Summer Olympics

An Olympic legend was born last week as Australian B-girl Raygun took centerstage in Paris.

But she won't be back in 2028, with breaking not among the sports returning for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

"It was disappointing that it was decided before we'd even had a chance to show it so I think that was possibly a little premature," Rachael Gunn said.

"I wonder if they're kicking themselves now, particularly because they've got some great American breakers who could totally be on the podium.

The breaking competition didn't go so well for Raygun, as she lost her three group matches by 18-0 scores, failing to receive even one vote from the judges.

The fact that Gunn, a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University, was even in the Olympics is a true underdog story in itself, though.

She's a former ballroom and jazz dancer who didn't start breaking until her mid-20s, per the Olympics website. But Raygun qualified for the Olympics via QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney.

"Look, I came into the event kind of expecting that I wouldn't get a vote," Gunn told Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports afterward.

But she was still happy to be there.

"It was amazing. Such an amazing experience," Gunn told Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports outside the venue at La Concorde. "What a stage, what an arena, what a crowd. Music was great. Like, oh, so, so grateful for the opportunity."

Gunn certainly turned heads with her performance.

Perhaps Raygun will remembered like Eddie the Eagle, the iconic British ski jumper who participated in the 1988 Winter Olympics.

And while Raygun won't be returning in 2028, she can always call herself an Olympic participant after brightening a lot of peoples' days with her spirited efforts.

Nyjah Huston's bronze medal will get the justice it deserves.

The skateboarder posted on Instagram about the deteriorating condition of the medal he won on July 29. It did not take long for the the Olympics to take notice.

TMZ Sports reported that La Monnaie de Paris, the manufacturer of the 2024 medals, will replace the medal and others that deteriorate quickly.

"The medals are the most coveted objects of the Games and the most precious for the athletes," the company told TMZ. "Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris and engraved in an identical way to the originals."

The manufacturer also told TMZ that it is investigating what caused Huston's medal to deteriorate so quickly.

Huston is a 15-time X-Games gold medalist but finished short of the program in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He improved on that total to earn the bronze in Paris, which served as an opportunity for the 29-year-old to add to his legacy.

Huston is not the only athlete to share medal issues as British diver Yasmin Harper also shared that the bronze she won in Paris has experienced similar deterioration.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles in a social media post on Friday after Canada secured a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Lyles previously took shots at the Canadian team after the United States won the event during the World Relays. Canada won gold on Friday, while the U.S. team was unable to earn a spot on the podium after a disqualification due to a botched handoff.

Lyles didn't participate in the event after he tested positive for COVID-19.

The 27-year-old didn't run in the qualifying heats for the relay as he prepared for his 200-meter final, an event that he earned a bronze medal in. Instead, Friday's U.S. team included Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King, and Fred Kerley.

As rain poured down, Bednarek was unable to pass the baton to Coleman until he was outside the handoff zone and resulted in the disqualification. Meanwhile, Canada won its second gold in the event due to a fantastic final leg from Andre De Grasse.

The Canadian team won gold with a time of 37.50 seconds, while South Africa recorded a 37.57-second time to earn a silver medal. Great Britain secured bronze in the event, finishing in 37.61 seconds.

The United States has struggled with passing the baton throughout recent Olympic performances and hasn't been able to earn a medal in the event since the 2004 Games. Canada has fared much better, finishing on the podium for the third consecutive time in the Olympics after earning silver at Tokyo and bronze in Rio de Janeiro.

Despite his absence during the 4x100-meter relay, Lyles still wrapped up an impressive performance in Paris after taking home a gold medal in the 100-meter dash.

However, Trudeau and the Canadian relay team were able to get the last laugh on Friday.

Spain is the men's soccer Olympic champion for the first time in 32 years.

Spain overcame a stunning comeback attempt from France as Sergio Camello scored twice in extra time to seal a 5-3 gold medal victory Friday at the 2024 Paris Games.

France was first to score during the gold medal match thanks to a goal from Enzo Millot in the 11th minute.

Spain responded by scoring three goals in ten minutes. These included back-to-back strikes by Fermín López, who will finish his debut OIympics with six goals in as many games.

Álex Baena, who helped set up López's earlier equalizer, added to Spain's lead by curving a 28th-minute free kick into the net.

Spanish goalkeeper Arnau Tenas dove across the goalmouth to save a chance from Manu Koné minutes before France finally cut into Spain's lead with a free kick from Maghnes Akliouche.

The host nation completed the comeback from a two-goal deficit in stoppage time as Jean-Philippe Mateta scored on a penalty kick to even the match at 3-3.

Sergio Camello, who entered the match off the bench, played the hero for Spain by recovering the lead with a go-ahead goal in the 100th minute.

