Basketball: USA wins women’s gold!
They have been pushed to their limits, but the USA’s incredible gold medal streak continues.
Until the last minute of the game, it was an incredibly close contest in which the USA simply convinced on offense, while France did not.
With about 30 seconds left, France had the chance to reduce the USA lead to 1 or even equalize with a three-pointer, but an ill-considered shot from Marine Fauthoux was blocked by Breanna Stewart. Then it became a free throw game, with France now having to commit a foul to stop the clock and hope the USA would miss.
But despite the noise coming their way, the USA managed to extend their lead at the finish line.
A threesome of Gabby Williams brought France to 1-0 with 3.8 seconds left, but further free throws from Kahleah Copper gave the USA a three-point lead.
Incredibly, Williams managed another shot as time expired, sending the crowd into raptures as they thought she had tied the game – but she was just inside the three-point line, giving the USA the win 67-66 in a game for eternity.
The French fans in the Bercy Arena were stunned – but only for a moment, as they began to realize what their team had accomplished in pushing the giants of women’s basketball to the brink of the abyss.
The crowd applauded both teams, with the applause for The Blues who understandably became emotional at the final whistle.
Williams was incredible for France, scoring 19 points along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals. A’ja Wilson was unstoppable for the USA, scoring 21 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking four shots.
The USA wins its 10th gold medal and eighth in a row. Diana Taurasi (who did not compete in the final) and won his sixth gold medal – a record for an athlete at the Games in any team sport.
Silver goes to France, who are on the podium for the second Games in a row after winning bronze at Tokyo 2020. Australia takes bronze after beating Belgium in the previous match of the day.
🥇USA
🥈France
🥉Australia
