Romania take golds in eights final, US finishes 4th.

Romania's women's eight rowing team celebrate their gold medal race win at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

Romania was back as best in the world in the women’s eights at the Summer Olympics on Saturday. The crew coxed by Stefania Victoria Petreanu won the gold medal for the first time since 2004 at the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne. The Canadians beat Great Britain late in the race to take silver, leaving the British with the bronze. 

The six boats were close together at the five-hundred mark with Romania slightly out front. Halfway in, the Romanians put in a heavy pace, with Canada and Great Britain, who were the defending champions, in third. The United States was close to Team GB, sitting two seats back, approaching the 500-meter mark. Romana gave themselves enough room to row away with the gold, but the silver spot was close with Canada, and Great Britain. 

Romania put up a time of 5:54.39, winning by more than four seconds. At the finish line, Canada beat the British for the silver medal, with a six-seat lead. The US women didn’t have enough to stay in pace with Great Britain, coming into the line in fourth. 

Cheptegi wins gold, setting Olympic record in men's 10k

Joshua Cheptegi poses with his new Olympic record in the men's 10,000 meter final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

Joshua Cheptegi, the 2023 world champion and world record holder turned gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics Friday night. His time of 26:43.14 in the men’s 10,000-meter final was an Olympic record at Stade de France. The Ugandan blew away the best list of runners assembled, with himself a former event medalist. Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia narrowly took the silver medal away from American Grant Fisher, who won the bronze. Defending Olympic champion Selemon Barega finished in seventh denied a repeat at gold. 

The defending medalists were back for another shot at becoming back-to-back champions for the first time since Mo Farah in 2012 and 2016. Only five men have accomplished back-to-back gold medals in Olympic history, with a good chance at it happening for the sixth time. 

The pace was above normal nearing the halfway point of the race, where two of three from Ethiopia were leading. Barega rejoined his teammates after dropping back to the middle of the pack. With ten laps to go and 6,000 meters in, Barega led the group, with American Grant Fisher still in the top four. Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed moved into second before the 7,000-meter mark, trying to put himself in a lock for a medal. 

The Kenyas and Ugandans sat behind the leaders, waiting for the right moment to move in and steal the spot when it counted. 13 runners in the front pack came to the mark with 2,000 meters to go and Aregawi back in front with Ahmed behind him. At the last lap, Cheptegi moved into the lead with Ahmed tailing him. Fisher moved into second and at the line it was Cheptegi winning gold. Ahmed missed the medal by 33 hundredths of a second, leaving him devastated to wait again. 

Biles lands gold in women's all-around; Lee wins bronze

Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee celebrate together after winning gold and bronze respectively in the women's all-around final. 

Simone Biles proved again that she is the greatest gymnast of all time at the Paris Summer Olympics on Thursday night. The Texas native finished the women’s all-around final, taking the gold medal by nearly two points. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won the silver and Sunisa Lee won the bronze. It was the third time two Americans ended up on the podium in the Olympics. 

For the first time in Olympic gymnastics history, two former champions of the all-around competition competed against one another, potentially becoming the first two-time gold medalist in the event. Biles won the gold in the event eight years ago in Rio, while Lee stood out as the reigning Olympic gold medalist. Both gymnasts competed on the same apparatus rotation, making each move they made crucial. 

Lee was the first to go on the vault, scoring 13.933 but was soon eclipsed by Andrade, who earned 15.100. Biles delivered an explosive vault that got her 15.766, with a difficulty rating of 6.4. It was the highest difficulty rating on the apparatus, earning her the top spot at the end of the first rotation. 

Their next apparatus was the uneven bars, which Andrade excelled on, giving her a shot at being the scoring leader. She got her routine underway, putting on a clean run through the bars, and had a small hop on the landing. The judges scored her 14.666, right before Biles got 13.733 on a routine that saw her take an extra swing. The judges took the addition into account, including barely avoiding touching the floor. 

Nemour left no one surprised after her incredible bars routine, scoring 15.533, putting her behind Andrade for second and in front of Biles. Lee went last, earning 14.866 after delivering technical finesse in her routine, getting her within a point of the four ahead. The third rotation took the Americans to the balance beam, with Biles going first. 

