against Australia on Friday.

The U.S.' Kenneth Rooks took silver in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, almost catching up to Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali but ultimately coming in second.

Kenya's Abraham Kibiwot took the bronze.

El Bakkali became the first man in almost a century to successfully defend his gold medal, and the silver was a remarkable triumph for Rooks.

The race was dramatic, as Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma was looking to upgrade his silver from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to a gold. The defending silver medalist ran into a barrier and fell, however, remaining on the ground for the remainder of the race. Girma had to be carried out of the field on a stretcher.

Team USA took the second quarter by storm, doubling their score and leading by almost 20 points in the women's quarterfinal game.

After winning bronze in Tokyo, Team USA's Sarah Ann Hildebrandt has come back to win the gold, after a dominant match in the women's freestyle 50-kilogram final.

Hildebrandt was initially set to face off against India's Vinesh Phogat, until news broke earlier today that Phogat had failed her weigh-in and was disqualified from the competition. Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez took Phogat's place and won the silver medal.

This is USA's second gold medal in wrestling at the Paris Olympics, after Amit Elor won the women's freestyle 68-kilogram.

Team USA ended the first quarter of today's women's basketball game ahead of Nigeria with an exceptional display of teamwork and passing that put them up 26-17.

A'ja Wilson was substituted out in the last few minutes of the quarter after making a 2-pointer and an assist. She was also part of a fun-to-watch passing play that led Breanna Stewart to make a 3-pointer with an assist from Chelsea Gray early on in the game.

Nigeria played an impressive first quarter, capitalizing on rebound opportunities and free throws. Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah led the team in defensive rebounds and scored 4 points in the first 10 minutes of play.

Defending American gold medalist Katie Moon had almost done it again. But in the heart-racing final moments of the women's pole vault final, she fell just short to take the silver, as Nina Kennedy took the gold for Australia.

After Moon chose to pass on her second 4.90 attempt, she had only two attempts to clear the 4.95, and would have won the gold if she did so and Kennedy missed hers. But Moon failed to take off on her first attempt, then dropped the bar on her second.

Kennedy was the only one to clear both the 4.85 and 4.90 on her first attempts.

Alysha Newman, bringing the most smiles and personality to her performance, celebrated her bronze, winning Canada's first-ever women's pole vault medal and setting a national record of 4.85.

The waiting game in pole vault, before your competitors are done their turns, adds a tough mental battle to the physical one. It couldn't be clearer in this final that lasted over three hours.

Reporting from Paris

Lin Yu-ting won her Olympic semifinal bout by unanimous decision on Wednesday night as the featherweight from Taiwan advanced to the gold medal match.

She outclassed Turkey’s Esra Yıldız Kahraman and will step into the ring next on Saturday night at center court of famed Roland-Garros Stadium.

That’s where she’ll face either Nesthy Petecio of thePhilippines or Poland’s Julia Szeremet.

It’s been a difficult week for Lin, who has had to endure unverified allegations by the Russian-backed International Boxing Association regardingher and Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif’s gender qualifications.

The women's basketball quarterfinal is underway as the U.S. plays Nigeria in the knockout portion of the tournament.

A'ja Wilson already led Team USA to a strong start making the first basket of the game, but it was quickly equalized by Nigeria's Promise Amukamara. Wilson offered an assist to teammate Napheesa Collier to get back in the lead in the first few minutes.

The winner of this game will play Australia on Friday.

American Quincy Hall won gold in the men’s 400-meter, finishing the race in 43.40 seconds.

Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith won silver, while Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga took home the bronze.

Hall was trailing during the final stretch of the race before a frantic sprint down the stretch allowed him to overtake multiple runners, including Hudson-Smith, who was leading.

Hall celebrated by making a snow angel on the track.

Michael Norman, the only other American in the race, finished last.

The final stretch of the women's pole vault final is underway, and Team USA's Katie Moon is jumps away from defending her Tokyo gold.

After clearing the first four heights with seemingly effortless confidence, Moon missed the 4.85-meter bar but cleared it on her second, and she sits in the second-place position.

Currently in the gold-medal position is Australia's Nina Kennedy, with whom Moon shared the 2023 World Championship title. In third is Canada's Alysha Newman, with Switzerland's Angelica Moser right behind after passing on her third 4.85 attempt.

