Former Oregon Ducks star Sabrina Ionescu won her first gold medal with Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Mother of Ducklings has officially added a gold medal to her trophy case.
Former Oregon Duck star Sabrina Ionescu accomplished one of the most prestigious feats in all of sports on Sunday morning, winning a gold medal with Team USA in a thrilling 67-66 win over France in the championship game.
This was Ionescu’s first gold medal in her Olympic debut, but the eight consecutive gold medal won the the Team USA women’s basketball team.
Ionescu had a somewhat limited role on the team, playing just an average of 13 minutes per game in the tournament. She scored 5.5 points per game, and added 3.3 assists per contest in the gold medal run as well.
The United States now leaves the 2024 Paris Olympics tied with the most gold medals among all countries with 40. China also had 40 gold medals. Meanwhile, Team USA dominated the overall medal count with 126 total, while China had 91.
Regardless of the numbers or the extensiveness of her role, Ionescu is coming back as a gold medalist, which is something she can hold onto forever.
No Olympic athlete should be subjected to the emotional roller coaster Jordan Chiles has been on the last few days as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) considered an appeal of Monday’s floor exercise final and landed on a ruling Sunday that would strip Chiles of her bronze medal.
The court voided the on-floor appeal by Team USA that moved Chiles from fifth to third place and knocked Romania’s Ana Barbosu off the podium, saying it came four seconds after the time allowed for scoring inquiries.
That decision led the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reallocate the bronze from Chiles to Barbosu, making a bad situation worse by dragging a second gymnasts through the avoidable experience of tasting Olympic success only to be told it was just a fever dream. That medal you won… that unforgettable moment on the podium… it never happened.
But alas, the court has a chance to make it right.
In a statement to USA TODAY Sports’ Christine Brennan, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said it will issue its own appeal of the ruling, citing errors in the initial scoring and the appeal process.
The best outcome is one that doesn’t penalize the athletes for the mistakes of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and IOC.
I’m not one for handing out participation trophies for the sake of making everyone happy, but because the judges couldn’t get it right in real time, the only way this can end is with Chiles and Barbosu sharing the bronze. They both have a reason to believe they were the rightful winners. It’s too late to tell either they’re wrong.
In a perfect world, the judges would have scored Chiles’ routine correctly the first time, removing the need for her initial on-floor appeal. Or they would have rejected her appeal for being too late, and there wouldn’t have been the need for the Romanian appeal. Or the IOC would have acknowledged the court’s ruling but not landed on the ridiculous decision to take away a medal Chiles earned.
There were so many opportunities for the people in charge to get this right and end it. Now, they’re getting one last chance, and they better not screw it up.
Quincy Wilson is one of the best stories of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
He’s just 16 years old and made history as the youngest men’s track and field athlete in U.S. Olympics history. He ended up winning gold by competing in the heats for the 4×400 relay, even though he wasn’t on the squad that ran the final.
But the kid had a reality check, as he noted on X (formerly Twitter).
“Dang, I really got school in 2 and a half weeks,” he wrote as he showed off his gold medal. That’s just amazing when you think about it and sums it all up.
As announced on Sunday, Jordan Chiles will be stripped over her bronze medal in floor exercise over a mere technicality, thanks to an appeal by Romania.
Romania’s argument upon appeal was that Team USA challenged four seconds too late by Federation of Gymnastics rules, which state that inquiries need to be sent in 60 seconds after the scoreboard shows the score.
It turns out the IOC agreed with a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Saturday. Chiles will be stripped of her bronze and Barbosu will get it, thanks to a whole four seconds.
Chiles did nothing wrong. She didn’t dope. She didn’t cheat. She didn’t break any laws. She wasn’t even the one who submitted an appeal that we know now was done four seconds too late.
None of that matters. She’s losing her bronze medal because of a procedural error. The supposed adults in charge screwed up, but it’s Chiles who is paying the price.
Yes, I know, rules are rules.
But that’s really it. Chiles is punished for the mistake of others, one that — if it was indeed four seconds too late — should have been rejected on the spot when the appeal was made, if that was the case. And Chiles has had to deal with some awful horribleness on social media, likely leading to her announcing she was taking a break. Again, not because of something she did.
There’s a solution here, and it’s in the spirit of, well, the so-called Olympic spirit: two bronze medals. Why punish Chiles and Barbosu for mistakes they didn’t make? We’ve seen multiple medals handed out in the past. It does no harm to have them both take home one, and shows this isn’t about a win or a loss, but rather that procedural stuff like this is bull and it’s the athletes and their achievements that matter.
Once again, the IOC shows that it’s one of the most incompetent organizations in the world. Would anyone be upset if they awarded two bronze medals? Chiles literally had the third-best score. Not her fault the judges screwed up and an inquiry was necessary. Common sense, folks. https://t.co/KgRWI3LKPC
I said it as soon as it happened: Ana Maria Bărbosu & Jordan Chiles should have BOTH been awarded bronze medals after the judges’ egregious error. All the IOC has done here is hurt two extremely gifted, hard working young ladies. A sad day for the Olympic movement.
