Itkin, who won a bronze medal with the U.S. for the team foil during the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, has his first individual Olympic medal. He claimed the bronze with a 15-12 defeat of Japan’s Kazuki Iimura in the men’s individual foil. That made him the first American to medal in the event since Alexander Massialas won silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Cheung Ka Long of Hong Kong successfully defended his gold medal in this event, defeating 2016 gold medalist Daniele Garozzo of Italy. Meanwhile, [autotag]Gerek Meinhardt[/autotag], another former Irish fencer in the event and Kiefer’s husband, bowed out in the round of 16, 15-10, to Enzo Lefort of France.
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[autotag]Lee Kiefer[/autotag] made history at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She became the first U.S. fencer, male or female, to win a gold medal in the individual foil. A few years later at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, she’s proven she’s not ready to give that gold medal up.
Kiefer won her second individual foil gold medal in as many Olympics. The former Notre Dame fencer did so by defeating fellow U.S. fencer Lauren Scruggs, 15-6. Scruggs is the first U.S. fencer to win a silver in this event. The bronze went to Canada’s Eleanor Harvey.
Kiefer became the second U.S. fencer to win two individual Olympic golds, joining two-time sabre gold medalist Mariel Zagunis. And she did in front of husband and fellow former Notre Dame fencer [autotag]Gerek Meinhardt[/autotag] 24 hours ahead of his own quest for an individual foil medal.
If you missed Kiefer’s historic day, take a look at these photos:
The consensus after the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game was that it was the best one ever. That was in no small part because of what Notre Dame legend [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] did. She followed a scoreless first half with 34 points in the second half to set the single-game scoring record. That gave Team WNBA a 117-109 victory over the U.S. Olympic team and Ogunbowale her second All-Star MVP.
Ogunbowale will remember this night for the rest of her life. Feeling she would be snubbed from the Olympic team, she withdrew from consideration early on. Now, she can move forward knowing that twice now, she’s been left off the team and embarrassed that team twice in as many All-Star Games with the Team USA-Team WNBA format. Hopefully, she’ll be on the other side of that in 2028.
Here are some photos from a night in which Ogunbowale’s play was as hot as the weather in Phoenix:
DeChambeau’s absence from Paris is because there were hard and fast rules and some math involved.
When putting together the four golfers who will represent the United States in the Summer Olympics in Paris next month, technically it doesn’t matter if a golfer is playing on the PGA Tour, the LIV Tour, the DP World Tour or your local mini-tour events. The politics of the game at the moment don’t involve the International Olympic Committee or the International Golf Federation.
But if that is true, how could U.S. Open winner and PGA Championship runner-up Bryson DeChambeau not be on the U.S. team?
The answer is simple, but with a complicated backstory.
Indeed, DeChambeau will not be representing the United States in Paris. Instead, the four Americans will be Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, defending gold medalist from the Tokyo Games Xander Schauffele and 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
Those are the top four Americans in the latest Official World Golf Rankings, and the rankings this week determine which golfers will be part of the 60-player field in the Summer Olympics. One thing to remember is that no country is allowed more than four players on a team, thus allowing for more countries to be represented in the Games.
Here’s where the politics come into play. DeChambeau is the fifth American in the OWGR, even though he is 10th overall. But DeChambeau has only earned ranking points in three tournaments this year — the Masters, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. He only earned points in the four majors in 2023. That’s because DeChambeau can’t play in PGA Tour events because he’s playing instead on the LIV Tour.
Never had the points
LIV Tour events don’t award any OWGR points for players, something that has been true since the start of LIV in 2022. The OWGR folks have significant issues with how the LIV Tour fields are populated, how a player can qualify for that tour and how a player is kicked out of events when other players have been brought in to play. LIV golf officials have repeatedly decried the lack of ranking points, but LIV players never had a promise that such points were coming to their tour despite their protests. Nothing has changed in that regard.
So DeChambeau, suddenly a wildly popular player who inspired chants of “USA! USA! USA” at the U.S. Open last week, is out of the Olympics even though it’s easy to say he could easily replace Clark or even Cantlay on Team USA.