After moonwalking upside-down to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" during one of their routines, Team USA's artistic swimmers are now silver medalists, ending the country's 20-year medal drought in the sport.

While their technical routine scored the fourth highest in points, it was the team's free and acrobatic routines that lifted them to second place.

After performing the best routine of each category, China finally won its first gold medal in the sport, after winning silver at the past three Olympics.

Daniella Ramirez, who just missed out on the Tokyo Olympics, took a moment to reflect on bringing home the silver.

"Looking at what happened on day one to be here and everything that’s happened in the past four years. I mean, it’s been a roller coaster — but I’m so glad that we’re ended up here," she said. "And I’m just so grateful for this team. There’s nothing more magical than this team."

Anita Alvarez, who made an amazing comeback after nearly dying in the pool after fainting two years ago, also said winning the silver had a special significance for her.

"Just to be out here with the team, and it’s even more special getting to experience it with probably the rest of these people around me, because they’ve helped me through difficult times, and we’ve all helped each other overcome our own fears and struggles," Alvarez said. "So it just means so much to, you know, to be here."

Reporting from Paris

A sea of lights (iPhones) is filling a darkened Aquatics Centre as we are now minutes away from the start of the artistic swimming final round.

If Team USA maintains its second-place position, it would be the first time in 20 years that artistic swimming brings home an Olympic medal.

For the first time since 2008, the U.S. men's water polo team will move into the semifinals.

The Americans played Australia during an extremely tight match where they held a one-point lead only briefly in the fourth quarter, after which Australia scored to tie with the U.S. again, 10-10.

After the two teams ran the clock out, they advanced into a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner. After each team scored two goals and missed one, the U.S. ultimately came out victorious, sending Australia packing after defeating it 4-3 in penalties.

The U.S. will play Serbia in the semifinals Friday.

Erriyon Knighton is the third American to qualify for the men's 200-meter race after winning the third and final qualifier of the day.

Knighton beat Liberia's Joseph Fahnbulleh with a time of 20.09, the second place runner just .03 seconds behind him. The two men will both advance to the final.

U.S. cyclist Kristen Faulkner continued her stellar form in Paris, winning gold in women's team pursuit. Team USA consisting of Faulkner, Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams and Chloe Dygert finished with a time of 4:04:306 and average speed of 36.62 mph.

Faulkner now has two medals in her debut Olympics, after previously winning the women’s road cycling race.

New Zealand earned silver with a time of 4:04:927, while Great Britain finished third with a time of 4:06:382.

The neck-and-neck water polo match between the U.S. and Australia has entered a penalty shoot-out to decide who will advance to the semifinals.

Gold medalist Noah Lyles has an automatic spot in the men's 200-meter final after coming in second in his heat in the qualifiers today.

He will join fellow Team USA runner Kenneth Bednarek, who won his own heat minutes earlier. Lyles ran a 20.08 time, crossing just after Letsile Tebogo from Botswana, who finished in 19.96 seconds.

Kenneth Bednarek is the first American to qualify for the men’s 200-meter final after winning today's first heat.

He was followed by the Dominican Republic's Alexander Ogando and the defending champion, Canadian Andre De Grasse.

American Rai Benjamin will race in the 400-meter hurdles final on Friday.

Benjamin won the third semifinal race to qualify for the gold-medal one.

Benjamin, 27, won silver in the 400 hurdles in Tokyo. He won first place in the 2023 Diamond League in the same event.

For the first time today, the U.S. has taken a lead over Australia in the quarterfinal match.

The Americans lead 6-5 with less than six minutes left on the clock.

Reporting from Paris

George H.W. Bush was in the White House when America's women last failed to capture basketball gold, and that three-decade run of dominance should continue in Paris.

The U.S. plays Nigeria in a quarterfinal game at 3:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. local time at the Bercy Arena. Team USA beat Nigeria, 100-54, in February.

The semifinals are Friday and the gold medal game Sunday, as A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and their teammates seek an American eight-peat.

Erriyon Knighton ran his first race of the Paris Olympics on Monday, posting a 200-meter heat of 19.99 seconds, beating the rest of the runners in his heat. He races in the semifinal today.