The 27-year-old did not perform the Biles two, but received 14.566, getting her back to first place. Lee posted a score of 14.000, having had small errors in her routine, but reached closer to Italy’s Alice D’Amato. Algieria’s Kaylia Nemour inquired about her score and found herself tied for third with Lee. 

Andrade went last for the group, starting the beam with a lower difficulty rating but managed 14.133, moving her back into second place. All left for the girls was the floor exercise, and the Italians went first to close the competition. D’Amato got 13.5, leaving her to wait desperately for everyone else to finish and see where she ends up. She did not get enough to find her way to the podium, with Lee, Biles, and Andrade left to compete. 

The 21-year-old American improved her routine from the team finals, earning 13.666. It moved her into first, followed by Andrade’s performance, seeing her step out of bounds. It did not affect her chances of a medal, putting her ahead of Lee for the silver medal. Biles was the last gymnast to go and needed a clean routine to win the gold. 13.867 was all the American needed, earning 15.066 to clinch it for the second time in history. 

Biles became the oldest woman since the 1952 Helsinki Games to win gold in gymnastics. Lee and Biles marked the third time that both Americans medaled in the event since 2008. Biles had six gold medals in her career, leaving her the most decorated gymnast in Olympic history. 

Team USA wins gold in women's team final

Team USA women's gymnastics team celebrates thier gold medal performance at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. 

Team USA took home the gold medal in a thrilling performance unmatched at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on Tuesday night in Paris. In front of many celebrities, family, and fans, the U.S. Women won the gymnastics team final at the Bercy Arena. For the third time since 1996, Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey stood on top of all. Italy earned the silver medal, followed by Brazil, who won the bronze. 

After a wonderful performance in their subdivision qualification, the Americans were ready to best their silver medal from Tokyo and be on top for the first time since 2016. China and Japan were their closest competition in the Olympics but needed massive numbers to get close.

The United States women got underway on vault with  Chiles and Jade Carey nailing their attempts, sticking the landing each. Biles chose to perform a less difficult vault due to her tapped left calf. Her 14.900 bested her teammates, putting Team USA a point and a half ahead of China after the first rotation. 

The second rotation had the United States on uneven bars with Italy joining them. Chiles led the team off and brought their best early, scoring 14.366 before Biles went up. Italy’s Alice D’Amato, who won a spot in the apparatus final, scored 14.633. 

The 27-year-old American sped through her bars routine and slammed her feet to the mat. A 14.400 bested Chiles but not Sunisa Lee, who swept the floor with her feet and managed 14.566 based on her difficulty. At the halfway point, Team USA was three points ahead of Italy and four over China.

In the third rotation, the lineup for Team USA remained the same on the balance beam, but an unfortunate fall for Chiles occurred. At the start of her routine, the 23-year-old dropped off the beam for a one-point deduction, leaning too far to the left after jumping up. She finished the routine and earned 12.733, but had her teammates left to keep them on top. Lee had an excellent routine that earned the team 14.600, with Biles to close them out. She earned  14.366, giving them a 3.6-point lead over Italy and nearly five against Great Britain. 

Last up for the United States women was the floor exercise and Lee went first. The 21-year-old put together a masterful routine, earning the team 13.533. Chiles had several difficult tumbling passes in her routine and brought 13.966 with Biles left for the night. Italy guaranteed their team a medal halfway through the final rotation ending a 96-year drought. Biles stepped out of bounds twice during her floor routine, but it wasn’t enough for them to get anything less than gold. 

A total of 171.296 was what the US produced, followed by Italy, who beat Brazil by less than a point. Both countries made history by winning medals in the team competition for either the first time or ever. 

Krejcikova wins in three sets at the Summer Olympics

Barbora Krejcikova serves up a shot during the round of 16 match against Elina Svitolina at the Summer Olympics. 

Elina Svitolina gave it her best but the heat and competition were too much to overcome at the Summer Olympics Tuesday. Barbora Krejcikovabrought her best back to the grounds of Roland Garros to defeat the Ukrainian 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4 on Court Simone Mathieu. The doubles gold medalist brought out all the skills to make the last eight of the women’s singles tournament.

The two met back on the grounds of Roland Garros for the second time in three years. Their last meeting went the way of the Czech, who went on to win the championship. This year’s French Open didn’t go well for Krejcikova, going 0-4 during the clay court season. Her battle against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo was challenging, then caught a break against Xinyu Wang in the second round. 

