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The USWNT's new "Big Three"
New USWNT coach Emma Hayes left veteran Alex Morgan off the Olympics roster and handed the attacking keys to Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson — a difficult decision that now looks genius.
Triple threat: Prior to Hayes' arrival in May, Smith (who turns 24 today), Rodman (22) and Swanson (26) had never started a game together. In Paris, they've started all five matches and scored nine of the USWNT's 11 Olympic goals en route to today's gold medal match vs. Brazil (11am ET, NBC).
What they're saying: "They're like the Big Three," midfielder Sam Coffey said, "but they're all Michael Jordan."
From Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell:
As a newly minted trio, they've been in search of a nickname. One fan bestowed Rodman with a sign that dubbed them "The Holy Trinity" — but that doesn't work, because it's her first name.
Christen Press, a former USWNT star, coined "Triple Trouble," and Smith likes that one. Swanson initially sounded puzzled by it, but when informed of the source, she said: "Then yeah. If Press said it, of course."
Her word to describe playing alongside Smith and Rodman, however, was even simpler: "Fun." Smith agreed: "I mean, it's so fun."
They have all been playing with a joy that was noticeably, painfully absent last summer at the World Cup in New Zealand.
Swanson attributed it to "the fluidity between all players in the front line, the midfield," which is "super special."
It's a departure from the Vlatko Andonovski days, when Morgan was always through the middle, and Smith almost always left of center or wide left.
Now, under Hayes, the USWNT has often been building in a 3-1-4-2 shape, with Smith and Swanson up front, Rose Lavelle playing off them, and Rodman wide right — but none of that is set in stone.
"We're all so dynamic," Smith said. "We all love to play a similar game. And we like to go in transition, but we're also learning we can play, we can possess the ball, and we can combine."
Girma shoutout: While the attacking trio has gotten much of the attention, defender Naomi Girma has been arguably the USWNT's most important player in Paris. "Look, she's the best defender I've ever seen," said Hayes. "Ever."
Photos of the day
🥇 Sha'Carri wins first gold: The U.S. came back to win gold in the women's 4x100m relay behind Sha'Carri Richardson's blistering anchor leg and a series of clean handoffs between 200m gold medalist Gabby Thomas, 100m bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry.
🇨🇦 Canada wins, USA stumbles (again): Canada won its first men's 4x100m relay gold since 1996 as the U.S. men failed to medal for the fifth straight Olympics due to yet another fumbled baton pass.
🇺🇸 USA 85, Australia 64: The U.S. women dominated the Opals to advance to Sunday's final against France, where they'll have a chance to win their eighth straight gold medal.
🇪🇸 Spain's golden summer continues: Less than a month after winning Euro 2024, the Spanish men won gold for the first time since 1992 with a 5-3 victory over France — the highest-scoring soccer final in Olympic history.
Day 14 recap:More from Friday
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Athlete spotlight:Grant Fisher, who already provided one of Team USA's signature moments on the track, seeks his second medal of these Games in today's 5,000m final.
Rare company: The 27-year-old used an unbelievable finish in last week's 10,000m final to win bronze and become just the second American medalist in the event since 1964. Today, he can become the second American medalist since 1964 in the 5,000m, too.
Looking back to move forward: Fisher, who was born in Canada but raised in Michigan, decided last fall to hire his old high school coach, Mike Scannell, to train him for the Olympics.
Scannell had helped mold Fisher into one of the country's top young runners (he was the seventh American high schooler ever to break the four-minute mile), and after missing the podium in both events in Tokyo, Fisher felt the best change was a return to the familiar.
"The joy I had working with Mike in high school is still there now," Fisher told NYT. "The joy of having someone who's as invested in your journey as you are."
Race preview: The field is more open than expected after Ugandans Joshua Cheptegei (WR holder) and Jacob Kiplimo (third-fastest time this year) withdrew. But watch out for reigning world champion Jakob Ingebrtisen and Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet, who has the world's fastest time this year.
More athletes in action:
👟 Shelby McEwen: Growing up in Mississippi, he used to flip off trucks, haystacks and trees. Now, the 28-year-old is among the gold medal favorites in today's long jump final.
👟 Bryce Hoppel: The 26-year-old Texas native and five-time All-American at Kansas was the lone American to make today's 800m final.
Best of Team USA social:USA House celebrates Rai Benjamin's gold … Milestone moments … Winning mindset in the relay
Team USA:News | Athletes | Shop
Follow along at TeamUSA.com and @TeamUSA on social media.
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Full medal count.
Watchlist: USA vs. France for gold
The United States and France play for men's basketball gold today (3:30pm ET, NBC) in a rematch of the finals in Tokyo.
