McLaughlin-Levrone, Lyles make waves on track and U.S. men's hoops have epic comeback in Paris

ESPN

Aug 8, 2024, 05:07 PM ET

LeBron JamesSydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Noah Lyles were some of the most recognizable names who competed Thursday at the Paris Games.

Lyles, the men’s 100-meter gold medalist, earned a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash with a time of 19.70 seconds. Kenny Bednarek captured silver with 19.62 seconds.

The United States men’s basketball team stormed back against the Serbian national team and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic for a berth in the gold medal game. The U.S. faced a deficit of as much as 17 points, but outscored Serbia 32-15 in the fourth for a win.

While that game was ongoing, McLaughlin-Levrone won gold in the women’s 400-meter hurdles final, setting a new world record for the sixth time. On the men’s side, Grant Holloway won the men’s 110-meter hurdles, while Daniel Roberts finished with a silver.

Here’s what you missed from Thursday’s marquee events.

Olympics medal tracker | Schedule

Facing their biggest deficit of the 2024 Paris Games, the U.S. needed a furious comeback to defeat Serbia 95-91 and advance to the gold medal match.

Stephen Curry led Team USA with 36 points, the second most by a U.S. men’s player at the Olympics all time, trailing Carmelo Anthony vs. Nigeria in 2012 (37), according to ESPN Stats & Information. LeBron James had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, his second triple-double ever at an Olympics. He is the first player with multiple triple-doubles at the Olympics in men’s basketball.

The U.S. trailed for 35:12 in the game, while only leading for 3:25. They took the lead in the fourth behind a 3-pointer from Curry with 2:24 remaining and never relinquished it.

The U.S. will play France on Saturday for the gold medal, the fourth matchup between the two countries in the men’s basketball gold medal match. — READ MORE

4:21 p.m. ET — U.S. men’s hoops at risk of upset vs. Serbia

The U.S. men’s basketball team entered the final quarter down by 13 against Serbia. For the first time in 20 years, Team USA was at risk of missing the gold medal match.

3:57 p.m. ET — Grant Holloway storms to gold in 110-meter hurdles

Grant Holloway left no doubt in the 110-meter hurdles, jumping out of the gate for gold with a time of 12.99. It’s Holloway’s first gold — he won silver in Tokyo — and Team USA’s 20th gold in the event and first since Aries Merritt in 2012.

The United States’ Daniel Roberts took home silver, while Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell won bronze.

3:46 p.m. ET — U.S. men’s hoops in trouble vs. Serbia at halftime

After blowing past Serbia in the group stage, the U.S. faced a different challenge in the semifinal. Team USA trailed by 11 going into halftime and by as much as 17 points, its largest deficit of the 2024 Olympics.

The last time the U.S. trailed at halftime of an Olympic game was the semifinal in Tokyo.

Stephen Curry had 20 points in the first half, more than his point total of any game in Paris. No other U.S. player was in double digits.

Aleksa Avramović led Serbia with 15 points, while Bogdan Bogdanović had 12 points. Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic had nine points and seven assists.

3:29 p.m. ET — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins gold in 400-meter hurdles with WR

America’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world record in the women’s 400 meters — for the sixth time — to win another gold medal. And she obliterated her previous mark with a 50.37. The 25-year-old absolutely owns this event.

In what was billed as one of the great showdowns of these Olympic games — Netherland’s Femke Bol versus McLaughlin-Levrone — it was never really close. McLaughlin-Levrone led the entire time, breezing down the stretch while defending her Olympic gold medal. American teammate Anna Cockrell posted her personal best at 51.87 to win the silver while Bol won bronze at 52.15.

McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol are considered their generation’s best female hurdlers, but they have only faced off three times against each other. McLaughlin-Levrone — who owned a 2-0 head-to-head record heading into Thursday’s final — has embraced the challenge, saying iron sharpens irons. Now she is 3-0 against the Netherlands star.

At U.S. trials, McLaughlin-Levrone broke the world record with a 50.65, her fifth time breaking it. The world record had stayed the same from 2003 to 2019. Then the flood gates broke open, beginning with Team USA’s Dalilah Muhammad breaking the record twice in 2019.

There was a sea of orange in Stade de France today, with Bol garnering a ton of support from her home country. But it’s the USA on top of the podium yet again, as McLaughlin-Levrone and Cockrell hugged after the finish line.