Whether that is fair or not isn’t really part of the debate, though. Some believe the rules have to change if players like DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka at the 2023 PGA Championship are winning major titles, proving their prowess during the buildup to the Olympics. Others believe that Koepka and DeChambeau have made their choice knowing that world ranking points weren’t likely to come to that tour anytime soon.
Based on the rules, or actually a few different sets of rules, DeChambeau is not an Olympian. What would be unfair would be rewriting the rules Sunday night because a popular player won Sunday afternoon. In that regard, DeChambeau missing the Olympics is the right thing for the Games.
Xander Schauffele of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men’s golf competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe on August 1, 2021. Photo by Yoshi Iwamoto/AFP via Getty Images
Several questions remain beyond whether Team USA or the Olympic Games could have found a way to get DeChambeau into the Paris Games. In the grand scheme of things, does the Olympics measure up to any of men’s golf’s four majors? Or the Tour Champions or The Players Championship? It’s likely the two gold medals winners from the last two Olympics (Schauffele and Justin Rose) would tout the Olympics, but wouldn’t measure it up to the standard of their major championship victories.
Second, will this debate even matter in 2028 when the Games come to Los Angeles? If you believe the talk from players and officials, negotiations to reunite the game are ongoing and proceeding, though at a slow pace. It’s impossible to believe the split in golf will still exist in 2028 when another U.S. Olympic team is put together, so this might be the only Olympics hit by the PGA Tour/LIV debate.
There was plenty of talk when women’s basketball star Caitlyn Clark was left off this year’s U.S. women’s team for the Olympics, with critics saying it hurts the ability to grow the game and bring more viewers to the Olympics. But Clark’s omission was made by a selection committee. DeChambeau’s absence from Paris is because there were hard and fast rules and some math involved, and DeChambeau fell short under the rules.
It will be a little less interesting on the golf course in Paris without DeChambeau, but he was always a longshot to make the U.S. team, even with a U.S. Open title to his name.
Notre Dame’s [autotag]Chris Guiliano[/autotag] always will remember the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Largely overlooked going into the 100-meter freestyle, the reigning ACC Swimmer of the Year surprised everyone by dominating the event. It culminated with a win in the final with a time of 47.38 seconds. Here’s the final in its entirety:
This victory qualifies Guiliano for his first spot on the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics. The U.S. has won gold in this event in two of the past three Olympics. Caeleb Dressel took the gold in Tokyo, but his third-place finish in Giuliano’s triumph means he won’t get a chance to defend that medal.
Guiliano also qualified for the 4×100 relay team simply by finishing in the top four. His teammates will consist of Dressel, Jack Alexy and Hunter Armstrong.
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With so many quality former Notre Dame players thriving in the WNBA, at least one of them had to make the 2024 U.S. Olympic team.
With so many quality former Notre Dame players thriving in the WNBA, at least one of them had to make the 2024 U.S. Olympic team. Now, two of them reportedly have done just that. [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] of the Seattle Storm and [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] of the Las Vegas Aces will be among the 12 players trying to win gold for the U.S. in Paris:
THE 2024 USA WOMEN'S OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM IS STACKED 🤩
This will be the second straight Olympics for Loyd after taking the gold along with [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag] during the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Young also won gold at those Olympics but as part of the first-ever 3-on-3 basketball competition.
The U.S. won’t be the only roster to find Notre Dame representation though. [autotag]Natalie Achonwa[/autotag] will be competing in her fourth straight Olympics for Canada. As she currently is not on a WNBA roster, she can focus her energy on preparing for Paris. Here’s hoping she can bring home a medal, too.
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With the 2024 Olympics in Paris only months away, now is the time for USA Basketball to plan its teams. That includes a women’s 5-on-5 team that can keep the gold medal in the U.S. Sure, the U.S. has won nine of the past 10 golds, but one never can be too certain.
Out of the 18 players on the U.S. training camp roster, 12 will be selected for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament. It should be noted that the U.S. is participating in the tournament despite automatically qualifying for the Paris Olympics by virtue of taking the gold in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics. The next few weeks will serve as player evaluation more than anything else.
