Two of Team USA’s top squads continue with group play Wednesday at the 2024 Paris Games.
Men’s basketball takes on South Sudan, which it narrowly defeated July 20, with Group C’s top spot on the line. After sitting in the win against Serbia on Sunday, Jayson Tatum is expected to play this time around, according to coach Steve Kerr.
The U.S. Olympic women’s soccer team can secure a first-place finish in Group B with a win or draw against Australia. The Americans are already in the quarterfinals after a 4-1 win against Germany on Sunday.
There are also multiple finals in swimming, including the 1,500-meter women’s freestyle, where Katie Ledecky can earn another medal.
It’s a busy day in tennis, with Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz back in action for doubles, but particularly for American Taylor Fritz. He plays three times Wednesday — a mixed doubles quarterfinal with Coco Gauff, a third-round men’s singles quarterfinal and a second-round men’s doubles match with Tommy Paul.
Here’s what to look out for Wednesday.
Angelique Kerber bids farewell
Angelique Kerber‘s long and incredible career came to an end on Wednesday in Paris.
The three-time major champion and former world No. 1 had previously announced the Olympics would be her final tournament — and her last match was a fitting one. Known for her fighting spirit, the 36-year-old German saved three match points in an epic battle with Qinwen Zheng in the quarterfinals that lasted over three hours and was decided in a third-set tiebreak.
Ultimately, Zheng won the match, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (6), but Kerber was showered with an ovation from the fans in the stands on Court Philippe-Chatrier as she waved and walked off the court. Kerber, who had won the silver medal at the 2016 Games and is a three-time Olympian, said she had wanted to finish her career at the tournament because it had meant so much to her over the years.
“The Olympics, [that] I’ve participated in so far, have been more than just competitions as they represent different chapters of my life as a tennis player: the climb, the peak… and now, the finish line,” Kerber wrote on social media. “[Paris] will mark the finish line of the most incredible journey I could have ever dreamed of growing up with a racket in my hand.” — D’Arcy Maine
Refugee Olympic Team sets sights on first-ever medial
The Refugee Olympic Team are dreaming of winning their first-ever medal after boxer Cindy Ngamba won her women’s 75kg first-round match on Wednesday, meaning she will secure at least a bronze should she win her next fight.
Ngamba, who trains in the U.K., has long been a major IOC hope to become the first refugee to win a medal at the Olympic Games. When Ngamba qualified for Paris 2024 — the Refugee team’s third since being established in 2016 — IOC President Thomas Bach watched on and celebrated from the organisations offices in Switzerland.
Those hopes could have been dashed after Ngamba was handed a difficult first-round draw, facing third-seeded Canadian Tammara Amanda Thibeault. She took a direct hit to the head that forced a standing count second into the fight, but she to win a points decision.
In the stands, she was cheered on by many other members of the Refugee Team. — Connor O’Halloran
Horns up in Paris
The University of Texas-Austin sent quite the contingent to the Games, with 30 athletes having competed for the Longhorns. Texas is particularly well represented in swimming events, with the school sending 10 swimmers to Paris. In fact, a trio of Longhorns are competing on the same relay team: 3/4ths of Team USA’s silver medal-winning 4x200m free style relay unit swam collegiately for Texas. Two members of that group, current Longhorn swimmer Luke Hobson and 2022 graduate Drew Kibler, took the time to rep their school with the ‘horns up’ sign in front of the Eiffel Tower after their victory.
How do you say Hook ‘Em in French?? 🤣@TeamUSA | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/9FSLvnkVER
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) July 31, 2024
Former gymnast makes Olympic Guatemalan history in shooting
Adriana Ruano’s dream was to be an Olympic gymnast. In 2011, the then-16-year-old trained for the Gymnastics World Championships, which served as a qualifier for the 2012 London Games until she experienced back pain. An MRI helped Ruano discover she had six damaged vertebrae, which ended her gymnastics career.
The doctor, however, recommended she try shooting as a sport.
Guatemala never earned a gold medal in the Olympics until Ruano’s showing at the Paris Games, where she secured the top honor and an Olympic-record score of 45 of 50.
🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹 GUATEMALA SE BAÑA EN ORO 🥇
¡Adriana Ruano hizo historia de la grande y es campeona olímpica!
¡Y con récord olímpico! ¡Increíble! 👏👏👏#Paris2024 #JuegosOlímpicos I @COGuatemalteco pic.twitter.com/G5FFCXTbvt
— Los Juegos Olímpicos (@juegosolimpicos) July 31, 2024
Fencing captivates crowd at Grand Palais
The Olympics are all about exploring new sports. After covering Wednesday morning’s triathlons, I walked by Paris’ Grand Palais, a beautiful 124-year old exhibition hall, and heard roars that all sportswriters and fans recognize as a good time.
