Paris Olympics Aug. 6 recap, highlights: Hocker shocks, USWNT advances, Lopez makes history (2024)

Each and every day of the 2024 Paris Olympics, NBCOlympics.com will keep you updated with the biggest stories from across the Olympic landscape. All competition streams live on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock — visit the schedule page for more details.

Here's what you should know from Day 11 of competition:

  • The USWNT defeated Germany, 1-0, to advance to the gold medal match.
  • American Cole Hocker won gold in the men's 1500m final.
  • Gabby Thomas of the United States won the women's 200m final.
  • Amit Elor became the first American wrestler to win Olympic gold in Paris.
  • Cuban wrestling legend Mijain Lopez became the first athlete ever to win five golds in the same individual event.
  • The U.S. men's basketball team beat Brazil, 122-87, in a quarterfinal game.
  • Team USA women's volleyball beat Poland to advance to the semifinal match.

Read on for more details...

Soccer: Sophia Smith sends USWNT to gold medal match

Coming off of a thrilling quarterfinal extra-time win over Japan, the U.S. women's national team delivered a stellar performance yet again when it topped Germany, 1-0, to secure a ticket to the gold medal match.

Sophia Smith scored in extra time in the 95th minute and goalie Alyssa Naeher came up with a huge save to secure the victory for the U.S.

"I felt a lot of emotions: I was relieved, I was happy," Smith said. "It was a really tough game. Our defense was amazing. What can I say about them?"

The U.S. will now play in the gold medal match on Saturday, Aug. 10, against Brazil.

Team USA is looking to win its first gold medal since the 2012 London Games.

Track & Field: Cole Hocker shocks the world, Gabby Thomas grabs gold

American Cole Hocker won his first Olympic medal on Tuesday after shocking the men's 1500m field to win gold.

Hocker was in fourth place entering the bell lap. But he took the inside lane and blazed down the home stretch to sprint by Tokyo Olympic championJakob Ingebrigsten, reigning world championJosh Kerrand U.S. teammateYared Nuguseto claim the Olympic title. With a time of 3:27.65, Hocker set an Olympic record in the process.

That was an amazing 1500! Cole Hocker you Got me screaming my head off!

— Noah Lyles, OLY (@LylesNoah) August 6, 2024

“That’s an unbelievable feeling," Hocker said. "I just felt like I was getting carried by the stadium and God. My body just kind of did it for me. My mind was all there and I saw that finish line."

Kerr took the silver while Nuguse claimed bronze.

“Winning gold was my goal this entire year," Hocker said. "I wrote that down and I repeated it to myself even if I didn’t believe it.

"My performances showed me that I was capable of running 3:27, whatever it took. I knew I was a medal contender, and I knew that if I get it right, it would be a gold medal. I’ve been saying that.”

Results: Men's 1500m

🥇 Cole Hocker (USA)
🥈 Josh Kerr (GBR)
🥉 Yared Nuguse (USA)

American Gabby Thomas sprinted to victory in the women's 200m final on Tuesday night in Paris. The race came down to the wire as Thomas bested Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred with a time of 21.83 seconds to claim the gold medal.

Thomas is joined on the medal podium by U.S. teammate Brittany Brown, who earned bronze for her first Olympic medal.

“I don't think it could have gone any better," Thomas said. "My coach told me before I got out there, that the only thing I need to do is get the lead. Get the lead, and then finish strong.

"I couldn't tell you where my competitors were in that race because I blacked out and when I crossed the line, that's the only thing I remember.”

Results: Women's 200m

🥇 Gabby Thomas (USA)
🥈 Julien Alfred (LCA)
🥉 Brittany Brown (USA)

Wrestling: Amit Elor wins gold, Mijain Lopez makes history

After scoring nine medals at the Tokyo Games, the expectations are high once again for Team USA's freestyle wrestlers in Paris. The first one to take the mat was Amit Elor, and after cruising through her first three matches on Monday, she defeated Kyrgyzstan's Meerim Zhumanazarov in Tuesday's final to secure the country's first wrestling gold medal of these Games.

Elor surrendered just two points during her path to the gold medal. The 20-year-old is now the youngest American wrestler to ever win Olympic gold and is poised to be a force for years to come.

Results: Women's Freestyle 68kg

🥇 Amit Elor (USA)
🥈 Meerim Zhumanazarov (KGZ)
🥉 Buse Tosun(TUR)
🥉 Nonoka Ozaki (JPN)

Also on the mat, Cuba's Mijain Lopez scored a historic win in the Grecco-Roman 130kg class.

