Nigeria’s D’Tigress experienced a 74-88 quarter-final loss to the U.S. women’s basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday night.
Nigeria, who have made physical play a trademark, looked anything but intimidated by the powerhouse Americans as they traded buckets in the opening minutes.
Two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A’Ja Wilson scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to pace a US side that could break a tie with the US men’s basketball team for the most consecutive Olympic golds — set from 1936-68.
Jackie Young added 15 points and Breanna Stewart — another two-time WNBA MVP chipped in 13.
The US will face Australia in the semi-finals on Friday after the Opals saw off Serbia 85-67.
France beat Olympic newcomers Germany 84-71 to set up a semi-final against European champions Belgium, 79-66 winners over previously unbeaten Spain.
France, led by 24 points from Marine Johannes, delighted fans, but the United States were the big draw at Bercy Arena.
NBA superstar LeBron James and USA teammate Bam Adebayo were courtside for the clash between the US dynasty and the first team from Africa, male or female, to make the Olympic basketball quarter-finals.
American Quincy Hall dug deep in the final metres to overhaul Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith and take the Olympic 400 metres gold in another race of scintillating quality on Wednesday.
Hudson-Smith seemed on course to win his country’s first gold over the distance since “Chariots of Fire” Eric Liddell in the Paris Games 100 years ago, but he tied up at the end and Hall swept past to win in a personal best 43.40 seconds and give the U.S. their first triumph since LaShawn Merritt in 2008.
Hudson-Smith bettered his own European record with 43.44 for silver and Zambia’s 21-year-old Muzala Samukonga set his second successive national record with 43.74 to take bronze.
The first five men home were all under 44 seconds.
Daniel Wiffen became the first Irishman to win an Olympic swimming medal when he struck gold with a thrilling 800 meters freestyle victory at the Paris Games on Tuesday.
With his twin brother watching in the crowd, the 23-year-old world champion touched out in an Olympic record time of seven minutes 38.19 seconds to secure Ireland’s first gold of the Games.
Daniel Wiffen of Team Ireland celebrates with his medal at the Paris La Défense Arena during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Reigning Olympic champion Bobby Finke of the United States took the silver, 0.56 behind, and Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri the bronze.
The only other Irish swimmer to win an Olympic swimming title was women’s triple champion Michelle Smith in 1996, and Wiffen was also the North’s first gold medallist in 36 years.
Elijah Winnington led for the first 350 metres, with Wiffen easing into second place only at 250, but the Australian faded and the battle between the top three took off.
Wiffen led at the halfway point with Finke second, but Paltrinieri took the lead at 650 and stayed there until the final 50.
Daniel in action
The Armagh man, who had appeared to be spent, then turned on the afterburners and blasted down the final length to touch the wall first.
He turned around in triumph, putting his hands to his head before raising his fists to salute the crowd – with a vocal Irish contingent – at the La Defense Arena.
Wiffen won 800 and 1,500 gold at the world championships in Doha in February.
Tokyo 2020 marked the return of the men’s event for the first time since 1904 and Wiffen missed out on the final, but he laid down a marker in Paris with the fastest qualifying time in Monday’s heats.
Wiffen said: “I don’t think a lot of people actually believed me that I was going to do it tonight but yeah it was incredible. I’ve done it – that’s all I want to say!
“I was so nervous, that’s the most nervous I’ve ever been for a race but do you know what calmed me down – I heard by brother shout for me as soon as I walked out. I heard none of the crowd – just him, and that’s what calmed me down, and really levelled my head.”
“I’m not going to lie, there’s this whole saying going around that I’m getting ‘Finked’ – I’m glad to say I haven’t been ‘Finked” so obviously pretty happy to get my hand on the wall first.”
Simone Biles claimed her first Olympic gold medal since coming to terms with the ‘twisties’.
Watched by Serena Williams and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Biles brought the house down with her show-closing floor routine, showing none of the injury angst that had afflicted her during the qualifying process two days earlier.
Biles in action at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics
In truth Biles could simply have swirled around the floor and soaked up the acclaim such was the American dominance of the competition, as they finished almost six points clear of silver medallists Italy.
Great Britain, whose squad was decimated by injuries to the Gadirova twins and Ondine Achampong, qualified in seventh and could harbour few realistic hopes of emulating their stunning bronze medal win in Tokyo three years ago.
But the team of Becky Downie, Alice Kinsella, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Ruby Evans and 16-year-old Abigail Martin confounded expectations with a near-faultless display and were placed third until the final piece of apparatus.
Downie admitted the team briefly believed they may have just done enough to reach the podium but ultimately, Brazil’s big finish on vault let the South Americans leapfrog into the bronze medal position.
“Once Alice had gone through beam I thought we’d done enough from our adding-up, but then it came through that we were going to be fourth,” said Downie.
“It is tough when you come so close, but we gave our all. It was an emotional day for me but I felt quite calm. I wanted to take it all in because I know I don’t have many of these moments left, and I enjoyed every minute.”
The day was especially poignant for Downie as it fell on the birthday of her brother Josh, who died suddenly at the age of 24 in 2021, as she was preparing to try to earn a place in the team for Tokyo.
Becky Downie came agonisingly close to leading Great Britain to a team medal
The 32-year-old Downie dazzled throughout, and delivered a score of 14.933 on the uneven bars which was the highest of the day, and will lift her into medal contention for the individual apparatus final this week.
For Biles and her US team-mates Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee and Hezly Rivera, gold was a virtual certainty from the start, and a smiling Biles appeared to revel in the redemptive moment as they eased to gold.
It was in the Tokyo team final in 2021 that Biles left the floor during warm-ups for her first rotation, subsequently playing no part in the final and revealing she was suffering from a mental block – the so-called ‘twisties’ – that would ultimately see her miss out on all but one of her individual finals.
Simone Biles won the fifth Olympic gold medal of her career
On Tuesday night in Bercy, Biles was back to her best, enthralling the packed crowd as she soared to her eighth Olympic medal, allowing her to extend her undisputed status as the most decorated athlete – male or female – in her sport.
“After I finished vault I was relieved – I was like, woo, there’s no flashbacks,” said Biles. “I did feel a lot of relief and as soon as I landed vault I knew that we were going to do this.”
Biles still has the all-around final and three out of four individual apparatus finals in Paris in which to enhance her legacy further. The packed crowds will return, and so will the gold rush.
Andy Murray has officially withdrawn from the singles event at the Paris Olympics.
The two-time gold medallist is still not fully recovered from the back surgery he had last month and believes the men’s doubles, where he is playing with Dan Evans, offers his best chance of another medal.
Murray said: “I’ve take the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan.
Andy Murray
“Our practice has been great and we’re playing well together. Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time.”
The 37-year-old, who won gold in singles in London and Rio as well as silver in mixed doubles with Laura Robson in 2012, confirmed earlier this week that he will retire after the Olympics.
Murray’s withdrawal means his final singles match was his brief second-round appearance at Queen’s Club against Jordan Thompson before he was forced to pull out because of a spinal cyst.
