Sha'Carri Richardson leads relay team to gold, U.S. women's basketball advances to final and more in Paris

By / / Sports / 9 minutes of reading


The final Friday of the 2024 Olympics brings key knockout rounds for some of Team USA’s top squads, and Sha’Carri Richardson takes the track for the last time in Paris.

U.S. women’s basketball defeated Australia in its semifinal, moving on to the gold medal match for the eighth straight time. The team has dominated at the Olympics so far, winning each game by double digits.

On the track, the men’s and women’s 4×100 relay teams competed in the finals. The women’s team raced first, winning gold in the race led by an anchor leg from Sha’Carri Richardson. The men’s team were disqualified due to passing the baton outside the “takeover zone” as Canada took home the gold. Later in the day, Rai Benjamin will look for his first Olympic gold medal in the 400m men’s hurdles.

Here is Friday’s full schedule.

2:05 p.m. ET — France-Spain heads to extra time after two-goal comeback

Down 3-1 in the men’s soccer gold medal match, France orchestrated a clutch comeback against Spain to send that match into extra time.

Maghnes Akliouche scored in the 78th minute to make it a one score game, then France was awarded a penalty late into additional time. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the penalty, sending the Parc des Princes crowd into a frenzy. Mateta’s strike was the latest regulation penalty goal in the last three Olympic Games, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

1:52 p.m. ET — U.S. men’s 4×100-meter relay disqualified, Canada wins gold

In a contrast to the women’s race, Team USA’s men’s 4x100m relay team failed to medal, due in part to a nightmare first handoff between Christian Coleman and Kenneth Bednarek.

Coleman was making great time but couldn’t find a smooth transition with Bednarek, actually running into the back of his teammate before finally passing the baton.

It meant they were later disqualified for passing the baton outside the “takeover zone.” — Connor O’Halloran

1:35 p.m. ET — U.S. women’s 4×100-meter relay grabs gold

Take a bow, Sha’Carri Richardson.

The United States has won a number of sprinting medals on the track this week, and it just added another gold in the women’s 4×100 relay.

The U.S. has been rapid all week, and the quartet of Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry arrived as favorites for the women’s relay. Three of them have already picked up medals this week, including Thomas’ 200m gold, Richardson’s 100m silver and Jefferson’s 100m bronze.

The Americans were in third place when Richardson was handed the baton entering the home straight, but they took gold by the time she reached the finish.

Richardson showed again here that she is the fastest woman in the world when she’s at full speed.

There was even enough time for Richardson to take a long look to her right as Britain’s Daryll Neita tried desperately to catch up. — Connor O’Halloran

1:29 p.m. ET — U.S. women’s basketball moves on to gold medal match

Team USA cruised to its 60th straight win, defeating Australia 85-64 to clinch a spot in the gold medal match. The U.S. had four players in double digit points, led by Breanna Stewart’s 16.

They will face either France or Belgium on Sunday for a shot at their eighth straight Olympic gold medal. — READ MORE

12:56 p.m. ET — U.S. women’s basketball brings star-studded sidelines

When the U.S. women’s basketball team plays, it’s there to put on a show — especially in the games that matter the most. With a stacked roster consisting of stars such as A’ja Wilson and Diana Taurasi, it’s only right the stars came out to witness greatness. During Team USA’s semifinal game against Australia, the U.S. men’s basketball team, Carmelo Anthony and the Bryant family were among those in attendance.

12:09 p.m. ET — U.S. men’s volleyball takes bronze

The Americans have displayed strategy, power and explosiveness during their Olympic quest. It all paid off with a bronze medal — their sixth medal — after the U.S. swept Italy 3-0 (25-23, 30-28, 26-24). The medal ties Team USA with Brazil and the Soviet Union for the most men’s volleyball hardware of any country, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It marks the second time the U.S. has won a medal match in straight sets at the Olympics. The other time was in 1984, when the Americans defeated Brazil in the gold medal match.

11:23 a.m. ET — Zhang sets up an eagle to finish strong

Rose Zhang is done for the day at 7 under, and it was shots like this that helped her secure that mark. Nelly Korda finished at 4 under, with Lilia Vu trailing at 3 over. Lydia Ko is currently in the lead at 9 under with holes left to play.

10:59 a.m. ET — Progressive overload, right?

If you think you’re strong, wait until you see this guy. Rizki Juniansyah of Indonesia just lifted close to three times his body weight over his head.

10:08 a.m. ET — Sha’Carri Richardson’s sprint starts with her press-on nails

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson is an Olympic silver medalist in the 100-meter dash. Her look on the track also stands out. Richardson’s hair, jewelry and tattoos display her creativity and transfer over to the track. A big part of Richardson’s appearance is her press-on nails. Meet the nail tech behind the sprinter’s nail art. — READ MORE

9:28 a.m. ET — Was using the Seine at the Olympics worth it?

Paris spent $1.4 billion to clean the River Seine through four events that included the triathlon and marathon swim. However, any type of rainfall could result in higher levels of E. coli and bacteria in the river. During the opening ceremony, over a month’s worth of rain fell into the river within 36 hours.

A test run that would’ve let Olympians familiarize themselves with the course was canceled due to the high concern over the quality of the water, and multiple athletes became sick. Was it ever a great idea to have the athletes swim in the Seine? — READ MORE

8:47 a.m. ET — Letsile Tebogo makes comments about Noah Lyles after 200m final

After winning the men’s 100-meter dash in a photo finish, Noah Lyles was expected to win a second gold in the 200-meter dash. However, Lyles earned a bronze medal in the 200 with a time of 19.70 seconds. Letsile Tebogo won gold, clocking 19.46. In the postrace news conference, Tebogo was asked about becoming the new face of track and field — and he had some criticism for Lyles.

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1:06

Tebogo: I’m not arrogant or loud like Noah Lyles

Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo says he will never be the face of athletics because he’s not “arrogant or loud” like Noah Lyles.

7:13 a.m. ET — Team USA women’s 100-meter hurdlers 3-for-3 into finals

The Americans have always been dominant when it comes to the 100-meter hurdles. Grace Stark set the standard for the U.S. women with a perfect three-step technique to finish first in her heat with a time of 12.39 seconds.

Alaysha Johnson, from Spring, Texas, made things look easy with a 12.34 to automatically qualify for the finals.

U.S. Olympic Trials champion Masai Russell had a bit of work to do, however. After coming off the 10th and final hurdle, Russell was in position to finish third in her heat. Russell leaned her torso across the line to stretch over Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent, finishing second with a time of 12.42 seconds to move on to the final.

6:44 a.m. ET — Bryce Hoppel powers his way into 800m final

American Bryce Hoppel’s strategy to make his way to the final of the men’s 800 meters was spot on. Staying with the pack was the name of the game for Hoppel, as he kicked just enough in the final stretch to finish in second place in his heat and to be an automatic qualifier with a time of 1:43.41.

6:40 a.m. ET — Team USA men’s 4×400 gets the stick onto the finals

Quincy Wilson, 16, wouldn’t just make history as the youngest American male to compete in the Olympics, he had the honor come out of the blocks as the first leg.

Wilson ran a 47.27-second split, handing off the baton seventh to Vernon Norwood. His 43.54 caught Team USA up with the pack. Bryce Deadmon ran 44.20 seconds to pass off the baton to Chris Bailey, who was in the men’s 400m final, to pull through for the U.S. The top three move onto finals, and Bailey’s 44.14 anchor leg split moved Team USA into qualifying position to finish third with a 2:59.15 to advance to the finals.





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