I knew fencing was popular here in France, and that the event is one of the hottest tickets in town. “Friends and family keep asking for tickets,” a Team USA source told me earlier this week. “I just have to tell ’em: There’s nothing I can do. It’s sold out!”
It was the men’s team quarterfinals, and the place was packed. To the naked eye it seemed like every seat was taken. The press box was full, too. There were four matches on, one including the USA, but the one the crowds had their eyes fixed upon was France-Egypt.
If you’ve ever wanted to feel like Scott Hanson, go watch an Olympic fencing event. It’s like the in-person equivalent of NFL RedZone. All four matches happen simultaneously, which creates a chaotic atmosphere. At any one moment there is a point being awarded or denied. There’s even a large screen showing all the matches via a quadruple box.
The crowd was fixated on the France match. They stomped their feet against the temporary metal bleachers and bounced as they chanted. “ALLEZ LES BLEUS! ALLEZ LES BLEUS!” After any point won, one fencer would often stare down the judge, while the other would celebrate wildly like an NFL defensive back swatting down a deep ball.
In the end, France emerged victorious. It won 45-41 and booked a place in the semifinals Wednesday afternoon. All the while, the glass roof ceiling of the Grand Palais amplified the roars. — Connor O’Halloran
Top Jamaican sprinter drops out of the women’s 100-meter dash
Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson, one of the sport’s top competitors, withdrew from the 100-meter dash, ending her chance of seeking a sprint double. She will still compete in the women’s 200-meter dash. Tia Clayton and three-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will represent Jamaica as Sha’Carri Richardson and the United States’ biggest threats in the sprint.
To stay or not to stay?
The Olympic Village is a staple of the Games. But athletes have different approaches regarding how much time they actually spend living in the Village.
Some competitors — such as Coco Gauff — spend their time at the Olympics in the village, citing the social experience of meeting hundreds of other elite athletes. Others — including Team USA’s men’s basketball team — bolt from the dorms to hotels at the first opportunity, in search of better food and bedding (among other advantages). — READ MORE
A well-earned haka by New Zealand
New Zealand repeated as rugby sevens gold medalists with their win over Canada on Tuesday, and celebrated the feat in traditional fashion — with a haka.
A ceremonial dance of the Māori people, the performance has been adopted by a number of New Zealand’s national teams over the years. New Zealand’s rugby sevens triumph was the nation’s first gold medal of the Paris Games.
ELECTRIC. ⚡️
New Zealand women’s rugby sevens performed the Haka after winning gold. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/bjd4u9r6wJ
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 31, 2024
Usyk to pay Ukrainian boxers out of pocket
An Olympic gold medalist himself, Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk has pledged to reward any Ukrainian boxer who makes the podium.
Usyk has been supporting and providing advice to the country’s three competitors in Paris already, but has now upped the ante. According to Ukrainian coach Dmitry Sosnovsky, Usyk has pledged $80,000 for a gold medal, $70,000 for a silver medal and $50,000 for a bronze medal.
This isn’t the first time Usyk has been in the news in Paris. On Tuesday, he made headlines in calling for changes to amateur boxing, set to the background of the sport potentially being dropped from the 2028 Olympics.
Noah Lyles looks to strike gold in Paris
There’s a lot on Noah Lyles’ résumé to boast about. He’s a six-time world champion who won three titles at the most recent World Athletics Championship in Budapest. He’s part of an electric American 4×100 relay squad that just captured first place two months ago at the World Athletics Relays. But there’s one thing his trophy cabinet still awaits: Olympic gold.
Lyles left the Tokyo Games in 2020 with a bronze medal. Armed with his trademark smile and swagger, the stage feels set in Paris for Lyles to earn his first Olympic gold medal. — READ MORE
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Why Team USA is not taking South Sudan lightly
Brian Windhorst breaks down why Team USA can’t take South Sudan lightly.
Competition goes forward in the Seine
The women’s triathletes were the first athletes to swim in the Seine at the #ParisOlympics. 🏊♀️👀 pic.twitter.com/0630dGeOU9
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 31, 2024
After months of speculation and a scheduling debacle, the men’s and women’s Olympic triathlon events finally took place, including their starting legs on the Seine.
It took a lot to get here. Paris spent €1.5 billion ($1.4bn) on a project to clean the river and conducted sample tests in the afternoon and in the dead of night. But finally, at 4 a.m. CET, organisers declared the races were on.
The events ended in golds for France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Team Great Britain’s Alex Yee, as well as glorious shots of the athletes running down the Champs-Élysées and then in front of the Grand Palais … but what did they make of the water?
“It felt normal. It felt a bit cold, especially because it was raining before the race,” Swiss silver medalist Julie Derron said. “I felt a bit chilly before the start, but the water is just normal water.”
Beaugrand added: “It’s magical, it’s the best route we’ve had in a long time.” She sounded a little biased until she delivered the next line: “I know all the other athletes feel the same.” — Connor O’Halloran
