Paris 2024 Olympic Games Recap Day 9: Noah Lyles Wins Photo Finish, US Swimming Beats Australia in Medal Race

Medal table | Olympic schedule | How to watch | Olympic news

On the track, the men’s 100-meter race lived up to expectations with a thrilling finish. In the pool, the U.S. women’s swimming team won the 4×100-meter medley relay and Bobby Finke won the 1,500-meter freestyle to beat Australia for the most swimming gold medals. And both Novak Djokovic and Scottie Scheffler won their first Olympic gold medals.

Here are the top five stories of the day:

Noah Lyles wins gold in men’s 100 meters

The final result could not have been closer, with American Noah Lyles narrowly ahead of Jamaican Kishane Thompson to win the men’s 100 metres.

Both sprinters posted times of 9.79 seconds, but Lyles won by five thousand seconds, .784 to .789. Choose your comparison: By a hair’s breadth, by a breath, in the blink of an eye.

In real time, Thompson appeared to be the winner. The NBC broadcast called it that (and was subsequently widely criticized on social media). Thompson himself believed he had won and looked to the board for official confirmation.

As time ticked by for what felt like an eternity, the finish line was watched. Lyles came over to assure Thompson that he had won, but the Jamaican knew the result wasn’t final. But then it was, with Lyles winning by the narrowest of margins — because, as Olympic rules dictate, his torso crossed the finish line first. And the United States had its first gold medal in the men’s 100 meters in 20 years.

Fred Kersey took bronze with a time of 9.81 seconds, giving Team USA two sprinters on the podium in a race that will be talked about for decades.

US to overtake Australia in swimming medals in 2024, sets two world records

Swimming supremacy was at stake on Sunday at the Paris Olympics. Australia began the day with seven gold medals to Team USA’s six in what has become an enthralling rivalry for the sport.

The US, however, ended the day on top. First, Bobby Finke set a world record by winning the men’s 1,500m freestyle. With a time of 14:30.67, Finke broke a record that had stood since China’s Sun Yang set a time of 14:31.02 in 2012.

The U.S. women’s team followed by winning gold in the 4x100m medley relay, with the quartet of Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske setting another world record by finishing in 3:39.63.

That beat the 3:50.40 time set by the US (also with Smith and Walsh on the team) in 2019. It also beat the Australian relay team by almost four seconds in the final swim event for these Paris Games. Final swimming gold medals in Paris: US: 8, Australia: 7.

Suni Lee wins third medal in Paris with bronze on uneven bars

On another day of gymnastics apparatus finals, Suni Lee added to her medal haul in Paris with a bronze in the uneven bars final. Lee, who won bronze in the event in Tokyo, did so again under different circumstances — part of a stunning comeback from medical problems she’s battled for more than a year.

Lee, who won bronze in the all-around on Thursday, was the last to compete and posted an excellent score of 14.800, beating the rest of the competition for bronze.

Kaylia Nemour from Algeria won gold with an absolutely huge score of 15.700 on the back of a beautiful and near perfect routine. Qiu Qiyuan from China won silver and also achieved a big score of 15.500.

Now that she has won three medals in Paris – and six Olympic medals in total – Lee has a chance at another medal at the Games: she will compete in the balance beam final on Monday, partnering Simone Biles.

US women’s basketball enters knockout round 3-0

The U.S. women’s basketball team closed out the group stage 3-0 with an 87-68 win over Germany. Next up for Team USA is a quarterfinal matchup against Nigeria on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The Germans led 19-16 after the first quarter, but Team USA came back and defeated their opponent in the second quarter 25-10. They did not give up in the second half either.

Jackie Young had a game-high 19 points off the bench with four rebounds and four steals. She shot 5-for-8 on 3-pointers. A’ja Wilson added 14, followed by 13 from Breanna Stewart. Napheesa Collier grabbed seven boards, while Alyssa Thomas and Kelsey Plum each dished out five assists.

Satou Sabally led Team Germany with 15 points, with Alexis Peterson adding 14. The Germans come out of the group stage with a 2-1 record.

Team USA enters the knockout round with the largest points differential of the Olympic tournament (+58).

Novak Djokovic finally wins Olympic gold

Novak Djokovic can now add an Olympic gold medal to his 24 Grand Slam titles after beating Carlos Alcaraz in three sets on Sunday, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2).

Astonishingly, Djokovic had yet to win a singles title this year, losing all three of his Grand Slam events, including a straight-sets defeat to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Despite recent minor meniscus surgery on his right knee, Djokovic patiently controlled play, frustrating Alcaraz in a tense back-and-forth contest.

Djokovic has been candid about not reaching the finals in his previous four Olympics, never making it past the semifinals. After his victory, he showed as much emotion as fans have ever seen from him. Olympic gold may not be as prestigious in tennis as a Grand Slam title, but Djokovic still had something to accomplish. Now he has.

Team USA Medals

Highlight of the day

Normally this space is reserved for something random, quirky or endearing from the day’s Olympic action. But it’s also a place for something great.

And while it kicked off this roundup, the spectacular finish of the men’s 100-meter race deserves another mention. Especially because of this digital composite of footage taken with a fixed camera above the action, courtesy of Getty Images:

One more thing…

Scottie Scheffler appeared out of position to win a gold medal in golf on Sunday. Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood were atop the leaderboard heading into the final day of play.

Still, Scheffler ultimately wrote an impressive chapter in what has been a great book of a year for him. Scheffler started the day four shots behind the leader, but found himself six shots behind at the turn. He then produced one of the best back-nine performances of the year, shooting 29 to finish 19-under.

Fleetwood (-18) won silver, while Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (-17) won bronze.

In 2024, Scheffler won the Masters (now a two-time champion) and the Players Championship. Now he can add an Olympic gold medal to that trophy case.

An interesting side note: If Tom Kim of South Korea had won a medal, he would have been exempted from 18 to 21 months of military service. At one point, Kim came just one stroke closer to a medal position. Unfortunately, he finished -14.