Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
Three Americans earned gold medals on Wednesday at the Olympic Games in Paris, two of them coming in unconventional fashion.
Quincy Hall bagged the men’s 400-meter dash with a dramatic surge around the final turn, finishing the race in 43.40 seconds. Sarah Hildebrandt won the women’s 50-kilogram freestyle wrestling final over Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman after India’s Vinesh Phogat was disqualified for not making weight.
Phogat missed out by about 3 1/2 ounces, then announced her retirement.
The U.S. women’s cycling team got its first Olympic gold in the pursuit event as Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams, Chloe Dygert, and Kristen Faulkner combined to beat New Zealand.
Kenneth Rooks earned a surprising silver medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, holding off Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot. Katie Moon cleared a height of 4.85 to earn a silver in the women’s pole vault.
The women’s basketball team and men’s water polo team reached the semifinals with victories, but the men’s volleyball team’s hopes of a gold medal were squashed in a semifinal defeat against Poland. The latter squad will aim for bronze on Friday against Italy.
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–Quincy Hall won the men’s 400-meter dash with a late push, running a personal-best time of 43.40 seconds. Hall started the final turn in the middle of the pack but zoomed to the front by the end.
–Sarah Hildebrandt came away with gold in women’s 50-kilogram freestyle wrestling, defeating Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman. Hildrandt initially thought she had won by default when India’s Vinesh Phogat failed to make weight, but Guzman was given a shot in the final, which Hildebrandt won.
–The women’s cycling team knocked off New Zealand in the pursuit event to claim the first gold in that race in U.S. history.
–Bucky Dent, Field Level Media
Related: Today’s Olympics schedule for August 8