Paris Olympics Friday

Breanna Stewart, US women’s basketball team advance to gold medal game at Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 16 points and the U.S. women advanced to their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal game with a 85-64 victory over Australia on Friday. The Americans, who extended their Olympic winning streak to 60 consecutive games, will face France on Sunday. The U.S. is trying to become the first team to win eight consecutive gold medals, breaking the tie with the American men’s program that won seven in a row from 1936-68. A win Sunday would give Diana Taurasi a record six gold medals.

Coach says Noah Lyles had a 102 fever when he won a bronze; says he’ll be back for 2028 Olympics

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — The night Noah Lyles won a bronze medal in the 200 meters, his coach said the sprinter had a 102-degree fever. It’s what made that medal, in his last sprint at the Paris Olympics, all the more impressive to Lance Brauman, who described the sprinter’s condition and his future in an interview with The Associated Press Friday. Lyles tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and finished third in Thursday’s final behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and American teammate Kenneth Bednarek. Lyles was back at the track Friday night wearing a protective mask while accepting his medal. Brauman says he expects Lyles to compete again at the 2028 Games.

LeBron James, still leading the way for the US at age 39, has another chance at an Olympic gold

PARIS (AP) — LeBron James knows there aren’t many moments like this left. He’s 39. He’s entering his 22nd professional season. It’s logical to expect that the Paris Olympics will be his last time on this stage, and who knows if he’s got one more NBA championship run in him. If this is the Olympic finish line, though, he’s not sputtering toward it. He’s leading — on pace to do so in a way that the U.S. has never seen before. James could win the third gold medal of his Olympic career on Saturday night, when the U.S. takes on France for the title in Paris.

Olympians are turning to OnlyFans to fund dreams as they face a ‘broken’ finance system

PARIS (AP) — Dire financial straits are leading droves of Olympic athletes to sell images of their bodies to subscribers on OnlyFans — known for sexually explicit content — to sustain their dreams of gold at the Games. As they struggle to make ends meet, a spotlight is being cast on an Olympics funding system that watchdog groups condemn as “broken.” The Games, the world’s biggest sporting stage, bring in billions of dollars in TV rights, ticket sales and sponsorship, but most athletes must fend for themselves financially. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, is dismissive. When asked by The Associated Press about athletes turning to OnlyFans, a spokesman responded by asking if the AP had been looking at his browser history.

American Rai Benjamin finally gets gold in the 400-meter hurdles. He beat the world-record holder

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — American Rai Benjamin convincingly beat world-record-holder Karsten Warholm and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos in a stellar 400-meter hurdle race at the Paris Olympics. Benjamin clocked 46.46 seconds to finish several strides ahead of Warholm (47.06) and Dos Santos (47.26) despite landing awkwardly coming over the eighth hurdle in a race between the three fastest men in history. Benjamin won silver behind Warholm when the Norwegian set the world record in Tokyo three years ago.

U.S. men win volleyball bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, beating Italy in straight sets

PARIS (AP) — Four-time U.S. Olympians Matt Anderson and David Smith are medalists once more. The Americans are taking home men’s volleyball hardware from the Paris Olympics, outlasting Italy in a wild, back-and-forth battle for bronze. It went 25-23, 30-28 — a sensational second set in which each country had multiple chances — and 26-24 at a rocking South Paris Arena.