Summer Olympics

Team USA star LeBron James showed his support for Jordan Chiles after the International Olympic Committee ruled the American gymnast has to return the bronze medal she received in the individual floor exercise.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport determined that Chiles' coach, Cecile Landi, missed the window to appeal her score after her performance. As a result, her score was reverted to its original tally, 13.666, putting her fifth in the field.

Romania's Ana Bărbosu is now recognized as the bronze medal winner.

USA Gymnastics released a statement Saturday saying it was "devastated" by the CAS' decision. The organization also cited "consistent, utterly baseless and extremely hurtful attacks on social media" that had been directed at Chiles.

The 23-year-old said she's "removing myself from social media" for the time being to focus on her mental health.

At issue was Chiles' difficulty score for her floor routine. Following a review, the judges added 0.1 to her score, and that was enough to catapult her ahead of Bărbosu and fellow Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea.

However, the CAS found that Landi filed the appeal four seconds after the deadline, so the original finishing order was restored.

The governing body allowed the IOC to determine how the medals would be distributed, which seemingly left the door open for both Bărbosu and Chiles to receive bronze.

The outcome is likely to be unsatisfactory for all involved.

Chiles has to relinquish a medal she thought she won. Bărbosu was denied the opportunity to stand on the podium alongside Brazil's Rebeca Andrade and the United States' Simone Biles. Romania lodged an appeal on Maneca-Voinea's behalf as well after she was deducted 0.1 points for stepping out of bounds, only for replays to show she stayed inside the line. The CAS denied that part of the Romanian federation's appeal.

Chiles still has a gold medal in the team competition to show for her performance in Paris, but the controversy over the floor exercise will cast a large shadow over her 2024 Summer Games.

Italy swept aside the United States to win gold in women's indoor volleyball Sunday at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Italians won in straight sets 25-18, 25-20, 25-17 and earned their first-ever medal in the Summer Games. They had previously advanced no further than the quarterfinals.

Paola Egonu was devastating at the net for Italy. She accounted for four blocks and 18 points on the attack.

Team USA had its individual moments throughout the match.

The U.S. ultimately came up against a buzz saw. Italy only dropped one set across the entire tournament, and Sunday put the final touches on a dominant showing from start to finish. The Italians had 11 team blocks to zero for the United States along with seven aces.

A silver medal for the United States is a step down from winning gold at the Tokyo Games, but there's no shame in finishing runner-up to an opponent this good.

As the host country in 2028, Team USA is already assured of a spot in the women's indoor tournament four years from now. Some players are probably already thinking of how much it would mean to reclaim gold on home soil.

Sifan Hassan closed out her 2024 Summer Olympics in emphatic fashion.

The Dutch distance runner edged out Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa in a furious fight to the finish to win the women's marathon. Only 0.03 seconds separated the two when they crossed the line, and Hassan set an Olympic record with a time of 2:22:55.

Kenya's Hellen Obiri rounded out the medal podium.

Having already earned bronze medals in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in Paris, Hassan entered rarefied air with her triumph. ESPN's Connor O'Halloran noted Czech legend Emil Zátopek (1952) is the only other runner to medal in three distance events at one Summer Games.

"I have no words," Hassan said. "Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5000m and 10,000m. I was telling myself if I hadn't done that, I would feel great today."

Despite dealing with that fatigue, the 31-year-old grew stronger as Sunday's race unfolded. She was running in 11th place at the halfway mark and moved up into sixth with 25 kilometers down. It wasn't until the final split that she finally overtook Assefa, Obiri and the others in the lead pack.

Peres Jepchirchir, the reigning gold medalist, faded significantly toward the end. Through 30 kilometers, the Kenyan was in fourth place and looked poised for a second straight marathon medal. Instead, she wound up in 15th place.

The battle for bronze was just as close as the gap between Hassan and Assefa. Obiri and compatriot Sharon Lokedi, who both ran personal bests, were only apart by 0.04 seconds.