All three Americans will race in the 110-meter hurdles final.

Grant Holloway, Freddie Crittenden and Daniel Roberts all secured their spot in the gold-medal race during the semifinals on Wednesday.

They’ll be joined by Jamaica’s Orlando Bennett, Rasheed Broadbell and Hansle Parchment, as well as Spain’s Enrique Llopis.

The U.S.' best sprinter, Johnny Hooper, was ejected from the quarterfinal match against Australia.

Hooper was found to have committed a "brutality" or foul by the VAR after the U.S.' second point. The replay showed Hooper punching an Australian player above the water.

Game officials took Max Irving's point for the U.S. away and ejected the player, leaving the U.S. down one man.

Australia is now up 5-2 in the second quarter.

U.S. star Kenny Bednarek posted a scorching time of 19.96 seconds in his heat of the men’s 200-meter Monday, qualifying first in his heat and easily advancing to today's semis.

NBC News’ Tom Llamas spoke with USA sprinter Noah Lyles about his winning photo finish in the 100-meter and other athletes as the 200-meter semifinal rounds begin.

Asked whether he was worried about teammate Kenny Bednarek in today's semifinals, Lyles said no.

"I said, 'Hey, guys, this is the same team we brought to Tokyo; this time we need to sweep,' and I know they know the mission," Lyles said.

Lyles is hoping to win gold in both the 100 and the 200, which an American hasn't done since Carl Lewis in 1984.

Two-time gold medalist Simone Manuel has some reflections to share after missing out on an individual medal at her third Olympics.

In a series of notes she posted on X, the 28-year-old swimmer said she had completely changed her mindset from the Tokyo Games, which had left her "completely broken."

"It felt like my whole world came crashing down, and I was devastated, depressed, embarrassed, and disappointed to name a few," Manuel wrote. "This time around, I’m reinvigorated! Sure, I'm bummed about how I performed, but I can't help but accept and acknowledge the massive strides I made in the face of headwinds and the winding roads I traveled to reach my goals."

Manuel said that she was "filled with even more passion for the sport than before" and listed several of her achievements during this Olympic cycle, including winning two silver medals in the women's 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays.

"I know that I am so much more than a swimmer," Manuel added, expressing pride in her character beyond her races.

She concluded her note with words of encouragement, telling her audience to "write [their] own story."

"The journey means nothing if you're not doing it for you! Take pride in the struggle, be an unstoppable force, persevere with patience and course... That's when you win!"

Poland has knocked the U.S. out of the finals. The team beat the U.S. 3-2, forcing the extremely close match into an equally tight fifth set. In the fourth match point, Poland got the job done, advancing to the finals for the first time in decades.

The last time Poland medaled in volleyball was in 1976.

Poland will play the winner of the France-Italy match for gold. The U.S. will play the loser for bronze.

Australia's Keegan Palmer, 21, successfully defended his gold medal from the 2020 Olympics, winning the men's park final after an impressive first run score of 93.11 that he never relinquished.

His gold in Paris marks Australia's second in park, after Arisa Trew, 14, won the women's park final on Tuesday.

USA's Tom Schaar won silver in his Olympic debut, with a best score of 92.23 in his second run, getting cheers from Snoop Dogg, NBA star Devin Booker and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk who were in attendance.

Brazil's Augusto Akio earned bronze with a best score of 91.85 in his third and final run.

Twenty-year-old weightlifter Hampton Morris became the first American man to win an Olympic weightlifting medal in four decades, after winning the bronze in the men’s 61-kg division.

After finishing the snatch session in fifth, Morris' podium chances rested on his clean and jerks. He missed his first clean attempt but increased his second to 172 kg and made the lift, boosting him to third place. For his final clean and jerk, he attempted a world record of 178 kg but was unable to follow through. Still, Morris celebrated his historic bronze medal.

China's Li Fabin won gold, defending his title from Tokyo, after setting an Olympic snatch record of 167 kilograms, or 315 pounds. Thailand's Theerapong Silachi won silver after not missing any of his six lifts.

One U.S. athlete’s bid for Olympic gold is being fueled by his father’s voice.

