NBC NEWS
Day 11 of the Olympics brought us the final in the women’s 200-meter, knockout play in soccer and basketball, a shocker on the track and more.
Let’s jump into the action.
Track and field
American sprinter Gabby Thomas won her first Olympic gold medal Tuesday, claiming the women’s 200-meter in 21.83 seconds.
She beat St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred in a much-anticipated showdown after Alfred won gold in the 100-meter. Alfred finished second while the U.S.’ Brittany Brown won bronze.
Thomas placed third in this event in Tokyo, and a gold had eluded her in other events, such as the 4×100-meter relay, until Tuesday’s race. She said the win was “obviously” the favorite of her career.
“You prepare for this moment and train so hard for this moment, but when it actually comes, it’s indescribable,” Thomas said. “I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would become an Olympic gold medalist, and I am one. I’m still wrapping my head around that.”
Also on the track, American Cole Hocker won the men’s 1,500-meter and set an Olympic record while doing so, finishing the race in 3:27.65.
Hocker overcame two overwhelming favorites in the win: Great Britain’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Kerr took home silver, while Ingebrigtsen couldn’t make the podium. American Yared Nuguse won bronze.
Ingebrigtsen was leading after 1,200 meters while Hocker was trailing in fourth place. But that’s when he made his big move.
“With 100 meters to go, I knew I had enough,” Hocker said. “I haven’t seen the race replay or anything, but I saw Jakob. I feel like he was thinking about Kerr and started drifting out, and I thought I’d take advantage of that and try to punch that inside, which I’ve been able to do a couple times in my career. He’s a smart enough racer where he closed that down immediately, so I had to reassess. It was special to be able to attack not only once, but twice.”
Women’s soccer
The U.S. women’s soccer team will play for gold after beating Germany 1-0 in a group stage rematch.
The United States beat Germany 4-1 during group play, but Tuesday’s showdown proved to be much more tense. The teams were tied through 90 minutes before Sophia Smith scored the winner in the 95th minute after the Americans again had to go to extra time in this tournament.
The win came one year to the day of the U.S. getting knocked out in the Round of 16 at the 2023 World Cup.
“It means everything,” Smith said afterward. “We had a tough year last year in every way possible, but I feel like this is a new year and we’re really just showing the world that we didn’t ever drop off.”
The win continues the stellar start for coach Emma Hayes, who took over the program in May. She raised eyebrows after turning over the roster to younger players headed into the Paris Games, but Hayes is now unbeaten headed into the Olympic final, with a chance to secure the USWNT’s first major trophy in five years.
USA will play Brazil on Saturday for the gold. She was suspended for the last two games, but should she see the pitch on Saturday, Brazilian legend Marta would be playing for her country for the last time in search of her first major international trophy.
Men’s basketball
The U.S. men’s basketball team continues to cruise through the Olympics.
After an undefeated group round, the States steamrolled Brazil in their quarterfinal matchup, winning 122-87.
Basically everybody got in on the action.
Devin Booker? 18 points. Anthony Edwards? 17 points. LeBron James? 12 points and nine assists. Joel Embiid? 14 points and some taunts for the crowd. Pick an American and they probably hooped.
Kevin Durant, who scored 11, became the leading scorer in American Olympic basketball history for men or women.
“Records are meant to be broken, so somebody will come along and do the same to me,” Durant said. “My focus is on trying to win this gold.”
The U.S. will play Serbia in the semifinal, and the only question will be if anyone can test this team during the Games. The United States has won every game by at least 15, including a 26-point win over Serbia on July 28.
Wrestling
Amit Elor became the youngest American to win gold in wrestling, winning 3-0 against Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova in their 68-kilogram final.
Elor dominated throughout the tournament, surrendering only two points during her entire time in Paris. She is the third woman to win gold in wrestling for the United States.
“It was one of the best moments in my life,” Elor said. “I think I’m going to remember it for my entire life. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. And when I experience something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days, the grind, it’s all worth it for moments like these.”
Meanwhile, Cuban wrestler Mijain López became the first person ever to win gold in five straight Olympics. The 41-year old unlaced his shoes and placed them in the center of the mat after defeating Chile’s Yasmani Acosta Fernández 6-0.
“I turned in what we call ‘our weaponry,’” Lopez told NBC News’s Isabel Yip. “When one turns in their wrestling shoes, they are leaving behind a journey where from a young age they have carried out that work.”
Women’s boxing
Algeria’s Imane Khelif moved to the gold medal round of boxing in the women’s 66-kg division. She won a unanimous decision against Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng.
“I just gave the performance that I was looking for,” Khelif said via a translator, per Yahoo Sports. “And I was trying just to let the audience and the fans who came today to be happy. The hall was full of people, and I was happy to hear the national song of my country and that made me proud. And all Algerians must be proud, and all Arab countries.”
Khelif has been the target of attacks over her gender after false accusations were made about her in the wake of her defeat of Italy’s Angela Carini, who withdrew 46 seconds into their second-round match.
On Tuesday, Suwannapheng said she believes Khelif is a woman and that “it was a fair fight, because we were under the same rules.”
What’s next
Wednesday brings us the final in the men’s 400-meter as well as the 3000-meter steeplechase, everyone’s new favorite sport.
We also have the women’s pole vault final, the men’s park final in skateboarding, the men’s discus throw final, as well as two gold medal bouts in men’s boxing.
