Team USA Wins Gold in Women’s Basketball and Surpasses China in the Medal Table

The U.S. women’s basketball team won its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal , beating host France by the narrowest of margins, one point. Team USA won 67-66 in a closely contested final match.

No team has been able to outscore the Americans during this impressive 61-game winning streak. This win was the closest the U.S. has had in its quest to win an Olympic gold medal since the 1988 Games, when they beat Yugoslavia by seven points. The only other team to hold the U.S. to a single-digit lead in a gold medal match was South Korea at the 1984 Games .

Team USA Wins Gold in Women’s Basketball and Surpasses China in the Medal Table.

The women’s victory came less than 24 hours after the U.S. men’s team also beat France in the title match. This was the first time in Olympic history that both gold medal matches featured the same two teams .

The first half of the match was a strange one , with the United States seemingly unable to find an offensive rhythm against a very physical French defense. France briefly took the lead, 25-23 just before the end of the first half, but the United States rallied and was able to tie it just before the buzzer , bringing the score to 25-25 by the time halftime rolled around.

When play resumed, the United States did not score until more than three minutes into the quarter. At one point, it trailed by as many as ten points. It rallied late and on the final possession, needing a three-pointer to send the game into overtime, the French shot attempt was successful, only it counted as a double because Gabby Williams was on the three-point line.

The United States Overtook China in the Medal Table.

The gold medal race between the United States and China was decided at the end of the Paris Olympics . After 16 days of competition, the United States and China will share the title of most gold medals in 2024.

However, the United States won the overall medal count with 126 medals (40 gold, 44 silver and 42 bronze). China came in second in the overall medal count with 91 (40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze).

The United States had been battling with China for the gold medal lead at the Paris Olympics for the past few days. The North American country entered the final day of competition with one gold medal behind China (38 to 39) .

China claimed an early gold medal on Sunday when Li Wenwen won the top medal in the women’s +81kg weightlifting. The United States followed with its own gold when Jennifer Valente defended her women’s omnium title in track cycling .

With the United States down by a gold medal to China, it would all come down to the women’s basketball final and a chance to tie China for the most gold medals at the Paris Olympics, achieving this after a victory by the still-undefeated Team USA players .