The Ukrainian eased through the opening round and faced a tough Jessica Pegula, who didn’t have great records on clay but it was a late night victory for Svitolina. As the only defending medalist in the tournament, the 29-year-old wanted a win to come against Krejcikova by any means. 

Her efforts to play strong came through as she conducted a string of early victories against the Czech. After holding serve, she caught a break point chance at deuce to take the lone AD point and sit two games up. Svitolina consolidated, holding serve on Krejcikova, having the largest lead of the tournament to date. 

The Czech didn’t have her serve in check during the fourth game, suffering a double fault and errors. With the break chances in hand, Krejcikova erased them from memory, getting to deuce on a drop shot near the net. Krejcikova handled the AD point, scoring a crosscourt winner to notch a win in the set. 

A break on Svitolina lessened the gap for Krejcikova after the fifth game, earning a chance to overcome the entire deficit. Svitolina broke back in the sixth, only to suffer another breakback at the hands of Krejcikova in the seventh. The Czech scored the shutout on serve, leveling the score at the business end of the set. 

Svitolina worked hard in the ninth, needing two breaks to hold serve and play for the set. Krejcikova killed off that scenario, holding the Ukrainian to a point in the tenth. Svitolina responded serving Krejcikova to love, but breaking her was not in the cards. The 28-year-old held Svitolina to a point to force the set to a tiebreak. The two traded errors to one another, keeping the score close through five points. 

The two traded errors and winners to remain locked through ten points until an ace gave Krejcikova set point. A long ball from Svitolina handed the Czech the much-awaited victory after an hour of play. Both combined for 36 errors, with Krejcikova having the most. It came down to Svitolina’s four double faults that beat up her second serve, and unable to keep up with the Czech’s offensive pace.

Krejcikova got into the second, holding serve on the Ukrainian, who needed more from her service to get the job done. The Czech took her through two breaks before she could secure the one-all score. The 29-year-old managed to counter in the third, forcing deuce and winning it on the first break. Krejcikova tried to break back in the fourth, forcing deuce to gain a break-point chance. It was the only one she reached, while the Ukrainian took three attempts to clinch her service. The Czech kept her serve short in the fifth, followed by Svitolina, who had a two-game margin in her favor. 

The 29-year-old widened the gap, scoring a break in the seventh game to serve for a second straight deciding set. She got it done, serving to love, forcing them to the distance after 48 minutes. Svitolina limited the number of errors to six while Krejcikova had 22 in the set. It explained her struggle to return balls across the net and into another full-length match. 

Svitolina took the third to a new level, breaking Krejcikova and consolidating the effort on serve in the second. The 29-year-old blew her chance to double-break the Czech, allowing her opponent to save her service game, avoiding a three-game slide. Krejcikova rallied in the fourth, nearly breaking Svitolina to love. The Ukrainian battled back to force deuce but after two breaks, the win went to the 28-year-old. 

Krejcikova backed up the break in the fifth, holding off another threat from the Ukrainian. Svitolina scored her third shutout, only to watch her opponent do the same for a 4-3 lead. Krejcikova called the trainer to deal with a blister on her toe before proceeding with the eighth game. It was there that she watched breakpoints slip away and somehow score the break on deuce. 

The 28-year-old served for the match, falling behind on back-to-back errors. It left Svitolina with the break chance, taking it on a crosscourt winner. Krejcikova still had room to close out the match and earned three match points on costly errors from Svitolina. A wide return from the 29-year-old brought her tournament to an end and a place for Krejcikova in the quarterfinals after 2 hours and 48 minutes. 

Svitolina beats Pegula in three sets at Paris Olympics

Elina Svitolina celebrates a game-winner during the second-round match against Jessica Pegula at the Summer Olympics. 

Elina Svitolina played into the late into the Parisian night to move forward in the Summer Olympics Monday night. Jessica Pegula proved a formidable opponent early but overcame her in three sets winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 on Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros. 

The defending bronze medalist won her opening match against Moyuka Uchijima in straight sets, allowing the Japanese player three games. The challenge increased exponentially as she faced the world number six for the sixth time in their career. The American carried a 4-1 series lead, but none of their matches came on clay. Pegula didn’t play any tournaments on the surface due to an injury. Her win over Vikorija Golubic in straight sets allowed her to concentrate on playing up to speed on clay, and defeat the Ukrainian once more. 

