The 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday features more than 40 medal events, including the men’s soccer gold medal match between France and Spain, the women’s beach volleyball gold medal match between Brazil and Canada, gold medal battles in women’s breaking, and the women’s soccer bronze medal match between Germany and Spain.
The Olympic track and field schedule is packed with eight medal events, including the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relays and the women’s shot put. The U.S. men’s 4x100m relay team will attempt to win gold without Noah Lyles, while Chase Jackson (nee Ealy) is the favorite in the women’s shot put.
Elsewhere, the U.S. women’s basketball team is in action against Australia in a semifinal matchup.
Twenty-one different sports in total are in action, and USA TODAY Sports will bring you live results, medal count, highlights, and more throughout the day. Follow along.
American swimming star Katie Ledecky attended Friday’s third round of the Olympic women’s golf competition at Le Golf National, supporting an old college friend and meeting the three USA players in the field.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
Ledecky attended Stanford with golfer Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland.
“I’ve known Albane since 2016,” Ledecky said via the Olympic Information Service. “She is the main reason I came out, but I also met (USA golfer) Nelly Korda on the way in today, and I know she came to the swimming last week and cheered me on.”
Four-time Olympian Ledecky won two gold medals and a silver and bronze in the Paris Games. Along with rower Nick Mead, will serve as Team USA’s flag bearer in Sunday’s closing ceremony.
She said she has attended U.S. men’s and women’s basketball games this week. In addition to Korda, Ledecky also met USA’s Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang at the golf course.
“This is my first Olympics where I’ve got to go to other sports,” Ledecky said. “It’s been a whirlwind few days, but since I am done competing, I don’t mind the lack of sleep and the walking and traveling to all the events.” — Gentry Estes
Kyle Dake will have a chance to add another medal to his collection.
Dake, a bronze medalist in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, advanced to the semifinal round at 74 kilograms in morning wrestling action Friday at Champ-de-Mars Arena.
Dake outpointed Venezuela’s Anthony Jose Montero Chirinos and Iran’s Yones Emamichoghaei a combined 21-1 in his two matches.
He faces Japan’s Daichi Takatani, who won his matches a combined 20-0, in the semifinals Friday evening.
Two other Americans lost in morning action Friday. Kayla Miracle beat Turkey’s Nesrin Bas in her first match before falling to Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyz in the quarterfinals at 62 kilograms, and Mason Parris lost to Mongolia’s Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur in the quarterfinals at 128 kilograms. — David Birkett
SAINT-DENIS, France — High school phenom Quincy Wilson wasn’t at his best in his highly-anticipated Olympics debut.
Wilson was sluggish as he raced around the track on the first leg as the U.S. men’s 4×400 relay team finish third in the first round of the relay. The 16-year-old runner, and youngest U.S. male track and field Olympian ever, ran a 47.30 split to start the race. 
“I know I wasn’t 100% myself, but my team came out here and did it for me,” Wilson said after the relay. “They got me around the track today. My grit and determination got me around the track. I knew I had a great three legs behind me and I know it wasn’t just myself today. If it was just myself, we would be in last place. But these guys came out there and gave it their all. From first, all the way to fourth leg, they ran their hearts out.” — Tyler Dragon
Great Britain’s Toby Roberts won gold in the men’s boulder-and-lead combined Friday, while Japan’s Sorato Anraku took silver and Austria’s Jakob Schubert took bronze. American Colin Duffy, in second place after a strong showing in boulder, just missed out on medaling with a fourth-place finish in the final standings. — Josh Peter 
NBC cameras captured Hunter Woodhall’s reaction as his wife Tara Davis-Woodhall won gold at Thursday in the long jump by leaping 7.1 meters (or more than 23 feet).
It was an emotional moment for both of them. She has said she battled depression and body image issues. She’s gone, in her words, “through hell and back.”
SAINT-DENIS, France — Grace Stark, Alaysha Johnson and Masai Russell all advanced to the final in the women’s 100 hurdles.
Stark won her first-round heat with a time of 12.39, Johnson clocked a 12.34 to win her second-round race and Russell ran a 12.42 to finished second in the third heat.
The top two in each heat, plus the next two fastest times advanced to Saturday’s final. Johnson has the top time going into the gold-medal race. — Tyler Dragon
SAINT-DENIS, France — The U.S. men’s 4×400 relay team needed a blistering 44.05 from Christopher Bailey to finish third in the first round of the relay.
High school phenom Quincy Wilson had a tough debut. The 16-year-old runner, and youngest U.S. male track and field Olympian ever, ran a 47.30 split to start the race. The U.S. team was in seventh place when Wilson handed the baton off to Vernon Norwood. Norwood ran a 43.60 split to get the team in sixth place. Norwood then handed the baton off to Bryce Deadmon who posted a 44.20 running the third led as he got the U.S. team in fourth. When Bailey got the baton he needed to place at least third to qualify for the final. He was in fourth during the final 100 meters, but his final surge propelled Team USA to the third and final qualifying spot at 2:59.15.
Botswana won the heat, clocking a season-best 2:57.76 and Great Britain finished second with a time of 2:58.88. — Tyler Dragon
SAINT-DENIS, France — The U.S. women’s 4×400 relay team advanced to Saturday’s final.
The team consisting of Quanera Hayes, Shamier Little, Aaliyah Butler and Kaylyn Brown had a comfortable win in the opening round.
Little extended the U.S. lead by 15 meters during the second leg, while Butler and Brown maintained the advantage.
The women’s squad crossed the line in 3:21.44 for the round one victory.