But Salif Mane’s father won’t be in Paris to cheer on his son when he competes,for the first time, at the Summer Olympics in the triple jump against some of the world’s top athletes.

Instead, Mane will perform the same ritual he did when he won a spot in June on the U.S. track and field team andstruck gold at the Olympic trials: He will listen to the voicemails his father left him in December 2019, a few months before he died from Covid.

Read the full story here.

After two runs, Australia's Keegan Palmer remains in the lead despite a disappointing performance, maintaining his best score from run 1 of 93.11. USA's Tom Schaar and Tate Carew are second and third after scoring 92.23 and 91.17.

After the first of three runs in the men's park final, Australia's Keegan Palmer leads with a score of 93.11. American Tom Schaar is second and Brazil's Augusto Akio is third.

This evening, at the Champions Park in Paris, nine U.S. athletes were awarded gold medals for the 2022 Winter Games team figure skating event following a doping scandal involving a Russian skater.

The nine members of the U.S. team are Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Karen Chen, Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue.

It is the first time in history that Olympic athletes weren’t awarded their medals onsite, according to Team USA.

Wearing podium outfits from the current Games, the 2022 Beijing Olympians from the U.S. and Japan gathered on the stage at Champion’s Park for a special ceremony in front of a cheering crowd.Gold medals were placed around the necks of the U.S. athletes, and silver for Japan. After the ceremony and all smiles, they posed for photos with the Eiffel Tower behind them.

In 2022, the U.S. finished second to the Russian Olympic Committee, or ROC. However, ROC athlete Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned substance, leading the International Olympic Committee to declare that no medals would be presented for the team event.

Team USA launched the More Than Medals campaign to push for a final decision, and on July 25, the Court of Arbitration for Sportruled that the U.S. would be awarded gold.

The final podium was announced Friday, with the ROC awarded bronze and Japan silver. Canada finished fourth and, despite an appeal from the Canadian Olympic Committee, wasn't moved up to third place.

Everyone is on the edge of their seats at the Paris Expo, as the U.S.' volleyball team makes a last minute comeback to take the second set of the match against Poland, tying with them 1-1.

The Americans won the set 27-25, reigniting hope of moving to the finals.

The two teams will play for best of five sets.

Kevin Durant assisted the U.S. in its quarterfinal victory against Brazil, earning a new Olympic record in the process.

Durant scored 11 points, bringing his Olympic career total to 494. With that, he surpassed the record set by Lisa Leslie and became the top American scorer of all-time in Olympic competition.

Durant gave Leslie a shoutout on X, saying, "Records are meant to be broken, I'll hold on to this until another great comes along and passes me up.

"Lisa Leslie you are the gold standard in basketball."

The athletes at Gabby Thomas' alma mater cheered her on as she outran her competitors to gold in the 200-meter race on Monday.

Thomas, who graduated in 2019, ran track and field for Harvard. She was named All-American seven times and became the first Ivy League athlete to win an NCAA sprinting championship, setting a record time in the event.

Is there anything Gabby Thomas can't do?

After winning a gold medal, Thomas sat down with Savannah and Hoda to talk about her accomplishments in Paris, which included topping a podium for the first time ever.

Thomas, a Harvard grad and University of Texas master's degree-holder, said that winning gold was the thing she is proudest of.

"This took a lot of years and it took a lot of patience, and people don't see that journey," Thomas said. "Every year, every month, every minute was very intentional for this moment."

"I don't think I've ever worked this hard for anything in my life," she said.

World No. 1 team Poland takes the first set in its match against the U.S.

The gold medal favorites are facing off against Team USA, which must make a comeback in this set to stay in contention for the top two podium spots.

Some might say that goalies are the unsung heroes of soccer, but the internet is singing for U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher after she managed to block a shot with the side of her cleat.

It was an opportunity for Germany to tie the game in the last minute of extra time against the U.S. women's soccer team in yesterday's game, but Naeher saved the day. She jumped into the air but the ball went low, so she just managed to tip the ball in the other direction.

The goal would have been likely called offside anyway, but that doesn't take away from how cool it was.

"Alyssa Naeher or BRICK WALL. Save of a LIFETIME," one X user wrote.

Some spectators were just in pure disbelief, one writing simply, "Alyssa Naeher are you joking."