Australia held off Belgium in an 85-81 win to earn the bronze medal in women's basketball Sunday at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Belgians had an opportunity to tie the game inside the final minute after Kyara Linskens pulled down a defensive rebound with just under 41 seconds on the clock. But Australia's Steph Talbot blocked Antonia Delaere's three-point effort from the corner at the other end of the floor.

Belgium coach Rachid Meziane called a timeout immediately after to draw up one more play for what would be a pivotal bucket. The possession ended in a shot-clock violation, though, and Tess Madgen iced the victory from there at the charity stripe for the Opals.

Ezi Magbegor was unstoppable inside for Australia. The Seattle Storm star poured in a game-high 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting and added 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks.

Alanna Smith (13 points and 12 rebounds) also posted a double-double, and the backcourt tandem of Jade Melbourne and Sami Whitcomb combined for 12 assists.

Julie Vanloo paced Belgium with 26 points and dished out 11 dimes, while Emma Meesseman scored 23 points.

Australia's edge on the glass proved to be an important factor in the outcome. It finished with a 44-31 edge in total rebounding, and that translated to a 12-point difference in second-chance scoring.

The Opals are now a six-time medalist in the Summer Games, and this is their first trip to the podium since 2012 after suffering back-to-back quarterfinal exits.

It's been an eventful summer for Quincy Wilson, but the United States track star now has to go back to reality.

On Saturday, after winning gold in the men's 4x400-meter relay, the 16-year-old Wilson posted a picture with his medal and expressed his remorse about having to return to high school in just a few weeks.

"Dang, I really got school in two and a half weeks," Wilson wrote on X.

Wilson made history on Friday, becoming the youngest male track and field athlete to compete in the Olympics when he helped Team USA reach the final in the 4x400-meter relay.

While he didn't run for the team during Saturday's final, he still got a gold medal as the team of Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin set an Olympic Record in the event with a time of 2:54.43.

As he watched from the stands, Wilson was seen cheering on his teammates.

As he returns to Bullis School in Maryland, Wilson will get to tell his classmates about an experience that very few people get the chance to take part in. The rising star will also begin preparations for Los Angeles in 2028, where he'll likely have the chance to repeat as a gold medalist.

Team USA basketball seemingly took a jab at track star Noah Lyles after winning a gold medal on Saturday.

"Are we the World Champs now?" Team USA posted on X after the win over France in the gold-medal game.

The post from Team USA is a callback to August of last year when Lyles called NBA teams out for referring to themselves as "World Champions" despite playing in a league consisting of teams just from America and Canada.

"You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have 'world champion' on their head," Lyles said. "World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong, I love the U.S., at times, but that ain't the world."

Lyles' comments sparked a year-long debate about whether the NBA champions can call themselves the world champions.

On one hand, the NBA consists of the best players in the world, not just the United States, making a point towards the argument of it being a world league. On the other hand, the league is different than track and field, where every year athletes from every country come together to compete to truly find out who the best in the world is.

Either way, both Team USA and Lyles can call themselves world champions after this year's Olympics. Lyles won gold in the 100-meter while the United States went unbeaten on its way to a fifth straight gold medal.

Could 2024 be the last time Kevin Durant suits up for Team USA?

The Phoenix Suns standout won his fourth gold medal as the U.S. defeated France 98-87 in the gold medal game on Saturday. Durant is the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. at the Olympics, but his status for 2028 is not settled.

Following the win, Durant was asked about the possibility of him playing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. He took a conservative approach, declaring "we'll see."

Durant has been on every U.S. team at the Olympics since 2012.

Durant averaged 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists across his Olympic slate. He scored 15 points in the gold medal game and added four assists and rebounds.

His only start came in the gold medal game and he had a different role on this loaded U.S. team. Still, he made his presence felt and became the first men's player to earn four gold medals at the Olympics.