Jimmy Fallon has worked with Steph Curry before, so maybe it was easy for the superstar who delivered an all-timer of a performance for Olympic gold to pose for the Tonight Show host in the middle of a game.
Because that’s exactly what happened. Curry hit a shot and hit a pose right at Fallon, who was filming him for one of those “Are you happy to be in Paris? OUI!” TikTok videos that we’ve seen athletes, fans and pretty much everyone else do while the Olympics has been going on.
The video really did some out amazingly, so here it is:
It looks like Jordan Chiles has to return her bronze medal. Let us explain.
Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. Have you seen some stuff about Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles possibly returning the bronze medal she won in Paris for her floor exercise? And you’re very confused about that whole thing? Don’t worry. We’re here to help.
You may remember when Jordan Chiles dramatically won a bronze medal for her floor routine on Monday following a coach’s challenge to her score. It turns out the saga did not end there as Romania (understandably) lodged its own appeal of Team USA’s challenge.
It’s been an extremely emotional few days for Chiles as the fate of her medal was left up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG).
Saturday brought a little clarity to the situation, and it’s really a heartbreaking one for all athletes involved following multiple appeals.
Why does Chiles has to give her medal back?
UPDATE Sunday 5:15 a.m. ET: Chiles does have to give her medal back, the International Olympic Committee announced Sunday. More via USA TODAY Sports:
The news comes less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the judging panel for the women’s floor exercise final made a mistake in granting an inquiry filed by Chiles’ coaches, which moved the American gymnast into medal position. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation had challenged the validity of that move, saying it was filed four seconds beyond the deadline by which any inquiries had to be submitted.
The IOC said in a statement that it will reallocate the bronze medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu.
Original story:
Well, first let’s slow down. As of Saturday afternoon Chiles doesn’t have to give anything back, but we will update this post if that changes.
PARIS (AP) — Gymnastics body bumps Romania's Ana Barbosu to third in floor finals, doesn't say if Jordan Chiles must forfeit bronze.
If you remember, Chiles originally placed fifth in her floor routine with a score of 13.666 behind two Romanian gymnasts, Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (who each scored 13.7). Chiles’ coaches sucessfully challenged the judges’ scoring on the difficulty of her’ routine, which added 0.1 to her score and earned Chiles the bronze.
No one is arguing Chiles’ initial score was correct or that the judges were wrong to award the 0.1 upon review.
Instead, Romania’s appeal came down to the timing of Team USA’s challenge. CAS ruled the Americans did, indeed, challenge too late, according to FIG rules — by a matter of four seconds.
FOUR SECONDS!? Chiles might lose her bronze because of four seconds!?
Yep. It’s truly awful, but those are the rules. Coaches get 60 seconds to challenge a score from the moment it flashes across the scoreboard. Chiles’ challenge came in after 64 seconds.
Inquiries for the Difficulty score are allowed, provided that they are made verbally immediately after the publication of the score or at the very latest before the score of the following gymnast/athlete or group is shown.
In case two (2) categories / apparatus are judged alternatively (by two (2) panels or one single panel) the inquiry must be made before the score of the following gymnast or group of the same category/apparatus is shown.
For the last gymnast or group of a rotation, this limit is one (1) minute after the score is shown on the scoreboard. The person designated to receive the verbal inquiry has to record the time of receiving it, either in writing or electronically, and this starts the procedure.
Only the accredited coaches in the competition area are entitled to submit an inquiry.
Well, that’s just a very bad rule
Look, if the point is to make sure the athletes get the fairest score possible, then yes. It’s a very bad rule. But it’s also the rule that’s in place. And just as it was fair for Team USA to challenge Chiles’ score, it’s fair for Romania to appeal the challenge.
But Romania’s request actually extremely generous. They wanted to split the bronze three ways. Which brings us back to the CAS.
The Applicants sought a ruling from the CAS Ad hoc Division concluding that the Inquiry was filed beyond the 1-minute deadline specified in art. 8.5 of FIG 2024 Technical Regulations (i.e. 1 minute and 4 seconds) and dismissing the Inquiry as untimely, thereby upholding the initial score of 13.666 and adjusting the final ranking accordingly. The Applicants also sought a conclusion that the penalty of 0.1 for execution imposed on Ms Sabrina Maneca-Voinea was given without basis, thereby increasing her score to 13.800, and that the final ranking be adjusted accordingly. Subsidiarily, the Applicants requested a ruling adjusting the ranking of Ms Ana Maria Bărbosu, Ms Sabina Maneca-Voinea and Ms Jordan Chiles by placing all three athletes in 3rd position and the allocation of medals to all three athletes.
1. The application filed by Federation Romanian Gymnastics and Ms Ana Bărbosu on 6 August 2024, in its amended version of 8 August 2024, is partially upheld.
