The United States' women's basketball team triumphed 67-66 over host nation France as they earned the gold medal in dramatic circumstances in a thriller at the Paris Olympics .
The Stars and Stripes raced into a 15-9 lead over France in the first quarter, before heading into half-time with the scores deadlocked at 25-25. From there, the Americans seized the initiative to earn a two-point advantage in the third quarter as they established a slender 45-43 lead in the showpiece.
In front of home crowd cheering on the French at Bercy Arena, the Americans showed their class to close out a hard-fought victory in a bear pit atmosphere. Incredibly, the win means that the gold medallists have not lost a match at the Games since 1992 as they earned the top prize for a tenth time.
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Eventually, they prevailed by a score of 67-66 to win in the French capital, with this achievement representing the eighth consecutive victory for the Americans in a row. Prior to that, scores had been level in the fourth quarter as the opportunity for the host nation to shock the perennial tournament victors presented itself.
However, A'ja Wilson was on hand with a free throw with less than 30 seconds left on the clock to press home a slender advantage. The defending champions were carried to the win by Wilson, who contributed 21 points 13 rebounds and four blocks during a virtuoso display in Paris.
Kahleah Copper also impressed for the victors as she scored 12 points and five rebounds, while Kelsey Plum was also on hand to supply 12 points and 4 assists. Les Blues' players did their reputations no harm whatsoever, though, with USA-born Gabby Williams the pick of the bunch as she scored 19 points, with 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
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The victory means that Diana Taurasi also has achieved the feat of becoming the first athlete to win a sixth gold at the Games - even though she did not play in the showpiece. Meanwhile, the French can see this result as an improvement on the bronze medal they earned in Tokyo back in 2021.
The character displayed by Team USA in those closing moments at Bercy Arena was not lost on the aforementioned Wilson either, who waxed lyrical about her compatriots' efforts following a memorable final. Paying tribute, she said: "I’m so proud of the resilience my team showed."
This latest gold capped off a stunning showing from America's athletes at the Olympics this summer, with this latest prize representing their 40th gold in Paris. This result drew the nation level with China at the medal leaderboard summit, with the U.S edging proceedings with 44 silver medals, compared with 27 for China.
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