Closing ceremony recap: Highlights from final day in Paris

The final day of the 2024 Paris Olympics was highlighted by the U.S. women’s basketball team beating France for its eighth consecutive gold medal. Check out all the highlights from USA vs. France.
Elsewhere, the U.S. women’s volleyball team lost to Italy in the gold medal match, the Americans won bronze in men’s water polo and wrestling held nine medal events.
And then, of course, the closing ceremony served as the nightcap to these extraordinary Games.
USA TODAY Sports brought live results, coverage, highlights, medal wins and more throughout the day. Here’s everything that happened at the extraordinary closing ceremony.
Wouldn’t you know it, they’ll be happening in 2028. More specifically though, the 2028 Los Angeles Games’ opening ceremony is set for July 14, 2028, with the closing ceremony happening just over two weeks later on July 30, 2028. — Jon Hoefling
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
After the transition to Los Angeles, we were treated to one more trip back to Paris where French singer Yseult was waiting to perform a classic made famous stateside by Frank Sinatra, “My Way.” Her rendition of the tune was remarkable, and was capped off with a multitude of fireworks, a very fitting and extravagant end to an unforgettable Olympics. — Jon Hoefling
To cap off the closing ceremony, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, alongside Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre offered a mini concert on the beach.
It had been rumored for a few days that Cruise would be performing a stunt of epic proportions to symbolize the transition from Paris to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics. Cruise did not disappoint.
Cruise rappelled down Stade de France into a crowd of athletes, who all met him with high-fives. Cruise then made his way to the stage to take the Olympic flag from Simone Biles and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. In classic Tom Cruise fashion, he then hopped on a motorcycle and rode out of the stadium and onto a plane.
The plane went straight to Los Angeles, and viewers were treated to the 62-year-old movie star skydiving onto the Hollywood sign, altering the two O’s in Hollywood into the Olympic rings. The flag was then carried throughout LA, through iconic venues such as the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Long Beach, where the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre were waiting to offer a mini-concert. — Jon Hoefling
SAINT-DENIS, France — Simone Biles made a surprise appearance at the closing ceremony, playing a part in the passing of the Olympic flag from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Biles stood with Bass while H.E.R. played the national anthem. She is still wearing a walking boot on her left leg after competing with a strained calf during the Paris Games. — Thomas Schad
After the passing of the flag, Stade de France was treated to a beautiful rendition of the American national anthem from five-time Grammy Award-winning artist H.E.R. — Jon Hoefling
Following several earnest goodbyes from several French representatives, the flag was officially handed over to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who wasted no time waving it for the world to see. — Jon Hoefling
The city of Paris had been preparing for these Olympics for near a decade, and tonight, it says goodbye. The president of Paris 2024 offered a very emotional goodbye to the Olympics.
Stade de France (Stadium of France) was built to host the 1998 soccer World Cup. It is located just north of Paris in Saint-Denis. It’s where the athletics events took place, as well as rugby sevens. It has a seating capacity of about 80,000, making it the largest stadium in France. Tonight every single one appears to be taken. — Kim Hjelmgaard
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA28 Olympic Games chair Casey Wasserman, who are both here tonight, told reporters on Saturday that while the Paris Games have been “authentically French,” the 2028 Games will be “authentically Los Angeles.” The jury’s out on that for another four years but Wasserman said this meant tapping into LA’s music, fashion, culture and of course movies pedigree. 
“We don’t have an Eiffel Tower. We do have a Hollywood sign,” said Wasserman. — Kim Hjelmgaard
The first of many musicians to come onto stage for these closing ceremonies was Phoenix, a French indie band from Versailles. The group played their 2009 hit song “Lisztomania” from their fourth album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.
Phoenix was followed by French musician Kavinsky, who played his 2010 single Nightcall. Phoenix and Nightcall combined for a three-song set to entertain the crowd, and it was quite a show for such a short set. — Jon Hoefling
SAINT-DENIS, France — Athletes from several nations, including Team USA athletes, rushed the stage, albeit in a somewhat orderly fashion. They seemed to be joining performers who ran out of tunnels onto the stage. 
But then broadcast across the stadium was this message in English: “Please don’t stand on the stage. Please get down from the stage, dear athletes.  … Dear athletes, please leave the stage.” — Michelle Martinelli
The United States finished this year’s games with the most medals (126) of any competing country. They also finished the Olympics tied for the most gold medals (40) alongside China.
Find the full final medal count here.