2. The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms Jordan Chiles in the Final of the women’s Floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect.
3. The initial score of 13.666 given to Ms Jordan Chiles in the final of the women’s Floor exercise shall be reinstated.
4. The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique shall determine the ranking of the Final of the women’s Floor exercise and assign the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision.
5. All other requests are dismissed.
So now it’s up to the FIG to determine the final standings using Chiles’ original score?
Basically, and who knows what they’ll decide to do here.
No matter what happens, it seems like the gymnasts are going to be punished for the judges’ poor performance. Had they scored Chiles’ correctly to begin with, there wouldn’t have been anything to challenge.
Does Team USA have anything to say about this?
It sure does.
Joint Statement from USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee regarding the CAS decision on the women’s floor final:
Honestly, it’s tough to say. Aside from the personal heartache of having a medal potentially ripped away on a technicality, she has faced some brutal and racist attacks online.
Because of that, she declared that she’s taking a break from social media.
via instagram.com/jordanchiles
Jazmin Chiles, Jordan Chiles’ sister, says the gymnast was officially stripped of her medal:
The UCLA Bruins Water Polo team is well represented in the 2024 Summer Olympics. They have a trio of players heading to the semi final round.
It has been an exciting ride for the United States Men’s Water Polo squad, especially for a trio of UCLA Bruins athletes. Max Irving, Ryder Dodd and Chase Dodd are heading to the semifinals for the first time since 2008. They came from behind to win their match on Wednesday, 11-10 over Australia.
Irving is a 29-year-old who was part of the 2023 World Cup team. He plays his club water polo for Brescia, Italy. Ryder Dodd is 18 years old and will be a star with the Bruins once the Olympics are complete. Chase, his older brother had an outstanding season in 2022 for the Bruins. He scored 39 goals and had a career-high four in a single game against Stanford.
The 2024 version of the Bruins will start at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla on September 7th.
The UCLA Men’s Water Polo team has been very strong. They have won 12 national titles, while the women’s program at UCLA has 8 titles.
The @USAWP men are headed to the Olympic 𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐒 for the first time since 2008.
Team USA defeated France on Saturday to win the gold in men’s basketball.
After a close call against Serbia in the Olympics semifinal, Team USA got out in front early in the Final against France. They’d stay in front, and win the gold medal by a score of 98 – 87.
Team USA was led in scoring by Steph Curry once again, with 24 points. Devin Booker tied Kevin Durant with 15 points. Booker also had six rebounds and three assists.
Anthony Davis had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. He also led the team in rebounding with nine, and blocked four shots.
The third former Wildcat, Bam Adebayo, played just nine minutes. He recorded two points and one rebound in the game.
Team USA shot the ball well overall in the gold medal game, especially from three-point range, where they made 18-of-36 shots.
The gold medal is Team USA’s fifth consecutive at the Olympics. As for the former Kentucky stars, Big Blue Nation congratulates them, and enjoyed seeing them perform on a world stage.
Quincy Wilson, who raced in the Team USA 4×400 preliminaries, became the youngest male track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.
Quincy Wilson wrapped up his summer break from Bullis School (Potomac, Md.) in a way that rewrote history books: With the Team USA 4×400 men’s victory in the finals on Saturday, Wilson became the youngest male athlete to win a gold medal in a track and field event, according to MaxPreps.
Wilson, who ran a disappointing 47.27-second lap in the preliminaries, watched from the stands as his United States teammates raced for victory in the finals. Three of the four runners were below 44 seconds, with Rai Benjamin anchoring and setting the best mark at 43.18 seconds to close out the victory. See the final lap below:
Team USA, whose time of 2:54.43 is a new Olympic record, defeated silver medalist Botswana (2:54.53) and bronze Great Britain (2:55.83). For the third year in a row, both the U.S. men’s and women’s 4×400 teams won the gold medals (the women’s team has won eight straight, per USA TODAY).
Vernon Norwood, who posted a time of 43.26 as the second leg and was vital in helping the U.S. regain its position in the preliminaries, told ESPN he ran for Wilson.
“I wanted to run for Quincy,” Norwood said, “because he put out a significant amount of effort for us [Friday] and that gave me a lot of motivation to try to do my best out there.”
USA has the gold and Wilson goes back to Maryland, where he’s set to start his junior year of college with a gold medal around his neck.
While he didn’t compete in the finals, this experience will bode well for the rest of his high school career and Olympic hopes for the future.
The U.S. men’s basketball team locked up the Olympic gold medal on Saturday evening in Paris with an exciting 98-87 victory over host country France. The Americans got big performances out of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant over the course of the tournament, but naturally not everyone on the team got equal playing time.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton saw action in just three of the United States’ six games, playing a combined 26 minutes total. Following the gold medal victory over France, Haliburton took to social media for the most perfect post.
“When you ain’t do nun on the group project and still get an A,” he shared alongside a picture of himself holding his medal.
