The Paris Summer Olympics wrap-up Sunday after two-and-a-half weeks of dramatic sports achievements and a bit of controversy. The United States won the most medals as it prepares to host the next Summer Games.
PIEN HUANG, HOST:
The Paris Summer Olympic Games comes to a close today. This final day of sport saw the U.S. women's basketball team claim its eighth straight Olympic gold medal in a one-point victory over France. That win also helped give the U.S. the top total medal count. NPR's Brian Mann is in Paris. Hey, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hey.
HUANG: So Brian, we have to start with basketball. The U.S. women fought back their way to win. It was incredible to watch. How did they do it?
MANN: You know, this is so amazing. The world is getting better at basketball. And today here in Paris, the French built a 10-point lead over the U.S. in the third quarter. The American women, made up of WNBA stars, fought their way back into this game, hitting three-pointers, playing really physical basketball and enduring a raucous French crowd. Here's A'ja Wilson speaking after the game.
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A'JA WILSON: This was a big one. I feel like the environment really kind of set it off. It just goes to show how our game is going to continue to grow internationally as well. And it was a lot of fun. It wasn't the prettiest of games, but those are the ones sometimes you got to grind out.
MANN: So, again, a one-point victory for the women. And the era when American dream teams could just cruise to gold in the Olympics, that appears to be over.
HUANG: Yeah. And we also need to talk about Jordan Chiles, the American gymnast. She's being told to give back her bronze medal. What's going on?
MANN: Yeah. This is a mess. Here's what happened - Jordan Chiles competed in the individual floor exercise. It's one of the biggest, most popular events in the Summer Games. At first, Chiles appeared to take fifth place behind Ana Barbosu of Romania, and that meant no medal. But Chiles' coach appealed part of the judging decision, and that appeal was accepted. So Chiles was bumped up to a bronze medal finish, and she was honored on the podium. But then the Romanians challenged that decision, arguing the U.S. appeal came too late. They said it was four seconds outside this tiny one-minute window that's allowed during competitions. An international sports arbitration tribunal sided with Romania. So now the International Olympic Committee says Chiles has to give her bronze medal back. But now, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee says this isn't over. Late today, it submitted what it calls time-stamped video proof that the request was made within that window, at 47 seconds, in fact, so we'll see where this goes.
HUANG: Yeah, that's truly awful. And we'll update this as it plays out. I wanted to talk with you just for a second about the wider Olympics, Brian. What's the verdict? Were the Paris Summer Games a success?
MANN: Oh, yeah. This has been a joy. You know, no spectacle on this scale is going to go off without a hitch. We just talked about one example. There were also some problems with water quality in the Seine River where some of the long-distance swimming events took place. But the big picture is this was just an incredible celebration. It played out in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We saw world records drop and performances by athletes that seemed unbelievable. Just last night, it was at the track. I watched American women runners win the 4x400 relay final. It was the eighth time in a row U.S. women have won gold in this race, which is just incredible. And Shamier Little talked about it after.
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SHAMIER LITTLE: We got the real quarter horses.
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LITTLE: Like, we really do. And it's amazing to be part of history and to kind of add on to that.
MANN: And Pien, I'm hearing this from Parisians, from sports officials, from athletes - after, you know, two Olympic Games that were marred by the COVID pandemic, this was just a fantastic Summer Games.
HUANG: Yeah. And, you know, the Olympics is not just about the medals, but the medals do count. So tell us about the medal count, Brian. How did the U.S. do?
MANN: Yeah, the U.S. came out on top, and American athletes won 126 total medals, the most by far of any nation. And the U.S. tied China for the highest number of gold medals. China continues to establish itself as America's biggest sports rival at the Summer Olympics.
HUANG: NPR's Brian Mann, who's in Paris for the Summer Olympics. Thank you so much, Brian.
MANN: All right, thank you.
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