SAINT-DENIS, France — Leading up to the giant, golden Olympic rings coming into place above the stage, the Hymn to Apollo — the oldest hymn from ancient Greece — was performed by Alain Roche. But perhaps you noticed he, amazingly, was seated and playing a piano while suspended vertically in the air. Because the stadium was dark, it was challenging to notice this in person. 
The hymn was discovered in the ruins of Delphi and was first performed in modern times to celebrate the 1894 revival of the Olympics two years later. The ancient score is in the Louvre. — Michelle Martinelli
SAINT-DENIS, France — The stadium went dark, save for people’s phone flashlights and dramatic periodic flashing lights on the stage. The idea was to transport viewers to another world that is dark, deserted and mysterious, opening the door for the arrival of The Golden Voyager. 
Covered in golden sparkles and lowered down into the stadium, The Golden Voyager was inspired by elements of French history, including the Spirit of the Bastille, the Génie de la Liberté — a 1836 bronze-gilded statue signifying liberty by Auguste Dumont — and video games and science fiction. 
The Golden Voyager character is also a nod to the Voyager Golden Record, which the Voyager spacecraft launched into the void in 1977 “containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth”, should other spacefarers find it, according to NASA. — Michelle Martinelli
SAINT-DENIS, France — The women’s marathon was one of the last events at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday morning, and the three medalists received their hardware at the closing ceremony: Netherlands’ gold medalist Sifan Hassan, Ethiopia’s silver medalist Tigst Assefa and Kenya’s bronze medalist Hellen Obiri. The crowd roared when Hassan was introduced.
The ceremony also paid video tribute to the Marathon Pour Tous, or the Marathon For All — a public event where people ran parts or the whole course on Saturday night. There were 20,024 participants registered. 
The marathon route was inspired by the legendary Women’s March of 1789, where Parisians revolted over King Louis XVI’s apathy toward a flour shortage. They marched from through Paris to Versailles to bring the king back to the city in a moment the French remember for its defense of human rights and freedom. — Michelle Martinelli
Each Olympic medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics also receives a box while they’re standing on the podium, but what’s inside?
According to the International Olympic Committee, it’s the official poster for this year’s Games. French artist Ugo Gattoni designed this year’s posters over several months of work.
Read more on what medalists have received this Olympics from Jordan Mendoza.
SAINT-DENIS, France — Katie Ledecky doesn’t usually get to attend the Olympics opening ceremony because of her swimming schedule, but Sunday night, she was one of Team USA’s flag bearers at the closing ceremony, joined by rower Nick Mead. 
When she found out she was chosen as the flag bearer, Ledecky teared up when fellow 1,500 freestyle Olympic champion Bobby Finke delivered the news. 
At the closing ceremony, Ledecky and Mead entered with all the nations’ flag bearers, donning their vintage NASCAR-esque Ralph Lauren outfits. They both looked excited walking around the stage at the booming stadium.
Mead, a 29-year-old first-time Olympian, was part of the men’s four team that won gold for the U.S. for the first time since the 1960 Olympics. 
With 14 total medals, Ledecky, a 27-year-old four-time Olympian, is the most decorated American woman at the Olympics in any sport and the most decorated woman in swimming of all time. — Michelle Martinelli
Following tradition, Greece leads the procession of all nations that participated in this year’s Olympics into the arena. Delegations from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team march into the stadium and onto the stage in the center of the Stade de France. — Jack McKessy
Following the choral performance to start the closing ceremony, the French swimmer lifted a lantern containing the Olympic flame next to the grand Olympic torch. He carried the lantern out of the Jardin des Tuileries and began his procession to bring the flame to the Stade de France. — Jack McKessy
The closing ceremony festivities began in front of the 2024 Paris Olympics’ Olympic torch in the Jardin des Tuileries. French singer Zaho de Sagazan and the Choir of the Haendel-Hendrix Academy treated spectators to a rendition of “Sous le ciel de Paris.” — Jack McKessy
The chairman of the LA28 Organizing Committee sat down with NBC’s Mike Tirico to discuss what to expect in four years’ time, when the Olympics return to the U.S. for the first time since 1996. — Jack McKessy
As in the opening ceremony, Ralph Lauren is the designer of Team USA’s closing ceremony outfits. Here’s what the Americans will be wearing on Sunday evening in Paris:
Swimmer Katie Ledecky will bear the U.S. flag with rower Nick Mead at Sunday’s closing ceremony. — Jack McKessy
The closing ceremony begins at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday. NBC will broadcast the ceremony, which is expected to conclude a little after 5 p.m.