"that's america's foot," one person captioned the image.

The semifinal match between the U.S. and Poland is underway.

The U.S. faces a challenge against gold-medal favorite Poland. Neither of them took a spot in the podium last Olympics, but both have a shot this year.

Poland last took home an Olympic medal in 1976 when they won gold, and the U.S. is looking to break a comparatively shorter 20-year streak without hardware.

Poland beat Slovenia 3-1 yesterday, and the U.S. beat Brazil by the same margin.

Olympic open water swimmers trained in the long-polluted Seine River today after Paris organizers determined it was safe to dive in.

A two-hour training session was held on a cool, cloudy morning, providing the only chance for swimmers to familiarize themselves with the picturesque course through the middle of the French capital.

World Aquatics canceled a test run yesterday because of concerns over fluctuating bacteria levels in the waterway. Despite massive efforts to clear the Seine, water quality has been a constant concern throughout the Games.

Dozens of swimmers — from 2016 Olympic champion Sharon van Rouwendaal to Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen, competing in open water for the first time — dove into the Seine one day before the women’s 10-kilometer marathon event. The men’s race is set for Friday.

“I think if anyone’s saying they’re not concerned at all, they’re probably lying,” Austrian swimmer Felix Auboeck said. “I am concerned. I just hope and trust the organization in the sense that they let us in when it’s safe enough to do so. But, of course, you’re concerned because no one wants to get ill or sick.”

Olympic skateboarding has been dominated by teens both in its debut in Tokyo and again here in Paris, but that hasn’t stopped 51-year-old Andy Macdonald, a father of three who is representing Britain in the men’s park event, from making his Olympic debut in Paris.

A skateboarding legend who won the first of his eight X Games gold medals in 1996, Macdonald was born and raised in Massachusetts and lives in southern California, but switched his allegiances to Britain earlier this year to make the Games through his English-born father.

"People come at me like: Is it weird? You’re the old guy at the skate park, you’re 50 and there are allthese teenagers. No, it’s not weird because I was there first and I never left," Macdonald told the Financial Times. "I’m like a sponge, just taking it all in. Just the experience of being an Olympian. If they have a medal for who has the most fun, I got the gold locked up for sure."

A medal for fun? Maybe, but unfortunately, an Olympic medal will be beyond his grasp. Macdonald hasn’t made the final — his best run of 77.76 in today’s prelims was not enough to qualify. Team USA will have two riders, though, with Tom Schaar and Tate Carew in the final at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Today marks the final of the team acrobatic routine event of synchronized swimming — known as artistic swimming in the Olympics.

One burning question you may have after watching is how the swimmers' hair remains intact without swimming caps. Well, former Team USA athlete Mariya Koroleva revealed all to Vogue back in 2016. The answer? Gelatin!

"It’s like unflavored Jell-O — we mix it with water, and it turns into a gooey mixture," she said. "You comb or brush that into your hair, put it up in a bun, and put a headpiece over that, so when it dries, it gets really hard and your hair doesn’t fall out when you swim."

The final of the team event will begin at 1:30 p.m ET and the U.S. swimmers will need to get past China if they want to notch another gold.

The men's steeplechase is one of the Olympics' most eye-catching track and field events. The 3,000-meter race takes athletes over fixed barriers and a water jump.

The barriers are not to be confused with hurdles — they span several lanes and are fixed in place so don't fall down. They are slightly lower than hurdles and athletes need to clear them 28 times over the race's seven laps. The water jump is unique to the steeplechase: A sloping, 2-foot-deep water pool lies behind one of the barriers. Racers have to make it over the water once each lap.

The event evolved in the 1800s as a race between two towns' church steeples that would traverse hedges and streams. Today's steeplechase originated at Oxford University in England and made its Olympic debut in 1920.

Team USA's men last medaled in 2016 — Evan Jager took silver — but first-time Olympian Kenneth Rooks will be hopeful after he claimed the NCAA title for the event last year. The gold may be a battle between world-record-holder Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia and reigning Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkaliof Morocco. Bahrain's Winfred Yavi broke the world record to claim gold in the women's event last night. The men's event is today at 3:43 p.m. ET.