Camello then scored again in the final minutes of play in order to put away the victory.

These two teams also clashed during the Euros finals in July. During the previous contest, Spain claimed a 2-1 victory to advance to the final.

Despite the support of the home crowd at the Parc des Princes, France's comeback attempt at redemption fell short. The men's team will still take home their first Olympic medal in the tournament in 40 years.

After Team USA fell short once again in the 4x100 relay at the Paris Olympics, former track great Carl Lewis voiced his opinion on the United States' shortcomings.

Lewis, a nine-time gold medalist, was frustrated with both the system as well as the team's plan of attack after star Noah Lyles was forced to miss the event due to COVID-19.

NBC's Lewis Johnson said the following about his conversation with Lewis:

A few moments ago I talked with Olympic legend Carl Lewis, who was down here just a few feet away from me as the men's 4x100-meter relay was contested. Carl is furious. He's angry about multiple things. First of all, he's angry about a system that he says is not set up to help the athletes from the United States move forward and do well. He is also angry at the fact that they just didn't seem to have the right people in the right places. He said that if Noah Lyles is out sick with COVID, they should have just replaced the anchor leg and nothing else. But the fact that they reordered the entire relay had him worried, and at the end had him upset." 

The United States finished seventh in the 4x100 relay on Friday but was ultimately disqualified after a botched first handoff between Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek. Coleman was outside of the handoff zone when he made the exchange to Bednarek, but even before the disqualification, the team was too far behind to mount a comeback.

The United States hasn't medaled in the event since 2004 and hasn't won gold since 2000. Since then, passing the baton has proved to be a consistent issue.

In 2008, Darvis Patton and Tyson Gay fumbled the exchange heading into the last leg of the semifinal race, costing the U.S. a spot in the final. In 2016, the United States finished in position for a bronze medal, but was disqualified after the exchange between Mike Rodgers and Justin Gatlin occurred outside of the designated zone.

The Tokyo Olympics saw the United States fail to make it past its preliminary heat because of another bungled baton exchange, this time between Fred Kerley and Ronnie Baker.

Lewis later doubled down on his statement, expressing his issues with the system on X.

Whether the United States will listen to Lewis, who won gold in the 4x100-relay twice, is to be determined, but it's clear something needs to change before Los Angeles in 2028.

Marileidy Paulino became the first woman from the Dominican Republic to ever win gold at the Summer Olympics on Friday.

Paulino won the women's 400 meters in a landslide over Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser inside the Stade de France.

Paulino took gold in an Olympic record time of 48.17 seconds to win just the third medal of the Paris Games for the Dominican Republic.

Results

1. Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic) - 48.17 seconds

2. Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain) - 48.53

3. Natalia Kaczmarek (Poland) - 48.98

4. Rhasidat Adeleke (Ireland) - 49.28

5. Amber Anning (Great Britain) - 49.29

6. Alexis Holmes (United States) - 49.77

7. Sada Williams (Barbados) - 49.83

8. Henriette Jaeger (Norway) - 49.96

No one in the field was going to catch Paulino at her pace on Friday.

Paulino took down the Olympic record, which was previously set in 1996, by eight-hundredths of a second.

Paulino's only competition in the final 200 meters was the clock. She cleared the rest of the field by the turn home for the final 100 meters.

She made history with the first-ever female gold medal at the Summer Games for the Dominican Republic.

The Caribbean nation only has three medals at the Paris Games. The other two were bronze medals in boxing.

Salwa Eid Naser brought home the silver for Bahrain, while Natalia Kaczmarek landed the bronze medal for Poland.

Canada stunned the field to win the men's 4x100-meter relay on Friday.

The Canadians won from an outside lane to upset the United States, France and China, all of whom finished outside the medal positions.

Team USA was out of the race by the end of the first leg. A poor exchange between Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek doomed the American hopes of medaling.

The U.S., which was without Noah Lyles following a positive test for COVID-19, was ultimately disqualified after initially crossing the finish line in seventh.

Results

1. Canada - 37.50 seconds

2. South Africa - 37.57

3. Great Britain - 37.61

4. Italy - 37.68

5. Japan - 37.78

6. France - 37.81

7. China - 38.06

8. United States (disqualified)

Canada, South Africa and Great Britain made up a shocking set of podium finishers.

Canada produced its winning time of 37.50 seconds from Lane 9. The United States and France were in the middle lanes as the top qualifiers.

As for the poor first exchange that resulted in the disqualification, the timing was off between Coleman and Bednarek. The two collided at the end of the exchange zone and it looked like Bednarek took off faster than he should have in his attempt to receive the baton.

Team USA could not salvage anything before the end of the race, and it would not have mattered anyway due to the disqualification.