Team USA has won gold in the past seven Olympics in the women’s 4×400 relay.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is expected to run in the final. After she won gold in the women’s 200m earlier this week, Gabby Thomas said she also hopes to run in both the 4x400m and 4x100m relay. — Tyler Dragon
The president of Botswana declared Friday afternoon a public holiday to celebrate Letsile Tebogo taking the country’s first Olympic gold medal by winning the 200m in Paris on Thursday.
Tebogo triumphed over U.S. sprinters Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles to claim Africa’s first 200m title and become the fifth-fastest man in history over the distance.
The 21-year-old ran in spikes bearing his mother’s date of birth, saying he carried her with him, in a tribute after she passed away in May. — Reuters
South Korean Olympic silver medalist pistol shooter Kim Ye-ji, whose cool demeanor and appearance when competing at the Paris Games made her a social media sensation, collapsed at a news conference on Friday, apparently due to stress and exhaustion.
Kim was speaking at the event in Imsil, the county that she represented for seven years in the southern part of South Korea, when she collapsed, a county official said by telephone. Kim regained consciousness and was taken to hospital, he said.
The 31-year-old did not receive CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) as some media reported, the official said.
Kim would stay in hospital for observation until she had recovered fully, he said, adding she was likely suffering exhaustion after participating in the Paris 2024 Olympics. — Reuters
Here are some Olympic schedule highlights for Friday. Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds in Paris.
(All times Eastern)
NBC is airing and streaming the Paris Olympics from all angles: Peacock is streaming every sport and event live as it unfolds; NBC, USA Network, CNBC and E! are carrying various live events and replays throughout the day. Here are 6 tips and tricks for getting the most out of Peacock during the Olympics.
Our 2024 Paris Olympics medal count tracker updates after every single medal event.
(All times Eastern)
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Chase Jackson (nee Ealey) is ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s shot put and a favorite to win her first Olympic medal. She is the first American woman in history to win gold in the event at the world championships. Jackson, from Springfield, Missouri, told Olympics.com she considered retiring after failing to make the Olympic team for Tokyo.
On the track, both the men’s and women’s 4×100 relay finals will be contested.
SAINT-DENIS, France — Quincy Wilson is set to make his Paris Olympics debut.
Wilson received word that he will take part in Team USA’s 4×400 relay team, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to discuss the relay team.
The men’s 4×400 relay begins Friday at 5:05 a.m. ET (11:05 local time).
Team USA will be in the first-round heat of the 4×400 relay. Wilson is expected to run in the opening round. Wilson will become the youngest American male to have ever participated in an Olympic track and field event. — Tyler Dragon
The end of Noah Lyles’ 2024 Paris Olympics campaign means there’s an open spot in one track and field event for Team USA.
After taking the bronze medal in the men’s 200-meter final, Lyles received medical attention and collapsed into a wheelchair. The runner has a history of asthma, but it was revealed after the race that he tested positive for COVID-19 and ran the 200m sick. In an Instagram post following the race, Lyles said he believes “this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics.”
With Lyles done competing in Paris, there are some questions as to what will happen for Team USA in a race he was expected to compete in: the 4×100-meter relay. — Jordan Mendoza
Medals for the women are up for grabs at one of the iconic venues of the Paris Games. Beach volleyball will be held at Eiffel Tower Stadium, a temporary structure built at the Champ de Mers. The women’s gold medal match will be held Friday and the men’s medals decided the following day.
The women take the stage for breaking’s debut at the Olympics. Sixteen B-girls will face off, going head-to-head. Grace “Sunny” Choi was the first American woman to earn her spot in the Olympics.
PARIS — Sport as an expression of art seems like an abstract concept. But take a well-designed goal in soccer or hockey, for example – the angles involved, the creativity required. Suddenly, the two opposites are bridged.  
After all, sport, like art, is entertainment. And the newest Olympic sport, breaking, is an ideal example of how two forms of expression, dancing and athletics, are not as dichotomous as people may think. 
USA TODAY Sports asked the U.S. Olympic breakers, along with those who have been involved around breaking for decades, whether they saw themselves more as athletes or artists. The easy answer is “both.” The truth lies somewhere along that bridge. — Chris Bumbaca
PARIS — The U.S. women’s soccer team is in the Olympic final for the first time since 2012, and have a chance to win their first major international tournament since the 2019 World Cup, in large part because of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. 
A team that couldn’t buy a goal at the 2023 World Cup leads the Olympic tournament with 11, with Rodman, Smith and Swanson each scoring three.
Brazil, which the USWNT faces in Saturday’s final, has only one player with multiple goals, Gabi Portilho, who has scored twice over five games. — Nancy Armour
Kyle Dake qualified for the Olympics after an emotional Trials. Dake learned his father, Doug, had died just a few days before Trials were held in State College, Pennsylvania. Dake, the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist who wrestled collegiately at Cornell, competes at 74 kilograms.
Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky won the men’s 10km marathon swimming gold at the Olympics on Friday, holding off German silver medallist Oliver Klemet in a gruelling slog along the final length of the Seine River.
There was more medal joy for Hungary, with David Betlehem claiming bronze for the nation.
Four swimmers failed to finish the race, while Sweden’s Victor Johansson elected not to start citing health concerns about the water quality.
Rasovszky, however, was not to be denied, three years after being beaten for the gold at Tokyo by another German in Florian Wellbrock. The 27-year-old crossed the finish in one hour, 50 minutes and 52.7 seconds, 2.1 seconds ahead of Klemet.
The event went ahead as scheduled with water quality deemed compliant from testing. — Reuters
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