Wow on top of the 400 M world record win by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, which solidified her as THE GOAT. in her event. Then the Men's USA Basketball came back from the dead in the fourth quarter to nip Serbia to advance to the final vs France. It was as thrilling a comeback as I have seen in a while.
Even for a person like me who equates watching soccer to watching paint dry, the gold medal match between Spain and France was epic. What a year for the Spanish.
How does this keep happening? USA 4x100 relay is DQ'd Christian Coleman gave the Americans a great start but ended up virtually colliding with Kenny Bednarek at the first handover. They recovered to finish well down the field but were disqualified as the exchange was illegal. "It just didn't happen," Coleman said. "Maybe we could have put in some more work. I just think in the moment it didn't happen." Since 1995, in the Olympics and World Championships, the U.S. has now had 11 dropped batons, disqualifications or bans.
Article from SI that I read BEFORE the Olympics discussing relays and the art of the hand off, the past botched history by the US, why it is so hard for America's sprinters to pull it off; lack of practice, changing the order of the sprinters, and even how the first, second, and third hand off are all different. The U.S. Olympic Relay Program Is Finally in Good Hands
Women's soccer gets the gold! Mallory Swanson got a sort of breakaway goal and that was all that was needed. Listening to the commentary in the first half you'd have thought the USA didn't have the legs to hold on in the 2nd half, so much for the commentary.
Well the 4x400 relay team got the handoffs right. The 400 m hurdles champion ran the final leg and secured the win.
The women just blew away the field to get the 4x400 relay. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran the 2nd leg and went out like she was jet propelled opened a 30 m. gap and it was over!
Yeah she exploded today just like she did yesterday in the hurdles. She looked like Katy Ledecky on a track!
Great mens basketball final, French kept the pressure on but we have too much firepower. LeBron just doesn't play like a guy who is turning 40 soon. Gold for the USA.
The semi finals game vs Serbia and the gold medal game were both incredible, hard fought games. Curry was the difference in USA winning both games with his deadly sharpshooting.
The Serbs won their bronze medal game several hours before the medal ceremony. They did some serious celebratory drinking as they waited for the ceremony. Jokic can barely stand
I didn't watch the closing ceremonies but apparently Tom Cruise who was very visible through out the games was the star of the show. Not sure why, but somebody must have thought it was a good idea. Maybe he's French. Overall to me at least the Olympics were a big success. Lots of great moments, lots of great stories and great finishes to various events. USA outdistanced everybody in the total medal count and given that we had the most athletes at the games is not really surprising. China however tied us at 40 Gold Medals. Looking forward to L.A. 2028.
He was the Los Angeles tie-in, for the next Olympics. He took the Olympic flag (after "flying" down from the stadium roof) and through a montage of movie stunts (motorcycle, skydiving, etc.) ended up at the Hollywood sign with the flag presenting it to the next city.
I thought in his earlier years that he was a bit grating with his over the top enthusiasm, but it never kept me from watching the swimming. IMO, over time he's mellowed with age and experience and does a nice job. He does his homework and always is prepared.