Team USA's dreadful relay extended a streak of five straight Summer Olympics without a medal in the men's 4x100 relay.

The last medal in the event was a silver in 2004. The Americans have not won the 4x100 since Sydney in 2000.

South Africa won its first-ever men's 4x100 relay medal by taking second behind Canada. Great Britain's third-place mark ended a 4x100 medal drought that lasted since 2004.

Sha'Carri Richardson took a look back at her competition just before she crossed the finish line, securing a gold medal for the United States in the 4x100-meter relay at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Richardson anchored a U.S. team that included Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry. Friday's victory represented the first gold in the event for Team USA since 2016.

After she previously won silver in the 100-meter dash, Richardson earned her second overall medal and first gold in Paris.

Despite rainy conditions, the U.S. women's team still finished with an impressive time of 41.78 seconds. Great Britain earned silver with a 41.85-second time, while Germany secured a bronze medal by finishing in 41.97 seconds.

While Richardson wasn't leading the race during her baton exchange with Thomas, she still surged to the front of the pack and recorded a split of 10.09 seconds in her final leg. Her time represented the second-fastest split on the U.S. team, as Terry recorded a 9.98-second time.

The United States previously fell to Jamaica in the event during the Tokyo Olympics, finishing with a silver medal. The Jamaican team was unable to earn a spot on the podium during Friday's race, sitting at No. 5 by posting a time of 42.29 seconds.

The gold medal wrapped up Richardson's Olympic debut, as she was able to earn some hardware in both of the events that she competed in.

Friday's win represented the 10th for Team USA in track and field, bringing the gold-medal total to 31 for the United States. While the U.S. holds a commanding lead in the overall medal count with 107, China still owns the most golds in the Paris Games with 32.

As for Richardson, she ended her trip to Paris on a high note.

The United States needed the speed of Sha'Carri Richardson to win the women's 4x100-meter relay at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Friday.

Richardson bailed out Team USA with a 10.09-second final leg after two average baton exchanges.

Richardson breezed past the field in the final 100 meters and even had time to look at her closest competition as she finished off the third American gold in the women's 4x100 in the last four Olympics.

Results

1. United States - 41.78 seconds

2. Great Britain - 41.85

3. Germany - 41.97

4. France - 42.23

5. Jamaica - 42.29

6. Canada - 42.69

7. Netherlands - 42.74

Switzerland - Disqualified

Team USA's first-place finish was not secured until Richardson took the baton on the final leg. The Americans had two questionable exchanges between the second and third as well as the third and fourth legs.

Melissa Jefferson, the bronze medalist in the 100 meters, started strong and delivered a clean handoff to Twanisha Terry.

Terry ran the only sub-10 second split among the American runners, but her pass off to 200-meter champion Gabby Thomas took a little longer than expected.

Thomas' handoff to Richardson was shaky as well, but the Americans did not have to worry about those exchanges costing them the win.

Richardson was only a few strides back of the lead when she started her leg, and then she easily cruised to the finish line.

Richardson turned in a 10.09-second split on the final leg. That was eight-tenths of a second better than the time that earned her silver in the women's 100 meters.

Great Britain and Germany took second and third, respectively, behind Team USA.

The gold was the 10th for Team USA in track and field and the 105th overall medal at the Paris Games.

Steve Kerr has addressed Jayson Tatum's playing time once again.

The Team USA coach did not utilize the forward in the team's 95-91 victory over Serbia in the semi-final round. It was the second time that Tatum did not see the court in the Olympics, and Kerr said that the issue is a "math problem" and not reflective of Tatum's ability.

"It's not about anything Jayson is doing or not doing," Kerr said, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. "It's just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It's just a math problem more than anything."

The saga with Tatum's playing time began in the opening game of the Olympic tournament when Tatum did not touch the court in a 110-84 victory over Serbia. He and Tyrese Haliburton were the only players who did not play in that game, and the same occurred during the second matchup between the teams.

Tatum has averaged 6.3 points, six rebounds and three assists in the other three games the U.S. has played. While these numbers aren't revolutionary, Tatum's play with the Boston Celtics in 2023-24 makes the exclusion puzzling.

He averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 74 games for the Celtics and helped lead the team to the 2024 NBA Championship. It was his first title and he was rewarded with a major contract extension following the season.

In addition to his NBA excellence, he has found success on the international stage as well. He was on the 2020 Olympic squad that took gold in Tokyo and averaged 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists on that run.

While Tatum did not get the chance to showcase his talents against Serbia in the 2024 Olympics, he now hopes to make an impact in the gold medal game. The U.S. is set to face France at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday for a chance to earn a fifth consecutive gold medal.