PARIS (AP) — It was a dramatic Friday night for the United States track and field team at the Olympic Games in Parisand Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won gold after coming under scrutiny for misunderstandings about her gender.
Sha’Carri Richardson won her first gold medal while a US men’s relay team missed another chance at the championship title.
Shortly after they were disqualified for botching the first changeover of the 4×100 relay on a rainy night at the Stade de France, Carl Lewis angrily criticized USA Track.
Lewis, who won nine Olympic gold medals for the United States, called for a change in leadership in the American track and field program.
“It is clear that EVERYONE at USATF values relationships more than winning,” Lewis raged on social media“No athlete should step onto the track and run another relay until this program is fundamentally changed.”
The US team still managed to score two more victories, thanks to Richardson’s outstanding final lap in the women’s 4×100 relay and Rai Benjamin, who won the 400 m hurdles.
Richardson, the silver medalist in the 100-meter dash, beat runners from Great Britain and Germany to help the United States finish with a time of 41.78 seconds, 0.07 seconds ahead of Great Britain.
Gabby Thomas ran the third leg to take her second gold of the Games, this time in addition to the 200-meter title. Twanisha Terry and 100-meter bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson completed the team. The exchange between Terry and Thomas, which almost ruined the Americans in qualifying, was better this time.
“I would describe the moment when we realized we had won as the U.S. women. It was a phenomenal feeling for all of us,” Richardson said.
Highlights of the 14th day of the Olympic Games in Paris:
Khelif receives gold after controversy
Khelif emerged victorious from a turbulent run at the Games that saw her subject Online abuse from all over the world because of misconceptions about their femininity.
Find out the latest news from Day 14 of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games:
Khelif defeated China’s Yang Liu 5-0 in the women’s welterweight final and ended the best fight streak of her boxing career with a victory at Roland Garros, where Crowds chanted her namewaved Algerian flags and roared every time she landed a punch.
After her unanimous decision victory, Khelif jumped into the arms of her coaches; one of them lifted her onto his shoulders and carried her around the arena in a victory lap while she clenched her fists and took an Algerian flag from someone in the crowd.
US women’s basketball team advances to gold medal game
Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and the US women won their eighth consecutive Olympic gold -Medal game with an 85-64 victory over Australia.
The Americans extended their winning streak to 60 consecutive games at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and will face France in Sunday’s final after the host nation beat Belgium in overtime.
The United States is aiming to become the first team to win eight gold medals in a row, breaking the tie with the American men’s team, which won seven gold medals in a row from 1936 to 1968.
“The show is crazy. I mean, they just told me when I was on TV that it started like before I was born, which is crazy,” Stewart said. “It just showcases those who really paved the way and made USA Basketball what it is today. I deserve a lot of credit for that and I know that when you’re representing that jersey and you’re wearing USA on your chest, the bar is high and there’s really nothing higher.”
And the team did not disappoint some notable spectators, including Sue Bird, Dawn Staley, Kevin Durant and Vanessa Bryant and their children.
Spain wins gold in men’s football, Germany takes bronze in women’s
Sergio Camello scored twice in extra time when Spain won gold in the men’s Olympic football final with a 5-3 victory over France.
The thrilling victory at the Parc des Princes crowned a golden summer for Spanish football — after the victory of the senior national team European Championship triumph last month.
Spain, which lost the final to Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, became the first European gold medal winners in men’s football since its last tournament victory in 1992 at the Barcelona Games.
In the women’s competition, Ann-Katrin Berger saved a penalty in the last minute and Germany won the bronze medal with a 1-0 victory about women’s world champions Spain.
Berger threw himself into Alexia Putellas’ penalty attempt in the ninth minute of stoppage time and then raised his hands in victory. Putellas was in tears when the game ended.
Giulia Gwinn converted a penalty for Germany in the second half, which proved to be the deciding factor.
For Germany, it was the fourth bronze medal in women’s football at the Olympics. The Germans won the gold medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but were unable to qualify for Tokyo three years ago.
Spain, ranked number 1 in the world after winning the World Championship, made its Olympic debut.
Long makes history for China with sixth gold medal
Ma Long became the Chinese athlete with the most gold medals in the history of the Olympic Games when he helped his country win the men’s Table tennis Team final.
China defeated Sweden to claim its fifth consecutive Olympic victory in the team event, and Ma secured his sixth gold medal, becoming the most decorated Olympian in table tennis.
Ma, 35, has won at least one gold medal at every Summer Games since London 2012.
Nasar recovers from bizarre accident to win gold, Reeves wins gold for the USA
Bulgarian Karlos Nasar won Weightlifting Gold at the Olympic Games and broke two world records just over a year after a sink fell on him in a hotel and severed his left Achilles tendon.
Nasar was taking a shower the night before an awards ceremony in May 2023 when he reached for the shampoo and pushed down, causing the sink to fall out of the wall and fall on him. After surgery and a six-month break, he returned to weightlifting in December and set the world record in the clean and jerk, which he surpassed in that event.
Olivia Reeves won the United States’ first Olympic weightlifting gold medal in 24 years.
Reeves lifted 117 kilograms (390 pounds) in the snatch and 145 kilograms (320 pounds) in the clean and jerk for a total force of 262 kilograms, beating Mari Leivis Sanchez of Colombia by five kilograms in the women’s 71 kg class.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