Tantalizing matchup: It's the four-time defending Olympic champs vs. the hometown heroes, who will have the support of the crowd as they seek their first gold medal.
Featured events:
⚽️ Women's Soccer: USWNT vs. Brazil for Gold (11am, NBC)
👟 Track & Field: Men's 800m (1:05pm, NBC); Women's 100m Hurdles (1:35pm, NBC); Men's 5000m (1:50pm, NBC); Women's 1500m (2:15pm, NBC); Men's 4x400m Relay (3pm, NBC); Women's 4x400m Relay (3:14pm, NBC)
🤸 Breaking: Men's Final (2pm, E!) … Qualifiers begin at 10am.
Medal events:
🏐 Volleyball: France vs. Poland for Men's Gold (7am, NBC); Brazil vs. Turkey for Women's Bronze (11:15am, CNBC)
🛶 Canoe Sprint: Men's Kayak Single 1000m Finals and Women's Canoe Single 200m Finals (7am, CNBC)
🎗️ Rhythmic Gymnastics: Group All-Around Final (8am, CNBC)
🌊 Diving: Men's 10m Platform Final (9am, NBC)
🤾♀️ Women's Handball: Norway vs. France for Gold (9am, USA)
🏓 Women's Table Tennis: China vs. Japan for Team Gold (9am, Peacock)
🤽♀️ Women's Water Polo: Australia vs. Spain for Gold (9:35am, Peacock)
🏋️ Weightlifting: Women's 81kg (10am, Peacock); Men's 102+kg (2:30pm, Peacock)
💪 Modern Pentathlon: Men's Final (11:30am, Peacock)
🚴♂️ Track Cycling: Men's Madison Final (11:59am, Peacock)
🤼 Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 74kg, Men's Freestyle 125kg, Women's Freestyle 62kg (12:15pm, Peacock)
🩱 Artistic Swimming: Duet Free Routine Final (1:30pm, Peacock)
👟 Track & Field: Men's High Jump (1pm, Peacock); Women's Javelin (1:30pm, Peacock)
🥋 Taekwondo: Men's 80+kg and Women's 67+kg (1:30pm, Peacock)
🏐 Beach Volleyball: Men's Bronze (3pm, USA) and Gold Medal Matches (4:30pm, USA)
🥊 Boxing: Men's and Women's Featherweight (3:30pm, CNBC); Women's Middleweight and Men's Super Heavyweight (4:30pm, Peacock)
Primetime (NBC): Men's 10m Platform Final (8pm), Men's Basketball Gold Medal Game, Women's 1500m Final, Men's and Women's 4x400m Relay Finals and Men's Breaking Final (9pm).
For a complete schedule, click here. Everyevent streams live on Peacock. Sign up here.
Khelif wins gold, dismisses critics
Algeria's Imane Khelif defeated China's Liu Yang by unanimous decision on Friday to win the women's 66kg division.
What she's saying: A gold medal hanging around her neck, Khelif directly addressed the controversy over her gender that had enveloped her during the Olympics, made her a culture war wedge issue around the globe, and left her subjected to vicious online hate.
"As for whether I qualify or not, or whether I am a woman or not, I am fully qualified to take part in this competition," Khelif said.
"I am a woman like any other woman," she continued. "I was born a woman. I've lived as a woman. I've competed as a woman. There is no doubt about that."
She also dismissed her critics: "They are enemies of my success. That is what I call them. That also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks."
Layers of the Games
Earlier this week, we went "Behind the Lens" with Getty Images photographer Hector Vivas, the man behind the "Layers of the Games" project. Here's some more of his work.
Above: The jumping individual final at Château de Versailles.
Above: Gymnasts compete on floor during the women's all-around final at Bercy Arena.
Above: The men's 100m preliminary round (Heat 5) at Stade de France.
Above: A group stage match between Paraguay and Mali at Parc des Princes.
Daily trivia
Breaking is the only sport making its Olympic debut in Paris.
Question: Which two sports will make their Olympic debuts at LA 2028?
Flag football
Karate
Squash
Baseball
Answer at the bottom.
In non-Olympics news...
⚽️ Manchester Derby: Manchester City and Manchester United face off today (10am ET, ESPN) for the FA Community Shield, an annual match between the defending FA Cup (United) and Premier League winners (City).
Plus:
🏈 CBS Sports will produce Netflix's exclusive Christmas Day NFL games
🏁 Here's what's at stake as NASCAR returns from its break
🏈 Jim Harbaugh to be honorary captain for Michigan's opener
⚾️ Can rookie phenom Paul Skenes, who pitches today, win the Cy Young?
Trivia answer: Flag football and squash
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