America’s Erika Reineke crossed the finish line in sixth place at the end of the women’s dinghy medal race in Marseille. The 30-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, placed ninth overall in her Laser dinghy.

She came behind the Netherlands' Marit Bouwmeester, who won gold, with Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark in second and Line Flem Hoest of Norway in third.

Reineke qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team this year after three previous unsuccessful attempts. Her philosophy: “Never. Stop. Fighting.”

The Bercy Arena in Paris had been home to Simone Biles and company for the gymnastics events of the Games.

But with the gymnastics over, the arena has been transformed to host the final stages of the basketball tournament after the group stages were hosted in Lille. Check out the epic transformation below.

All sailing events in Marseille were delayed this morning because of a lack of wind, further disrupting competition. But there is good news: The wind has picked up and race organizers have given the go ahead for competition to start.

America’s Erika Reineke is in ninth place ahead of the Women’s Dinghy medal race.

There are four medal races today in the women’s and men’s dinghy, mixed multihull, and mixed dinghy.

The men’s and women’s dinghy medal races were already delayed on Tuesday because of the lack of wind.

Team USA gymnast Suni Lee has seen the funny side of her fall from the beam, joining the viral TikTok trend that has seen would-be athletes post their sporting fails to joke about why they didn't make the Olympics.

Lee slipped off the beam during Monday's final and has made light of the moment, sharing the clip of her fall with the caption, "Unfortunately I was selected for the Olympics."

Poland's Aleksandra Miroslaw, who broke her own world record twice in qualifying, has taken gold in the women's speed climbing.

Having dominated the competition up to this point, the final was a close-run thing — Miroslaw edged out China's Deng Lijuan by just 0.08 seconds to take the title with a climb of 6.10 seconds.

Miroslaw's world record, set on Monday, sits at 6.06 seconds. It is the first time an individual medal has been awarded for speed climbing after the discipline was combined with lead and boulder for its Olympic debut in Tokyo.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Charles Barkley says the U.S. men’s basketball team should win gold in Paris, but need to guard against complacency in Thursday’s knock-out game. "They only have to beat you one time," he told NBC’s Maria Taylor.

Barkley also praised the women’s basketball team, and reflected on his own experience as an Olympian. Check out the rest of his conversation with NBC News.

Tomoa Narasaki, the seven-time Climbing World Cup winner, has been knocked out of the sport climbing men’s combined in the semifinal, despite earning second place in the boulder round Monday.

After Wednesday's lead round, the 28-year-old Japanese rock climber's overall points placed him tenth overall. Only the top eight athletes advance to the final.

Sport climbing men’s combined consists of two disciplines: lead and boulder. Athletes must compete in both, with their scores combined to determine their overall ranking.

Here's the footage of that big men's 5,000m collision we told you about. The tangle happened in the final stretch of the heat and involved Great Britain's George Mills.

Reporting from Hong Kong

Chinese police arrested a woman on Tuesday for allegedly defaming athletes and coaches on social media after the women’s singles table tennis final.

According to a statement on X-equivalent Weibo from Beijing’s security authorities, the 29-year-old female surnamed He, "maliciously fabricated information" and is now under criminal detention. Authorities didn’t reveal what specific online remarks He is being investigated for.

Many Chinese social media users hailed this decision, with one posting on Wednesday that "that’s exactly how it should be... they deserve to be severely punished."

In recent years, toxic fan culture has spread across Chinese social media and has led to a rise in cyber-abuse and the spreading of rumors against athletes.

Sophia Smith's game-winning goal late Tuesday took the USWNT through to the women's soccer gold medal game. Smith's goal was the difference when Team USA beat Germany 1-0 in extra time. America's women will face Brazil on Saturday.

There's still a long way to go, but Team USA's Nelly Korda's Olympic title defense has gotten off to a poor start. She sits at two-over-par through the first nine holes of the opening round.

The defending Olympic champion bogeyed the first hole at Le Golf National with further bogeys following at holes four and seven. The world number one has just birdied the par-five ninth, however, so perhaps her round is about to get back on track.

Team USA's Lilia Vu is in the early stages of her opening round. The current leader is Norway's Celine Borge, who sits at three-under-par through 10 holes.

