The United States women’s basketball team barely held off France in Sunday’s title game. But the victory came in the final medal event and allowed the U.S. to finish the Paris Olympics in a tie with China for the most gold medals (40).
France’s Gabby Williams nearly forced overtime at the buzzer but her foot was barely inside the 3-point line. So the U.S. prevailed 67-66 for its 61st consecutive Olympic victory and eighth straight gold.
Related: Winners, losers from the Paris Olympics 2024
The close call certainly didn’t dim the accomplishment. A’ja Wilson, the top women’s player in the world, led the way with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.
The U.S. did get one individual gold on the final day as cyclist Jennifer Valente won the women’s omnium for the second straight Olympics. She controlled the four races — scratch, tempo, elimination and points — to win her third career gold medal.
The Americans were in the gold-medal game in women’s volleyball, but Italy swept to a solid 25-18, 25-20, 25-17 victory.
Related: Winners, losers from Team USA’s gold medal win over France
2024 Paris Olympics final medal count:
United States 126
China 91
Great Britain 65
France 64
Australia 53
Japan 45
Italy 40
Netherlands 34
Germany 33
South Korea 32
Gold Medals:
United States 40
China 40
Japan 20
Australia 18
France 16
Netherlands 15
Great Britain 14
South Korea 13
Germany 12
Italy 12
United States gold medal winners: two on Sunday.
U.S. women’s basketball team — Another gold medal for the Americans, who went 6-0 in Paris and won their first five games by double digits.
Jennifer Valente — She also won a gold in the Olympic road race team event, joining Kristen Faulkner as U.S. cyclists to win two golds in Paris.