Lopez, 41, already belong to an elite group of Olympians to have ever won four gold medals in the same individual event. By beating Chile's Yasmani Acosta Fernandez, Lopez won Olympic gold for a fifth straight time — becoming the first athlete, in any individual sport, to ever do that.

Afterward, Lopez left his shoes on the mat — a symbolic move that wrestlers use to indicate their retirement.

Results: Greco-Roman 130kg

🥇 Mijain Lopez (CUB)
🥈 Yasmani Acosta Fernandez (CHI)
🥉 Amin Mirzazadeh (IRI)
🥉 Meng Lingzhe (CHN)

Basketball: Men's semifinals take shape

The men's basketball quarterfinals continued on Tuesday with four games.

In the Germany-Greece matchup, Giannis Antetokounmpo came out strong, but Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder led Germany to a 76-63 victory.

Team Germany, which remains undefeated in the Olympic tournament, will now face France in the semifinal.

With Victor Wembanyama having an off night and Rudy Gobert playing less than four minutes, France relied on Guerschon Yabusele (22 points) and Isaia Cordinier (20 points) to overpower a Canada team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (27 points).

FULL BOX SCORE: GER vs. GRE
FULL BOX SCORE: FRA vs. CAN

In the second game of the day, Australia's Patty Mills delivered a stellar performance but it was ultimately no match for Nikola Jokic, who dominated in overtime to lead Serbia to a 95-90 win.

Jokic tallied 21 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and four steals to help Serbia erase a 22-point first-half deficit and force overtime. He then scored the go-ahead basket with a minute left to play in OT.

All love and respect between two legends. ❤️#Paris2024 x #Basketball pic.twitter.com/hFJPJUQ6OZ

— FIBA (@FIBA) August 6, 2024

In the semifinal, Serbia will get a rematch with Team USA, which dominated Brazil from start to finish for a 122-87 win in the day's final quarterfinal.

The U.S. had six players score in double figures, led by Devin Booker (18 points) and Anthony Edwards (17). Joel Embiid came to life in this one with 14 points and seven rebounds in just over 12 minutes of action.

During the game, Kevin Durant made history by becoming the all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic history.

FULL BOX SCORE: SRB vs. AUS
FULL BOX SCORE: BRA vs. USA

Diving: China's dominance reaches new heights

China's Quan Hongchan delivered an incredible performance in the women's 10m platform competition, scoring perfect 10s from all seven judges on her first jump.

Hongchan's teammate, Chen Yuxi, remained competitive but was never able to quite catch Quan.

Chen finished with a final score of 425.60, 40.6 points less than the Olympic record score she set in Tokyo (466.20).

At 17 years old, Quan is the defending Olympic gold medalist. At the Tokyo Games, at just 14 years old, Quan bested Chen, who finished in second place as a 15-year-old.

Quan and Chen won gold as a synchro pair in the synchronized 10m platform earlier in the Games.

China has now won gold in each of the five diving events that have been contested in Paris. Always dominant, China has earned a medal in all but one diving event since 2000 (53 events). This is also the third-straight Olympics that China has gone 1-2 in this event.

FINAL RESULTS

Results: Diving - Women's 10m platform

🥇 Quan Hongchan (CHN)
🥈 Chen Yuxi (CHN)
🥉 Kim Mi-Rae (PRK)

In case you missed it...

  • Australian 14-year-old phenom Arisa Trew claimed Olympic gold with a jaw-dropping final run score of 93.18. All three medalists were 16 or younger.
  • The U.S. women's volleyball team swept Poland, sending them into the semifinals at the Paris Games.
  • American beach volleyball duo Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes were eliminated from competition following a loss to Switzerland in straight sets.
  • Amit Elor became the youngest American to win Olympic gold in wrestling. The 20-year-old won the 68kg category.
  • U.S. women's water polo beat Team Hungary, 5-4, in the quarterfinals to advance to the tournament semifinals.

Medal count: Team USA captures three golds

COMPLETE STANDINGS

Through Day 11 of competition, the United States remains atop the overall total medal standings, and has won the most golds thus far (24). On Tuesday, the U.S.'s gold medal winners include Cole Hocker (men's 1500m), Gabby Thomas (women's 200m) and Amit Elor (freestyle wrestling 68kg).

In two events, the U.S. finished one-three on the podium —with Yared Nuguse winning bronze in the men's 1500m, and Brittany Brown taking bronze in the women's 200m.

Medal standings through Aug. 6
PlaceCountryTotal
1United States86
2China59
3France48
4Great Britain46
5Australia35
6Japan29
7South Korea26
8Italy26
9Netherlands19
10Canada18

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Paris Olympics Aug. 6 recap, highlights: Hocker shocks, USWNT advances, Lopez makes history (2024)

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