The U.S. women's national soccer team played for a chance for the bronze medal Thursday morning. Plus the U.S. men's basketball team will look to advance to the gold medal game.
USWNT defeats Australia to win bronze
Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd each scored two goals to lead the U.S. to a 4-3 win over Australia in the bronze medal game at the Tokyo Olympics.
Carli Lloyd is now the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. women’s soccer team.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
After winning four of the first five gold medals in Olympic women’s soccer history, Team USA has now failed to make it to the final in back-to-back Games. The U.S. was in a scoreless tie with Canada until Jessie Fleming beat Adrianna Franch on a penalty kick in the 74th minute for the game’s lone goal.
Franch replaced Stratford's Alyssa Naeher in goal in the first half after Naeher injured her knee. The injury kept her out of the bronze medal match.
It’s not gold, but after missing out on the podium altogether at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the USWNT was hungry in Thursday’s tilt.
Tokyo Olympics
U.S. men’s basketball defeats Australia in semifinals
Team USA is a win away from its fourth straight men’s basketball gold medal after defeating Australia Thursday, 97 to 78.
After a concerning opening loss to France, the U.S. men strung together three straight wins over Iran, the Czech Republic and Spain. Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum are among the standouts for the U.S. through four games, with Durant scoring a team-high 29 points in a quarterfinal win over Spain on Tuesday.
Australia was unbeaten heading into Thursday’s semifinal contest. Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Co. went 3-0 in group play before handing Argentina a lopsided, 38-point quarterfinal loss on Tuesday. Australia was seeking its first-ever Olympic men’s basketball medal.
Team USA will play France in the gold medal game on Friday, Aug. 6, while Australia will play Solvenia on Saturday, Aug. 7.
Team USA Earns Multiple Medals, Including Gold, in Track and Field
For the second consecutive Olympics, Americans Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs finished first and second respectively in the men’s shot put event. Crouser beat his own Olympic record, throwing the shot put 23.30 meters on his final attempt to take the gold. New Zealand’s Tom Walsh won bronze, which he also took in 2016, making it a repeat across the board on the winner’s podium. It is the first time that has happened in a track and field event in Olympic history.
Grant Holloway finished second to claim silver in men's 110m hurdles, posting a time of 13.09 despite being the overwhelming favorite to win it all. The world champion blazed to the quickest time in the hurdles semifinals, but was unable to hold on to the top spot in the final. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica won gold in the upset, posting a time of 13.04, and handed Holloway his first loss of the year. Jamaica also won gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The U.S. advanced in the women's 4x100m relay, finishing second overall with a time of 41.90. Team USA, which comprised of Javianne Oliver, English Gardner, Teahna Daniels and Aleia Hobbs finished ahead of Team Jamaica. The heats were missing the star power of Allyson Felix, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and reigning women's 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah.
Unfortunately, the men did not fare as well. Team USA, which included Trayvon Bromell, Ronnie Baker, Fred Kerley and Cravon Gillespie, finished sixth in Heat 2 (eighth overall) with a time of 38.10.The U.S. men's team hasn't medaled in the 4x100m relay since earning silver in 2004.
Vashti Cunningham was the only member of Team USA to advance in women's high jump. Cunningham automatically qualified after posting a jump of 1.95m on her third and final attempt. She placed 13th in high jump at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and is a favorite to win it all at Tokyo.
Team USA's Will Claye finished fourth in men's triple jump. His longest jump was 17.44m on his third attempt. The two-time silver medalist looked to claim gold for the United States with the absence of two-time Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor, who did not compete due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. Pedro Pablo Pichardo of Portugal won gold with a jump of 17.98m on his third attempt.
Women’s Water Polo Beats ROC to Reach Gold Medal Match
The U.S. women’s water polo team rallied from a three-point deficit to trounce the Russian Olympic Committee in a 15-11 victory.
With that win, Team USA moves to the gold-medal match and will face either Spain or Hungary, who face each other in the second semifinal at 6:50 a.m. ET.
The U.S., gold medalists in London 2012 and Rio 2016, were on the verge of crashing out before the final until a late push helped them over the line. With just over five minutes left, Aria Fischer put the U.S. ahead 12-11. From there, Alys Williams and Madeline Musselman ensured the win with 3 points between them.
Nathaniel Coleman Wins Silver in Inaugural Sport Climbing Event
American Nathaniel Coleman took the silver medal in the first-ever sport climbing competition in Olympics history.
Coleman finished with 30.00 total points to finish second. In sport climbing, the lower the points, the better, so Coleman finished two points behind Alberto Gines Lopez of Spain, whose 28.00 won the gold.
Austria’s Jakob Schubert won the bronze with 35.00 points.
American Colin Duffy, who ranked fourth entering the finals, slipped to seventh, with 60 total points.