There will also be an encore broadcast of the closing ceremony starting at 7 p.m. ET. — Jack McKessy
Gabby Williams, the No. 4 overall pick out of UConn in 2018, was one of France’s best players at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky but started playing overseas full time after the 2022 season.
Williams is from the United States but is eligible to play for France in the Olympics due to her mother, Therese, being from the host country of this year’s Olympic Games. Williams also competed in the Tokyo Olympics, winning the bronze medal in the last competition. — Austin Curtright
Kahleah Copper played a huge role for Team USA, coming off the bench to score 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter. Copper sank two crucial free throws with 3.9 seconds left that enabled the Americans to withstand Williams’ buzzer beater.
When asked for one word to describe the performance of Copper, Wilson gave a two-word term of endearment to describe the Phoenix Mercury All-Star guard.
“That (expletive)!” Wilson said before giving a look into the camera that let the rest of the world know they were sleeping on Copper’s skills. — Scooby Axson
With the U.S. clinging to a 62-59 lead, Breanna Stewart got a fingertip on France’s 3 attempt, a huge defensive play with 20 seconds to go. At the other end, A’Ja Wilson hit one of two free throws to make it a two possession game. 
France’s Gabby Williams hit a shot at the buzzer but the forward wasn’t behind the 3-point line when it left her hand, leaving France short of tying the game and leaving the U.S. with a one-point victory, 67-66. — Lindsay Schnell, Nancy Armour
After Gabby Williams hit a long 2 for France with about 1:30 left, Kahleah Cooper answered with a layup out of the timeout to give the Americans a 62-59 lead with 54 seconds left. — Lindsay Schnell, Nancy Armour
The national emergency appears to be over — for now. A’ja Wilson is getting ticked off, and that’s usually when the Americans start rolling. Wilson is up to four blocks (it feels like more) and dominated the third quarter defensively when the U.S. really needed it. She’s got 14 points and 12 rebounds. Two nice Sabrina Ionescu-to-Napheesa Collier baskets also helped the Americans get back into it after trailing by 10. — Lindsay Schnell, Nancy Armour
A lot of people thought the U.S. would have a cakewalk to its eighth consecutive gold. France has other ideas. After an 8-0 run that gave the French a 33-25 lead to open the second half, the U.S. needed a timeout to talk things over. This crowd is only going to get louder. — Lindsay Schnell, Nancy Armour
French police briefly evacuated the area around the Eiffel Tower on Sunday after there were reports a man attempted to climb the 1,083-foot structure. The incident, reported by the Associated Press and in unverified eyewitness posts on social media, took place just hours before the Olympic closing ceremony was due to get underway. The shirtless man was spotted just above the Olympic rings that decorate the second section of Paris’ famous landmark, the city’s tallest building. The Eiffel Tower was a centerpiece of the opening ceremony. A purpose-built stadium directly in front of it hosted beach volleyball events. Blind football events will be played there during the Paralympics. The tower is not part of the closing ceremony. — Kim Hjelmgaard
The women’s basketball gold medal game is all tied up at the half after a crucial tip-in from Team USA’s Napheesa Collier just before the buzzer.
Real talk: That half was ugly. The U.S. shot 29%, France shot 28% and the teams combined for 19 total turnovers. A’ja Wilson has six points but is just 2-of-9 from the field, while Stewart is 1-of-6 with five points. Wilson and Collier have nine rebounds each. Gabby Williams leads France with eight points.
The U.S. looks sloppy and disjointed and if it wants to keep the streak of seven-gold-medals-in-a-row-and-counting going, the Americans going to need to clean up a lot in the second half. — Lindsay Schnell, Nancy Armour
Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan and Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa tangled. They jostled. They were one false move away from taking each other out. Then, in the blink of an eye, Hassan was gone; a blur of Netherlands orange leaving Assefa behind and streaking to the gold medal. And when she crossed the wire in an Olympic record 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds, there was just one question left.
How is it possible for a human to do this?
Read Dan Wolken’s column on the extraordinary performance in the women’s Olympic marathon.
NANTERRE, France — Team USA men’s water polo were victorious in a thrilling 11-8 bronze-medal match that ended in a shootout against historical powerhouse Hungary on Sunday to win its first Olympic medal since 2008. 