Svitolina opened the scoring and went after the American in the second, only to come up short on deuce. Pegula upped the ante in the third, jumping to a breakpoint opportunity that gave her the lead. Svitolina broke back due to a couple of errors from Pegula’s forehand and controlled her serve in the fifth to consolidate. Pegula leveled the score after the sixth, scoring her first serve to love on the Ukrainian. 

Svitolina clinched another service hold, avoiding a lengthy deuce with the American, firing a brilliant backhanded crosscourt winner. The 30-year-old answered with another serve to love, maintaining an even keel on the scoreboard. She battled late in the ninth game, getting into a tight rally near the net, which ended with Svitolina losing on a ball into the net. Pegula played for the set, earning key points on long balls from the 29-year-old to end the first in 41 minutes. 

Two double faults were a big problem for Svitolina, whose second serve struggled offensively. Despite nine winners, her 15 unforced and previous factors dropped her momentum in the late stages of the set. 

She moved on into the second, holding serve on Pegula to get the set rolling. Pegula allowed her opponent a point before capping the second game. Svitolina shot beautifully in the third, smashing shots away from the American to lead on. In the fourth, the two got into a pop fly rally on the final point, when Svitolina stopped play due to a ball falling long of the baseline. The umpire determined she was correct and went on to go a break up at 3-1. 

Errors forced a breakback chance for Pegula, who was denied on a second ace from the 29-year-old. She kept the winners coming, clinching the AD point to consolidate the break. The American tried to turn things around but struggled to counter Svitolina on deuce. After two breaks, the Ukrainian had the double break in hand to serve for a chance at a decider. 

A drop in her game forced Svitolina to get aggressive and bring the game near the net. She forced deuce on errors from Pegula and took the set on a ball into the net ending 34 minutes of play. Svitolina limited the double faults in half, improving the second serve to 90 percent won from it. Pegula’s reception of points dropped with only 12 of 38 and 14 errors from her end. 

Svitolina took her momentum into the third and rallied with great depth in the rallies with the American, scoring the early break. She tied a service hold, preventing the world number six from forcing deuce. Pegula got on the board, serving Svitolina to love, but the 29-year-old was laser-focused. She went up 3-1, but let up and erred just enough to get Pegula within a game. As the players approached the business end of the match, holds of serve were key to attain. Svitolina had a two-game buffer in the sixth until a hold from Pegula kept the American within reach. 

The Ukrainian fed off the support in the crowd to take her two-game lead back and play for the match against the 30-year-old. Long balls from Pegula put her behind on serve, inching Svitolina closer to the end. A big return forehand set up Svitolina for match point, which came on a wide return from Pegula closing out the night in 1 hour and 49 minutes. 

US Men finish first, women move to repechage

 

The United States men's eights rowing team in their opening heat at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. 

The United States men’s avoided the repechage, making the finals at the Paris Olympics on Monday. The men set the pace and stayed out front, while the women trailed in theirs and suffered dropped into the repechage at the Vaires-sur Marne Nautical Stadium. Team Great Britain on both sides of the class, made their way to the finals, winning each of their heats. 

The United States men took off in their heat, setting a hot pace that saw the Netherlands on their tail. By the halfway mark, the US opened up to a two-seat lead and continued their pace. At the finish line, they had a five-seat lead to the line coming in with a time of 5:29.94. Joining them in the final was Great Britain, who defeated Italy and Australia. Their time of 5:37.04 was well below the mark the Americans set, but enough to get them into the final on Saturday. 

“It was an exciting one,” said Pieter Quinton of the American boat. “We knew it was going to be a tight race. We were definitely expecting the Dutch to come at us hard, so we knew we had to be ready from the start.”

The women didn’t fare well in their heat against the defending Olympic champs from Romania, who they remained behind in their heat with Italy in tow. The Romanians had a phenomenal pace that the American women couldn’t match on the day. At the 500-meter mark, Romanian had six seats on the United States. 

At the halfway mark, they had more than a boat length on the Americans, flying away with the win. Romania’s time of 6:12.31 was the mark to get into the final. The British women posted a finish of 6:16.20, beating the defending Olympic champions from Canada by more than a boat length. 

The United States joined Italy, Canada, and Demark to fight for a spot in Saturday’s final