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On another busy day of Olympic events, it was another good day for Team USA. The USWNT secured a chance to compete for gold, while Team USA had another dominant win in men’s basketball to advance to the semifinals; with track and field ramping up, Team USA cleaned up with big wins across multiple events, while a young wrestler earned a historic gold. A crucial elimination in beach volleyball, however, leaves only one American pair remaining in play.
Here are the top five stories of the day:
The USWNT earned a chance to play for a gold medal with a 1-0 win over Germany in Lyon that advanced the Americans to the final. Sophia Smith saved the day with a 95th-minute stunner, assisted by Mallory Swanson, that broke the stalemate and gave the U.S. the victory.
SOPHIA SMITH STRIKES IN EXTRA TIME FOR THE USA. #ParisOlympics | USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/XyzQZQTEEG
NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
Naomi Girma kept things locked up at center back to fend off the German attack, and received high praise from manager Emma Hayes after the match, earning woman of the match for her efforts. A couple of key saves from Alyssa Naeher including one kept out of the goal by Naeher’s left foot kept the U.S. ahead and prevented the game from moving into penalties.
thats americas foot pic.twitter.com/276LmqtIUf
Lis Schendel (Chiaka Ogbogus #1 Fan) (@lis_ashlee) August 6, 2024
As for Smith, her goal marks her third of the tournament. The three members of the USWNT’s front three Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman have three goals each in the tournament. That production bodes well for the United States’ offense going forward.
The USWNT will return to Paris to compete for its first gold medal since 2012. It will play Brazil, who upset Spain, the reigning Womens World Cup champions, with a dominant 4-2 win.
There was little doubt about this one from the opening tip.
USA men’s basketball took early control en route to a dominant 122-87 win over Brazil in the Olympic quarterfinals on Tuesday. The win sets up a matchup with Nikola Jokić and Serbia in the semifinals with a trip to the gold medal game at stake.
Devin Booker paced Team USA with 18 points as six U.S. players scored in double figures. Joel Embiid responded to the French boo-birds in the stands with 14 first-half points before a scoreless second.
Kevin Durant became USA Basketball’s all-time leading men’s or women’s Olympic scorer. With a dunk in the third quarter, he passed Lisa Leslie’s previous mark of 488 points.
The moment Kevin Durant made HISTORY, becoming the all-time leading scorer for USA basketball on the Olympic stage! pic.twitter.com/oSbmhFDthb
NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
He finished with 11 points to raise his career Olympic tally to 494. LeBron James added 12 points and nine assists.
USA will take on Serbia on Thursday. Victor Wembanyama and France will face 2023 FIBA World Cup champion Germany in the other semifinal.
The United States is cleaning up in track and field, and on Tuesday continued to add to the medal count with podium finishes in the womens hammer throw, womens 200-meter and the mens 1,500-meter.
Annette Echikunwoke was disqualified for the Tokyo Games because of a documentation error when competing for her parents native Nigeria. Fast forward three years, and Echikunwoke, who lives in Ohio, is a silver medalist after throwing a season-best 75.48 meters on her third throw, good for second behind Canadas Camryn Rogers (76.97). Chinas Zhao Jie took bronze (74.27).
In the womens 200, two Americans made it to the podium: Gabby Thomas cruised to the gold medal in 21.38 seconds, and Brittany Brown won bronze in 22.20 seconds. The silver medalist was none other than Julien Alfred, the 100-meter winner who gave Saint Lucia its first Olympic medal.
Mission accomplished for Gabby Thomas with a GOLD medal in the 200m! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/O7wQjNquCi
NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
And in a surprise, American Cole Hocker pulled off a stunning upset in the mens 1,500, crossing the finish line in 3:27.65, an Olympic record time and nearly three full seconds faster than his personal best in the event.
WOW. A STUNNING upset in the mens 1500m as AMERICAN COLE HOCKER takes gold! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/wlq81lbvSO
NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
American wrestler Amit Elor, 20, made history Tuesday with a gold medal in the women’s 68-kg division, becoming the youngest U.S. wrestler, male or female, to win an Olympic gold medal.
HISTORY MADE.At 20 years old, Amit Elor is the youngest-ever American Olympic gold medalist in wrestling! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/Ut3HbFKsPZ
NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
Elor, who has not lost a match in five years as a senior wrestler, defeated Kyrgyzstans Meerim Zhumanazarova 3-0 in the final at Arena Champ-de-Mars. Elor scored two points on a takedown in the first period and earned another point when Zhumanazarova was penalized after the activity period expired. She then controlled the second period, giving Zhumanazarova no avenues to score en route to the win.
20-YEAR-OLD AMIT ELOR IS A WORLD CHAMPION. She wins GOLD in women’s freestyle 68kg wrestling! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/W6wm8SXB7X
NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
Elor, who is a back-to-back world champion, dropped down to the 68-kg weight class to qualify for the Olympics. As a result of the switch, Elor was unseeded and drew the divisions reigning world champ, Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu from Turkey, in the first Olympic round. She demolished Çavuşoğlu, 10-2. Elor swept through to the final with an aggregate score of 28-2. She came to Paris unbeaten in her past 37 international matches by a cumulative score of 322-16.
Now she has landed in the history books.
Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng, the only American team still remaining on the womens side, were eliminated Tuesday after losing to Switzerland in straight sets. The reigning World Champion Americans lost to the Swiss pair of Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner in the quarterfinals, losing the two sets 18-21 and 19-21, with both sets being extremely tight.
Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng’s run comes to an end.Switzerland upsets the American duo in the quarterfinal. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/5f6JPvrJRk
NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
The United States has a history of dominance in womens beach volleyball, with four of the past five Olympics featuring Americans winning gold. That trend was broken in Paris, with no American women making it past the quarterfinals. The other pair, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, lost to Canada in the Round of 16 on Monday.
Hughes and Chengs loss means that only one American pair Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh remain in contention for a medal in beach volleyball. Pertain and Benesh will play Qatar on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, in the hopes of becoming the first American mens pair to win a medal since 2008.
Australian Arisa Trew, who is only 14, took home the gold medal in the womens skateboarding final, posting a stellar 93.18 in the third and final round of the event to take first.
14-YEAR-OLD Arisa Trew just won GOLD in the womens park skateboarding final! #ParisOlympics E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/f7cECfgTa7
NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 6, 2024
Talk about going out on a high note. Legendary Cuban wrestler Mijaín López went down in history on Tuesday by becoming the first person to win five consecutive gold medals in an individual Olympic event. The 41-year-old Lopez beat Chiles Yasmani Acosta Fernandez 6-0 in his greco-roman wrestling 60kg match, leaving his shoes on the mat to signify his retirement.
5 straight Olympic gold medals for Cuban superheavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler Mijaín López. Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo, Paris. Never been done before in an individual Olympic event, summer or winter, men’s or women’s.And he leaves his shoes on the mat to signal his retirement pic.twitter.com/4DdhfOHIxk
Rodger Sherman (@rodger) August 6, 2024
Mijain Lopez, 41 years old, wins fifth consecutive Olympic gold in wrestling then retires by leaving shoes on the mat. Legend. pic.twitter.com/2WP8fba0lr
Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) August 6, 2024