The American’s not only won the match and bronze medal, but they also shut out Hungary in the shootout, 3-0, at París La Défense Arena.
USA goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg – who stood on his head, especially in the final minutes and was spectacular in the shootout – made 16 saves on 24 shots, while American captain Ben Hallock led the team in scoring with two goals. 
Read more on Weinberg from Michelle Martinelli.
American Jennifer Valente won her second consecutive gold medal in women’s Omnium cycling at the National Velodrome on Sunday.
Valente totaled 144 points, edging Poland’s Daria Pikulik (silver) and New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston (bronze). Omnium consists of four races (scratch race, tempo race, elimination and points), and points are awarded for each race. Valente won the 2022 and 2023 world championship in Omnium.
“It’s been a really long week of racing. I raced (team pursuit) qualifying over a week ago, and we had some really good performances, so to pull it off on the last day, I’m really excited,” Valante said. 
Valente, who won the event three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, was also part of the squad that won gold in team pursuit in Paris. — Jeff Zillgitt
The U.S. women’s basketball team gets to bring down the curtain on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the final event of these Games, the United States plays France with an eighth consecutive gold medal on the line. The Americans have mostly cruised through this Olympics tournaments, with each of their five wins coming by double digits, and three coming by 19 or more points. A’ja Wilson (18.2 points per game) and Breanna Stewart (18.0) have been leading the way, with Wilson also leading the team in rebounds (9.6), blocks (2.4) and steals (1.6).
Follow along for updates and highlights.
In stripping Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal, the International Olympic Committee is not following the precedent it set for itself in the most publicized double-medal controversy in Olympic history.
At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, in what became known as the French judge scandal, the IOC gave out two gold medals – to Canada and Russia – rather than take the gold medal from the Russian pairs skaters nearly a week after they received it, as it should have. 
Read more from Christine Brennan.
PARIS — The repeat dream is over for the U.S. women’s volleyball. Italy swept the Americans (25-18, 25-20, 25-17) in a match that lasted 81 minutes to deny the USA a second consecutive gold medal. 
Italy’s opposite hitter Paola Egonu supplied the bulk of her team’s attack, as she went off for 22 kills and was by far the best player on the court. 
Jordan Thompson led the Americans with eight attack points. Italy finished with seven aces – five coming in the third set. — Chris Bumbaca
PARIS — The teams traded points through the first part of the second set, but Italy pulled away during the middle portions and took the frame, 25-20. Now the Americans are on the ropes and will have to win three straight sets to claim their second consecutive Olympic gold medal. 
The U.S. looks out of system defensively and Italy is keeping the Americans off balance with a variety of attacks. 
Paolo Egonu has 15 kills for Italy. 
Avery Skinner leads the way for the U.S. with six kills, and Jordan Thompson has five. Jordan Larson and Andrea Drews both have four. — Chris Bumbaca
Wenwen Li of China secured her country’s 40th gold medal Sunday in the women’s +81kg weightlifting competition, extending China’s gold medal lead over the United States to 40-38 with several medal events remaining on the final day of competition at the Paris Games.
Li lifted a total of 309 kilograms (136 snatch, 173 clean & jerk) to take gold with relative ease over the Republic of Korea’s Hyejeong Park (299 kg) and Great Britain’s Emily Campbell (288 kg).
Team USA’s Mary Theisen Lappen finished fifth with a total of 274 kg (119 snatch, 155 clean & jerk). — Chase Goodbread
PARIS — In a gold-medal match, that was not the first set the U.S. women’s volleyball team was looking for.
Italy, behind a crowd decidedly in favor of the Italians, rolled to a first-set victory, 25-18. 
A 6-1 start for Italy set the tone. The Americans could not navigate Italy’s block, and Italy finished with four block points in the frame. 
U.S. coach Karch Kiraly burned both timeouts by the time his team trailed 12-6. That deficit turned into 14-7. The Americans battled to 18-15 but were unable to overcome the rest of the margin. 
Meanwhile, the fans got loud for Italy.
“It-a-lia! It-a-lia!” they chanted. — Chris Bumbaca
American wrestler Kyle Snyder failed to win his third Olympic medal on Sunday afternoon, losing 4-1 to Iran’s Amirali Azarpira in a men’s 97kg freestyle bronze medal match.
Azarpira gained an early 2-0 advantage, and it held up in stop-and-start match that featured multiple medical stoppages. Snyder needed a series of bandages applied to a cut on his head, while Azarpira received attention twice in the match’s final 31 seconds.