Durant will be 39 when the 2028 Olympics occur and would be in a similar position to what LeBron James was in this year. A motivator could be the chance to win the gold at home, something Durant has never had the opportunity to do in his Olympic career.

Steph Curry knows a thing or two about championships.

The four-time NBA champ earned his first Olympic gold medal on Saturday when Team USA took down France 98-87 in Paris.

Following the game, Curry reflected on the moment on the NBC broadcast with Mike Tirico and said that he considers this accomplishment among his highest in the sport:

This was a test. Obviously France in their home building, you knew they weren't going to quit and they threw everything at us. There was a little bit of that a new team like we have, no matter how much talent we have, we got a little out of sorts down the stretch. Turned the ball over, taking quick shots and obviously it was a big shot to put us up six, that kind of settled everything and then the rhythm, the avalanche came and thankfully the other three went in but that was an unbelievable moment. I've been blessed to play basketball at a high level for a very long time. This ranks very high in terms of the excitement and the sense of relief getting to the finish line.

Curry later celebrated the moment with Anthony Edwards:

He continued by saying that he has had Olympic gold on his mind for a few years and finishing the job is something he is happy to have accomplished.

It is special. Two years ago when we won our last championship, I knew that this was going to be on the horizon as something that I was excited to go after. Anything you sign up for, any mission that you take on, you give everything you have, so these last… five weeks together with this group has been nothing but 'One-two-three gold.' That's all we've been saying. So for us to finally accomplish that, for me to get a gold medal is insane and I thank God for the opportunity to experience it.

Curry played a major role in the U.S. victory. He led the team with 24 points and was 8-of-13 from beyond the arc. This came after a 36-point performance in the semifinal against Serbia, a game in which the U.S. had to come back to win 95-91.

He averaged 14.8 points across the Olympic run, but his final two games will be the ones that are remembered in the future.

For the first time in Olympic history, the gold-medal winners in beach volleyball hail from Sweden.

Sweden's David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig defeated Germany's Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler in Saturday's gold-medal game in two sets to claim the title. Norway's Christian Sørum and Anders Mol, who won gold in Tokyo in 2021, earned bronze after defeating Qatar's Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan.

Sweden has been dominant throughout the Olympics in beach volleyball, and now Åhman and Hellvig have their first gold medal.

Medal Winners

Gold: David Åhman and Jonatan Hellvig, Sweden

Silver: Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler, Germany

Bronze: Christian Sørum and Anders Mol, Norway

Coming into the Olympics, longtime teammates Åhman and Hellvig were ranked No. 1 by the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Rankings. Once they got to Paris, they proved that they deserved that ranking.

The two dropped two early matchups in the preliminary phase to Qatar and Italy, but once the tournament started, they were unconscious. Sweden beat Cuba in three sets in the round of 16, Brazil in the quarterfinals and Qatar in the semifinals before advancing to Saturday's final against Germany.

Coming into the match, Germany had all the momentum. It hadn't lost through the preliminary phase and beat Brazil, The Netherlands and Norway on the way to the final. Once they faced off against Åhman and Hellvig, Ehlers and Wickler just couldn't get it done.

The gold-medal match was completely one-sided as Sweden won the first set 21-10 and the second set 21-13.

Åhman and Hellvig are both just 22 years old and playing in their first Olympics. After the way they dominated in Paris, it won't be surprising if the two can come home with another gold in Los Angeles in 2028.

The United States men's basketball team captured a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal on Saturday with a 98-87 win over Victor Wembanyama and France in Paris.

The star of the day was guard Steph Curry, who put together a second straight sensational performance. Curry led all scorers with 24 points, all of which came from beyond the arc.

Fans, media and fellow NBA players took to social media to praise his performance and declare him an instant Olympic legend.

While it is the fifth consecutive medal for Team USA, it is Curry's first personally. He also added five assists and two steals in the win.

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker each added 15 points while LeBron James had 14 in the win. France was led by Victor Wembanyama, who had 26 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

The United States now has 17 all-time gold medals in men's basketball.