Sean Nevin and Jean-Nicholas Fievet

An Australian hockey player has been arrested in Paris, the Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed, with local authorities saying the player was arrested after attempting to obtain cocaine.

In a statement, the country's Olympics committee said: "The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has confirmed an Australian hockey team member is in custody after being arrested in Paris on August 6th."

"No charges have been laid. The AOC is continuing to make enquiries and arrange support for the Team member," the statement said.

The public prosecutor’s office in Paris told NBC News that overnight police officers witnessed a drug deal involving cocaine in the ninth arrondissem*nt of Paris, with the alleged buyer being a 28-year-old member of Australia's hockey team. Both the seller and the buyer were arrested and remain in police custody.

Australia’s men's and women’s field hockey teams — known as the Hockeyroos — were knocked out of the Olympics earlier this week at the quarterfinal stage.

A group of four athletes were sent tumbling to the ground after being caught in a tangle of legs on the final straight of a dramatic men's 5,000 meters heat.

The fall seemingly put the athletes out of contention for the final.

After the race, Great Britain's George Mills was furious and confronted France's Hugo Hay, who Mills believed was responsible for the incident. Hay didn't fall and qualified for the final, but Mills and the other fallers failed to finish in the top eight of the heat. Mills finished 30 seconds behind the leaders.

Officials could reinstate them for the final, but it is up to their discretion. There was more drama in the second of the two heats with a cameraman caught crossing the track right as the athletes ran past.

An Indian wrestler has been disqualified from the gold medal bout of the women's 50kg freestyle event after failing to make weight this morning.

Vinesh Phogat, who on Tuesday became the first Indian woman to qualify for an Olympic wrestling final, was due to take on Team USA's Sarah Hildebrandt for gold this evening, but the Indian Olympic Association confirmed in a statement on 'X' that Phogat would not be allowed to compete after weighing in 'a few grams' over the 50kg weight limit this morning.

Phogat had stunned reigning Japan's Olympic champion Yui Susaki, who is seen as the best female wrestler in the world having never lost a bout, in the quarterfinals and had been guaranteed either gold or silver having made the final. Rules dictate wrestlers have to make weight on the morning of both days of the two-day event and failure to do so results in instant disqualification.

Hildebrandt will now face Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, who had been beaten by Phogat in the semifinals, in the gold medal bout at the Champ-de-Mars Arena tonight.

Israel’s Olympic team has said some athletes have received threats, as they compete in Paris amid broader tensions over the war in Gaza and the threat of wider conflict in the Middle East.

Yael Arad, president of the Israeli National Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that team members had received "centralized" threats meant to generate "psychological terror" in athletes, without giving further details.

Tom Reuveny, a 24-year-old Israeli athlete who won a gold in windsurfing over the weekend, was among those who said he’s received threats. Politics "should be put aside" during the Games, he told AP during a memorial Tuesday for 11 Israeli athletes killed during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.

"Unfortunately, there is a lot of politics involved — not in the Games — of the people who don’t want us to compete and don’t want us to be here," Reuveny said. "I’ve gotten quite a few messages and threats.”

Masai Russell is safely through to the semifinals of the women's 100-metre hurdles after winning her heat at the Stade de France this morning.

Russell, who ran the fastest time in the world this year at the U.S. Olympic trials, posted a time of 12.53 seconds, qualifying third fastest overall.

Teammates Alaysha Johnson, 12.61 seconds, and Grace Stark, 12.72 seconds, also did enough to qualify for Friday's semifinals.

This is an event that Team USA has a strong pedigree in, winning at least one medal in each of the last six Olympic Games in the women's 100m hurdles, even sweeping all three podium positions in Rio. It's the longest active medal streak for Team USA in track and field events.

Romania's Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, has said he will boycott Sunday's closing ceremony after a "scandalous situation" saw a Romanian gymnast lose out on a bronze medal to Team USA's Jordan Chiles.

Ana Barbosu had started celebrating a bronze medal as she sat in third place with all of the routines completed in Monday's floor final. However, her celebrations proved to be short-lived after an inquiry into Team USA gymnast Chiles' score was granted by judges.

That meant Chiles' score was upgraded by 0.1 points, enough to leapfrog Barbosu into the bronze medal position, leaving the Romanian in tears.

