By Adam Roberts – 8/4/2021
The US is one step closer to having both their men’s and women’s basketball teams compete for Olympic gold. We dissect that and more in you Olympic Update:
- The U.S. women’s basketball team is into the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics after cruising past Australia 79-55. It’s Team USA’s 53rd straight win in Olympic competition. The Americans will meet Serbia in the semis on Friday. Meanwhile, the men’s team will play its semifinal early tomorrow against Australia with tipoff set for 11:15pm Central.
- The U.S. baseball team is still in the running for the gold medal after beating the Dominican Republic three-to-one in an elimination game in Tokyo. Triston Casas and Tyler Austin both homered for Team USA, which will square off with the Republic of Korea in the semifinals early tomorrow at 6 a.m. Eastern. The winner advances to play Japan in the gold medal game. The loser will meet the Dominican Republic for the bronze.
- In the world of track and field, the U.S. is bringing home the gold and silver medals in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. American Sydney McLaughlin grabbed the gold with a World Record time of 51.46-seconds. Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. earned the silver. Also on the track, Kenny Bednarek won the silver medal and Noah Lyles grabbed bronze in the men’s 200-meters, while Courtney Frerichs earned silver in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase. Six more medal events are on tap Thursday.
- The U.S. women’s volleyball team is punching its ticket to the semifinals after beating the Dominican Republic three-sets-to-none. The Americans, who are seeking their first-ever Olympic gold medal, will meet Serbia in the semifinals on Friday at midnight Eastern. They will be looking for revenge after losing to the Serbians in the semis at the 2016 Rio Games.
America continues to hold a tight grip on the overall medal lead with 79 total, nine more than second place China.