As McLaughlin-Levrone took her victory lap around the track, somebody gave her a crown. She wore it proudly as she had the American flag draped over her shoulders. — Emily Kaplan

3:18 p.m. ET — Noah Lyles’ COVID diagnosis revealed

Moments after Noah Lyles finished with a bronze in the men’s 200-meter final, it was reported that he had been diagnosed with COVID on Tuesday, according to NBC News. — READ MORE

3:09 p.m. ET — Steph Curry has scorching hot start vs. Serbia

With a spot in the gold medal match on the line, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry came to play. He erupted for 17 quick points in the first quarter against Serbia, already his most in a game at the 2024 Paris Games.

At one point, Curry had more points than the entire Serbian team. However, the U.S. couldn’t capitalize on Curry’s strong start — the rest of the team had just five points with 3:29 remaining in the first. Serbia had a 31-23 lead after the first.

3:04 p.m. ET — U.S. women’s water polo falls in semifinals

The United States’ quest for a fourth straight Olympic gold medal in women’s water polo came up short with a 14-13 loss to Australia.

The match entered a sudden death shootout, which Australia won 7-5.

The U.S. will face the Netherlands in the bronze medal match on Saturday.

2:42 p.m. ET — Kenny Bednarek, Noah Lyles grab silver and bronze medals in 200m final

Noah Lyles wanted to come to the Olympics to prove he was the world’s fastest man. For now, that’s just in the 100-meter dash, as the sprinter won a bronze medal in the men’s 200-meter final. Team USA’s Kenneth Bednarek won the silver medal for the second straight Games.

But it was Botswana’s Leslie Tebogo, 21, — who had finished ahead of Lyles in their semifinal heat on Wednesday — who won gold in 19.46 seconds, the African record. Bednarek posted a 19.62 and Lyles ran 19.70.

Afterward, Lyles got wheeled off into the tunnel. He was shown on the videoboard before he came out of the tunnel wearing a mask, an indication he might be sick.

The 27-year-old has emerged as a huge character this Olympic cycle, not afraid to show off his boisterous personality — most notably chirping NBA players for calling themselves world champions. But all he ever wanted was recognition as the world’s fastest man and the true world champion. When Lyles came out of the tunnel, he put on a show: clapping, skipping and hyping up the crowd, similar to what you see from an NFL player on Sundays. He knocked over the starting blocks and was given a yellow card afterward for violating a technical rule. A USA chant broke out before the gun. The PA announcer had to shush the crowd before they began.

Bednarek kicked it in for the last 90 meters. It was down to him and Tebogo in the end, but the 25-year-old Wisconsin native won silver for the second straight Olympics. — Emily Kaplan

2:20 p.m. ET — Team USA men’s basketball ready for semifinal action

LeBron James and Team USA already got a taste of Serbia. In group play, the United States ousted Serbia 110-84, when Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant caught fire with 23 points, missing only one shot through his nine field goal attempts.

For the first time since the 2008 Redeem Team, Team USA has won all four of its games by 15 points or more in Paris, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

James will need to score 9 points to pass Carmelo Anthony for second on the Team USA men’s Olympic basketball all-time scoring list.

1:41 p.m. ET — France advances to gold medal match in men’s basketball

France took down the reigning FIBA World Cup winners, Germany, 73-69 for a spot in the men’s basketball gold medal match.

It’s the second straight appearance in the gold medal match for France. They are also the first host nation other than the U.S. to reach the gold medal match at the Olympics.The loss is Germany’s first in international play over the last two years, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Guerschon Yabusele led France with 17 points and 7 rebounds, while San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had 11 points on just 4-of-17 shooting. Dennis Schroder led Germany with 18 points.

France will play the winner of the United States and Serbia.

12:33 p.m. ET — Team USA women’s volleyball advances to final

The United States-Brazil volleyball rivalry runs deep, but the U.S. proved to be the better group in its semifinal match. Though the U.S. had a few defensive struggles midway through the match, its offensive strategy and rotations came through when it mattered most.

Playing to five sets, Kathryn Plummer hit a walk-off kill shot to help the Americans advance to the final with a 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11) win over Brazil. Team USA will play the winner of Turkey-Italy in the Sunday final.

11:33 a.m. ET — Discus gold medalist has former NFL ties

There was an NFL connection to the Olympic gold medal winner in the men’s discus throw — even if most barely remember it. Jamaica’s Roje Stona set an Olympic record Wednesday with a throw of 70.00 meters to break the previous mark of 69.97 meters set earlier in the competition.

What does that have to do with the National Football League?

Stona, who did not play college football but attended both Clemson and Arkansas for track and field, was invited to two NFL tryouts during rookie minicamps last spring with the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.