"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 dishonorable manner," Ciolacu said in a Facebook post. "To withdraw a medal earned for honest work on the basis of an appeal ... is totally unacceptable!"

Spanish duo Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez have taken gold in the race walking mixed relay event this morning, comfortably seeing off pairs from Ecuador and Australia to top the podium.

Martin, who also won gold in the men's 20km race walk earlier in the Games, and Perez took the victory in two hours and 51 minutes, finishing 51 seconds ahead of Ecuador's Brian Daniel Pintado and Glenda Morejon. Australia claimed bronze.

Gabby Thomas was golden in the women’s 200m final on Tuesday, winning her first Olympic title as Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia finished second and America's Brittany Brown took third. The men's 200m final takes place tomorrow, with heats happening today.

The first medals of Day 12 will be awarded in a brand new event for these Games, the marathon race walk mixed relay.

Replacing the men's-only 50km race walk, the mixed relay event sees teams of one male and one female complete a relay over a marathon distance (around 42 kilometers or 26 miles). In the race, each participant completes two alternating legs of just over 10km with the male athlete starting the race and the female athlete finishing.

The race is now in its final stages, with Spain's pair looking likely to win as long as the Ecuadorians and Australians, currently in second and third, don't stage a late surge.

Team USA did not qualify for this event, nor did they qualify for the individual 20km race walk events held earlier in the Games.

After Scottie Scheffler produced an incredible final round to take gold in the men’s golf event Sunday, Team USA are hoping to sweep the golf golds for a second straight Games. Now it's the women's turn. Their event got underway this morning and takes place through Saturday.

Team USA's Nelly Korda is hoping to defend her title from Tokyo. She has had a historic year on the LPGA tour becoming the first player since 2013 to win six LPGA titles since January. It was the perfect start to the year, but the Floridian's form has tailed off in recent months and she missed the cut at both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. Still, if Korda is on it at Le Golf National, she will be hard to stop.

Team USA's Lilia Vu is also worth looking out for. The world number two was the breakout star of 2023, taking two of the five majors on her way to being named LPGA Player of the Year. A back injury has hindered her this year, but she returned in June coming second at the PGA Championship. "To me, an Olympic Gold would rank a little higher than a Major," Vu said. "It’s more than just golf. It’s the Olympics which is the best athletes all over the world."

South Korean duo Amy Yang and Jun Young Ko pose a threat to America's golfers, while New Zealand's Lydia Ko (a silver medalist in Rio and a bronze medalist in Tokyo) will hope to complete the set in Paris.

Good morning! It’s Day 12 of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here’s what you should be looking out for today.

There are 23 medals on offer today, including five in track and field, and weightlifting and skateboarding finals also take place.

There's a handful of track and field finals today. In women's pole vault, Katie Moon will be hoping to bring home the gold for Team USA, and that final happens at 12:15 p.m. ET and 6:15 p.m. local time. Separately, men's discus is at 2:25 p.m. ET and 8:25 p.m. local time; America's Quincy Hall will be racing in the men's 400m final at 3:20 p.m. ET and 9:20 p.m. local time; and the men's 3,000m steeplechase is at 3:43 p.m. ET and 9:43 p.m. local time. Mixed relay marathon racewalking starts off the day and is already underway.

In non-medal events, the U.S. women's basketball team will be looking to extend its run to eight consecutive golds, having won the event at every Games since Atlanta 1996. The American team faces Nigeria in its quarterfinal game at 3:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. local time. The winner will play either Serbia or Australia, who play earlier in the day.

Cuban wrestler Mijain López Núñez retired after the 130-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling final at the Paris Olympics — going out as a wrestling legend and his competitor’s hero.

López Núñez, 41,defeated Chilean Yasmani Acosta Fernández6-0. The win earned López Núñez hisfifth consecutive gold medal, as he made history as the first Olympic athlete to win gold in any event at five consecutive games and the first wrestler to win five gold medals.

Acosta Fernández said being the last person to fight López Núñez was an honor, calling him “a legend in the sport.”

After the fight, López Núñez unlaced his shoes and placed them in the center of the mat, symbolically indicating his retirement from wrestling.

Read the full story here.

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