Crunch day for teams sports with handball, water polo, football, basketball and volleyball finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
France beat Poland 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 to make it two in a row on top of the Olympic podium.
Players hugged, waved and smiled, thrilled for their entire home country to be part of another celebration in a sport they have only recently come to dominate. Once the shiny medals hung around their necks, the French sang their national anthem in unison with thousands of supporters.
“It’s just crazy to win in front of these fans, our family, our friends, it’s amazing, we have no words about this,” said Trévor Clévenot, France’s 30-year-old outside hitter. “It’s just incredible and we are so happy. It’s so amazing to win here in Paris in front of our fans.”
Ethiopia ends Kenya dominance in Olympic marathon
Ethiopian runner Tamirat Tola won the men’s marathon to end Kenya’s dominance of the race. Tola finished in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 26 seconds, with Belgium’s Bashir Abdi finishing 21 seconds behind and Benson Kipruto taking bronze for Kenya, 34 seconds back. The last non-Kenyan to win was Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich at the London Games in 2012.
China completes unprecedented Olympic diving sweep
Cao Yuan defended his title in the men’s 10-meter platform to give China an unprecedented sweep of the diving gold medals at the Paris Olympics.
The Big Red Machine won all eight golds at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, most of them with dominating victories.
Norway beat defending champion France to clinch handball gold
Handball powerhouse Norway beat Tokyo champion France 29-21 in the women’s final at the Paris Games for its third Olympic gold medal, the first since 2012.
Norway’s players jumped with delight and then formed a celebratory huddle before goalkeeper Katrine Lunde grabbed a flag and sprinted around the Paris Bercy Arena with it raised over head.
Henny Reistad once again showed her prolific scoring ability with eight goals from 12 shots.
Spain beat Australia 11-9 for gold in women’s water polo
Bea Ortiz scored four goals as Spain won its first Olympic gold medal in women’s water polo. Maica García Godoy had three goals as Spain finished with a perfect 7-0 record. Anni Espar Llaquet scored twice, and Martina Terre made 15 saves.
It was a sweet moment for Ortiz and Spain after they lost 14-5 to the United States in the final at the Tokyo Olympics. Spain also lost to the U.S. in the gold-medal match in London in 2012, but the country finally finished on top in Paris.
“We wanted the gold,” Espar Llaquet said. “We fought and we finally achieved that Olympic gold.”
China first non-European team to claim gold in rhythmic gymnastics
China pulled off a stunner in rhythmic gymnastics Saturday, becoming the first non-European country to win Olympic gold in the group event by finishing just ahead of Israel and Italy.
The five-woman Chinese team of Ding Xinyi, Guo Qiqi, Hao Ting, Huang Zhangjiayang and Wang Lanjing posted a total of 69.800 points in the final, which was divided into two routines: one using hoops, the other with the athletes using ribbons and balls
