The Tokyo Olympics are in the home stretch and that means some of the longer tournaments are coming down to the gold medal matchups. The U.S. men's basketball team grabbed gold and the U.S. baseball team is taking home the silver. And Team USA added to its gold medal count on the track.
Team USA Men's Basketball defeats France to win 4th straight gold medal
The U.S. men’s basketball team got its revenge on France, winning the gold medal game at the Tokyo Olympics, 87-82. The Americans held only a seven-point lead with three minutes to go, just as they did in the preliminary game against France, where France went on a run and got the win.
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The French cut it to three with 10 seconds left on two free throws by Nando De Colo, but Kevin Durant made both of his free throws with 8.8 seconds left to seal the win.
“It’s winning time,” Durant said after the game when asked how he came through for the team in the gold medal game. Now a three-time gold medalist, he became the U.S. men’s basketball team’s leading scorer of all time during the Tokyo tournament. Jayson Tatum added 19 points for the U.S. off the bench, while starting guards Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard each tallied 11 points.
The American men have now won four straight gold medals. The American women aim to extend their own gold medal streak against Japan at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
You can see a replay of the game here.
Tokyo Olympics
Team USA adds more medals in track and field in 4x400m relays
In what was the last full day on the track, Team USA reached the podium in both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays.
In what was the final race in Allyson Felix’s historic Olympic career, Team USA sent off one of the most decorated Olympians in history with a gold medal to add to her collection.
The U.S. came in first in the women's 4x400m relay with a time of 3.16.85. Poland came in second with a time of 3:20.53 and Jamaica won gold with a time of 3:21.24.
The USA also came in first in the men's 4x400m relay with a time of 2:55.70. The Netherlands came in second with a time of 2:57.18 and Botswana came in third with a time of 2:57.27.
Other final events from track and field on Saturday included women’s high jump, the women’s 10,000 meter race, men’s javelin throw, and the men’s 1500 meter race.
You can replay the events here.
US golfer Nelly Korda takes gold
American golfer Nelly Korda held on to her lead in Round 4 to take gold in women's golf.
Korda led most of the tournament and shot a two-under round in sweltering heat to finish at 17-under to stand atop the podium.
She did have to hold off Japan's Mone Inami and New Zealand's Lydia Ko who each shot 6-under in the final round to take silver and bronze.
You can watch a replay of the golf here.
Team USA loses to Japan in baseball gold medal game, now taking home silver
Team USA was on the hunt for their first Olympic gold medal awarded since 2008, but fell short. They faced off against Japan, who was the only team to beat them in pool play.
The USA will be taking home a silver medal after losing to Japan 0 to 2.
By making it to the gold medal game, Eddy Alvarez has become the third American to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
The U.S. baseball team captured its lone gold medal in 2000 when it stunned a favored Cuban team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
American Molly Seidel wins bronze in Women’s Marathon
Molly Seidel ran a stunning race in the women’s marathon at the Tokyo Olympics to secure the bronze medal in her third-ever marathon. Peres Jepchirchir, of Kenya, won the gold in 2:27:20, while her countrywoman Brigid Kosgei took the silver.
Seidel had previously only run a marathon in the Olympic trials and the 2020 London Marathon, which she finished in 2:25:13. She won four NCAA titles at Notre Dame, but the longest of them was only 10,000m. In winning a medal, Seidel fulfilled a childhood goal. As a fourth grader, she declared, “I wish I will make it into the olympics and win a gold medal.”
This was Team USA’s first medal in the women’s marathon since Deena Kastor in 2004. Kastor was quick to congratulate Seidel on her third-place finish.
