U.S. Track has dramatic night in 4x100 relay, Khelif gets her gold
PARIS — It was a dramatic Friday night for the United States in track and field at the Paris Olympics, and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won gold after facing scrutiny over misconceptions about her sex.
A U.S. men's relay team fumbled away another chance to be champions.
Not long after they were disqualified for botching the first handoff of the 4x100 relay on a wet night at Stade de France, Carl Lewis angrily criticized USA Track.
Lewis, who won nine Olympic gold medals for the U.S., called for a change in leadership of America's track and field program.
“It is clear that EVERYONE at USATF is more concerned with relationships (than) winning,” Lewis fumed on social media. “No athlete should step on the track and run another relay until this program is changed from top to bottom.”
The U.S. team still posted two more victories thanks to Sha’Carri Richardson's stellar anchor lap in the women's 4x100 relay and Rai Benjamin, who won the 400 hurdles.
Highlights of what happened on Day 14 of the Paris Olympics:
Khelif gets gold after controversy:
Khelif emerged as a champion from a tumultuous run at the Games where she was the subject of online abuse from around the world over misconceptions about her womanhood.
Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5-0 in the final of the women's welterweight division, wrapping up the best series of fights of her boxing career with a victory at Roland Garros, where crowds chanted her name, waved Algerian flags and roared every time she landed a punch.
After her unanimous win, Khelif jumped into her coaches' arms, one of them putting her on his shoulders and carrying her around the arena in a victory lap as she pumped her fists and grabbed an Algerian flag from someone in the crowd.
Spain wins gold in men's soccer, Germany wins women's bronze:
Sergio Camello struck twice in extra time as Spain took gold in the Olympic men's soccer final with a 5-3 win against France.
The thrilling win at Parc des Princes completed a golden summer for Spanish soccer — following the senior team's European Championship triumph last month.
Spain, which lost the final to Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, became the first European gold medalist in men's soccer since it last won the tournament at the Barcelona Games in 1992.
On the women's side, Ann-Katrin Berger saved a last-minute penalty and Germany won the bronze medal with a 1-0 victory over Women's World Cup winner Spain.
Berger dove to stop Alexia Putellas' penalty attempt in the ninth minute of stoppage time, and then raised her hands in victory. Putellas was in tears as the match ended.
Giulia Gwinn converted a second-half penalty for Germany that proved to be the game-winner.
It was Germany's fourth bronze medal in women's soccer at the Olympics. The Germans won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games but didn't qualify for Tokyo three years ago.
Spain, ranked No. 1 in the world after the World Cup win, was making its Olympics debut.
Long makes history for China with sixth gold medal:
Ma Long became the Chinese athlete with the most gold medals in the history of the Olympics when he helped his country win the men's table tennis team final.
China defeated Sweden for its fifth straight Olympic victory in the team event, and Ma secured his sixth gold to become the most decorated table tennis Olympian.
The 35-year-old Ma has won at least one gold medal in every Summer Games since London in 2012.
Nasar recovers from freak accident to win gold:
Karlos Nasar of Bulgaria won weightlifting gold at the Olympics and broke two world records just over a year after a hotel sink fell on him and severed his left Achilles tendon.
Nasar was showering the night before an awards ceremony in May 2023 when he reached for shampoo and pressed down, causing the sink to fall out of the wall and onto him. After undergoing surgery and missing six months, he returned to weightlifting in December and set the clean and jerk world record that he surpassed in this event.