Three players on the roster will be familiar to Notre Dame fans because they all played for the Irish. While none of these names are surprises, it still is nice to see them have this opportunity. Here they are:
The Irish should be proud to have helped develop this champion.
Former Notre Dame player [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] has joined a club previously occupied only by [autotag]Ruth Riley[/autotag]. By winning the WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces, Young is the second Irish player to win a a national championship, an Olympic gold medal and a WNBA title. She was on the Irish’s national title team in 2018, and she was on the gold-medal team for the inaugural 3-on-3 women’s basketball competition at the Tokyo Olympics.
During the Aces’ finals victory over the Connecticut Sun, Young averaged 12.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game while shooting 38.3% from the field. Those numbers as well as matching Riley’s distinction caught the attention of Irish coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]:
Queen Tings! Triple crown her 👑👑👑 love to see it!! Jackie you are pure EXCELLENCE☘️👏🏾👏🏾✨✨✨ https://t.co/RaubhHo9z8
Appreciate this moment, Irish fans, because it might be a while before we see this again. This program has built some winners, but it rarely churns out winners quite like this. Until the next one comes, enjoy these photos of Young in the 2022 WNBA Finals:
“Screw everybody else, like I think this is a win.”
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Xander Schauffele’s easy-going persona makes him one of the most likable guys on the PGA Tour. Until you ask about the legitimacy of his Olympic gold medal as a victory, that is.
After a smooth-as-silk 65 during the second of the WM Phoenix Open, a reporter asked if Schauffele counts his victory at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan as a win. The response was a little out of character for the unflappable Californian.
“Do you count the Olympics as a win?” the former No. 8 snapped back. “I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten more recognition or attention for the Olympics and the gold medal than more than I’ve ever imagined. I think the longer that marinates, the better it gets for me.
“At first, I didn’t just because it was just new and people were telling me no. And then I kind of sat down and looked at it and I was like — hmmm, screw everybody else, like I think this is a win. So if you want to talk about PGA Tour official wins, then, yes, I’m lagging on that end, so we’ll pick up the slack.”
Although he hasn’t hoisted a trophy on the PGA Tour since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions, Schauffele has consistently been in the mix, and he enters the weekend in Arizona at 10 under, tied with Brooks Koepka for second and just two shots behind leader Sahith Theegala.
Schauffele called Friday’s round “stress-free,” which is a term rarely associated with a place where obstreperous galleries are the norm.
He did, however, mention that one of the things he loves about TPC Scottsdale has come back to bite him thus far.
“Typically the pureness of the greens,” Schauffele said, when asked why he feels comfortable on the course, “but the putter’s kind of holding me back right now, which is kind of unfortunate. So I guess I can take that as a positive and it means I’m playing good golf overall.”
Considering his putter is typically an asset — Schauffele has finished in the top 50 in strokes gained putting in four of his five previous years on Tour — an improvement with the flat stick could mean ending a drought that’s lasted more than three years. Well, a PGA Tour drought, of course.
“It’s nice, it means you’re doing a lot of things well,” he said. “For me, it feels like I’ve been putting pretty bad, so whether it’s just not seeing it or the greens being a little bit faster I think and maybe my putting off certain memory is kind of faulting me.
“But we’ll have to clean it up if I want to win this thing.”
Penn State’s Haleigh Washington was instrumental in the first gold medal victory for the United States in women’s volleyball
It’s been a long time coming, but the United States women’s volleyball team finally got to celebrate winning a gold medal at the Olympics. As the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo were winding down, the United States won their first gold medal in Olympic history with a victory over Brazil. A pair of former Penn State volleyball stars were a part of the historic run to the gold.
Micha Hancock and Haleigh Washington were a part of the roster for the United States women’s volleyball team. Washington was one of the starters for the team.
— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) August 8, 2021
The United States has won three silver medals in women’s volleyball and two bronze medals. This is the first gold medal at the Olympics, although the team does have a collection of international tournament gold medals in events like the Pan American Games and FIVB World Grand Prix. But the ultimate goal, an Olympic gold, has eluded them until now.