He was listed on the Packers’ minicamp roster as a defensive lineman wearing No. 64, but when asked if he remembered Stona, coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday: “No, not really.” — Rob Demovsky

9:36 a.m. ET — Could pickleball become an Olympic sport?

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing and most popular sports in the U.S., but it isn’t in the Olympic Games. However, pickleball could be making its way to the Olympic scene in the future. There are 13.6 million players in the United States, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. The Olympic charter will require one governing body to regulate pickleball worldwide. The sport currently has three potential governing bodies: Seymour Rifkin’s World Pickleball Federation, the International Pickleball Foundation, and the Global Pickleball Federation. Here’s how we could see pickleball in a future Olympic games. — READ MORE

8:47 a.m. ET — Sam Watson does it again

American climber Sam Watson broke the speed climbing world record yet again in Thursday’s bronze medal race, lowering it to 4.74 seconds. It was quite the consolation after the 18-year-old made a mistake near the top of the wall in his semifinal heat against China’s Wu Peng and lost by .08 seconds, ending his bid for gold.

Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo won the gold medal race in 4.75, a personal best, over Peng, who registered a personal best 4.77. This is Indonesia’s first gold medal of the Paris Games and the first non-badminton Olympic gold in the country’s history.

“No regrets,” Watson said. “I don’t think the pressure really got to me or anything like that. I think just a tiny little stumble at the top, just a few millimeters off a certain hold allowed me to get less power out of it and slow down a lot.”

Watson’s world record is one one-hundredth faster than the record of 4.75 he set in qualifications Tuesday, which is .04 faster than the world-record time of 4.798 he set at a World Cup in April.

Before April 2023, no climber had broken the sub-5-second mark in speed climbing. It was the sport’s 4-minute mile. Then Leonardo clocked 4.984 in a World Cup semifinal and then a 4.900 in the final, a record that held for a year until Watson broke it twice at a World Cup in Wujiang, China, in April, taking it to 4.798.

Here in Paris, that time has been matched or lowered six times.

In the quarterfinals, three athletes clocked times under 5 seconds, and Watson wasn’t even one of them. Leonardo won the gold medal race with a time of 4.75, the world record just two days ago and one one-hundredth slower than the new world record set moments earlier in the bronze medal race.

“I’m really excited for the future,” Watson said. “I really do want to get under 4.6 seconds. If you don’t know how the sport works, the reaction time off the ground must be at least point one. So, under 4.6 means that you do the route in under 4½ seconds. That really does mean a lot to me. That was my next goal after sub-5 proved to be possible and now decently easy for all these athletes. So just keep going, no limits.”

Earlier at the Le Bourget Climbing Venue on Thursday, American Brooke Raboutou, the 2023 world bouldering bronze medalist, qualified third into Saturday’s boulder & lead final, where she’ll face tough competition in Tokyo gold medalist Janja Garnbret of Slovenia, who qualified first. — Alyssa Roenigk

7:50 a.m. ET — Katie Ledecky and Nick Mead will close out Olympic Games for U.S.

First, it was LeBron James and Coco Gauff who led Team USA as flag-bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games. Now, swimmer Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead will carry the Stars and Stripes for the U.S. during the closing ceremony on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

The duo was selected by a voting process consisting of Team USA athletes, led by the Team USA Athletes’ Commission.

Ledecky earned four medals in Paris — two golds in the women’s 1,500 meters and 800-meter freestyle, a silver in the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay and bronze in the 400-meter freestyle. Mead earned a gold medal in the men’s four rowing.

6:58 a.m. ET — 16-year-old will run in men’s 4×400 relay

After coaches told Quincy Wilson he wouldn’t compete in the mixed 4×400 relay, the 16-year-old will get another chance to shock the world in the men’s 4×400 meter relay Friday. Wilson will also become the youngest American male to participate in an Olympic men’s track and field event. — READ MORE

6:33 a.m. ET — Jamaica won’t advance in 4x100m relay final

The sprint rivalry between the Team USA and Jamaica men’s 4×100 meter relay teams won’t renew after Jamaica failed to qualify for the final. Jamaica had shaky second and third exchanges that set it back from being in the front of the pack. It finished fourth in its heat with a time of 38.45 seconds. This is the first time since the 2004 Athens Games that Jamaica will not compete in the 4×100 meter relay final.

5:46 a.m. ET — Sha’Carri anchors the U.S.

The U.S. women were a bit behind after an awkward second exchange in the women’s 4×100 meter relay. Enter Sha’Carri Richardson. The 100-meter silver medalist turned on the jets and blew past Germany, giving her squad a comfortable win in the heat and sending it on to the finals with a time of 41.94 seconds.