Snyder, 28, was a gold medalist in Rio in 2016 and a silver medalist in Tokyo. — Gentry Estes
A protest from the second-place finisher in the women’s marathon was rejected and the results stand with Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands winning gold and Tigst Assefa of Ethopia winning silver.
Just a couple hundred yards from the finish line, the two competitors appeared to bump as Hassan tried to break through an opening inside of Assefa near the fence. After a little bit of a shove between them, Hassan took the lead and pulled away for a three-second margin of victory.  — Dan Wolken
PARIS — The result of the women’s marathon is still under review after a protest from second-place finisher Tigst Assefa of Ethopia against the winner Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.
Just a couple hundred yards from the finish line, the two competitors appeared to bump as Hassan tried to break through an opening inside of Assefa near the fence. 
After a little bit of a shove between them, Hassan took the lead and pulled away for a three-second margin of victory. 
Race officials informed the media that the medal ceremony and press conferences would be delayed until a decision is made whether to change the finish. — Dan Wolken
PARIS — U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles will be required to return the individual bronze medal she received at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee announced Sunday morning.
The news comes less than 24 hours after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the judging panel for the women’s floor exercise final made a mistake in granting an inquiry filed by Chiles’ coaches, which moved the American gymnast into medal position. The Romanian Gymnastics Federation had challenged the validity of that move, saying it was filed four seconds beyond the deadline by which any inquiries had to be submitted.
The IOC said in a statement that it will reallocate the bronze medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. — Nancy Armour and Tom Schad
Sifan Hassan — who won the bronze medal in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter race — completed an incredible 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the women’s marathon on Sunday, finishing in an Olympic record time of 2:22:55.
It required a late sprint to the finish for the track star, who out-paced Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa to the finish line of the 26.2-mile race. Assefa finished three seconds behind Hassan to win silver. Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won the bronze.
PARIS — Near the halfway point of the women’s marathon on Sunday, American Dakotah Lindwurm found herself in the lead. It was a scenario the former hockey player from Minnesota, ranked No. 138 in the world, could have never imagined.
“I looked up and said, ‘God, you’re crazy – I can’t believe I’m at the front of the Olympic marathon right now,’” she said. “But you’ve got to put yourself in that position if you want to run well, and I’m not afraid to take the lead. I never have been, and it was fun.”
Though it was a temporary thrill, Lindwurm surpassed all expectations by finishing 12th on the difficult, hilly course in a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 44 seconds. The only disappointment was that she couldn’t stay in the top 10, finishing 34 seconds behind that milestone. 
Still, being at the head of the pack was something she’ll always remember.  She even choked up a bit talking about the fact that she wasn’t the most likely Olympian and how happy she was just to be a part of this event. 
“I swear I could hear all of Minnesota cheering for me in the moment when I took the lead,” she said.
Lindwurm led the American contingent, as Emily Sisson finished 23rd and Fiona O’Keefe dropped off the pace and stopped just a few kilometers into the race due to injury.
Sisson, who qualified for the Olympic team in Tokyo for the 10k, said her run did not meet expectations.
“I’m pretty disappointed,” she said. “Pretty sad. I think there were signs. Three marathons in a year is too much for me. I had some good workouts and no major injuries or anything. I like challenging myself and wanted to do a fall marathon for learning experience and it did help me in the trials. Btu this marathon didn’t feel like the last two, like I needed to freshen up my legs. Lesson learned, unfortunately.”
Both Americans were amazed to learn that Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands had won the race, barely outfinishing Tigst Assefa of Ethiopa. The marathon was Hassan’s third event of these Olympics, having already won bronze medals in both the 5k and 10k.
“Oh my God,” Lindwurm said. “My legs are trashed and I don’t know how she’s running on tired legs. She’s amazing.”
Said Sisson: “I’m not surprised. She’s a generational talent. I think she is solidified as the GOAT now, if she wasn’t already.” — Dan Wolken
Dakotah Lindwurm managed to stick with the lead runners through the 13.1-kilometer halfway point, but has since dropped off the pace set by the lead pack.
Through 30k, Lindwurm — the lead American runner — was 46 seconds behind the leaders. Another America, Emily Sisson, was more than two minutes behind the leaders.
Still attached to the lead group of Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, winner of the bronze medals in the 5,000m and 10,000 at Stade de France. The lead group also included three Kenyan runners (Sharon Lokedi, Peres Jepchirchir and Hellen Obiri), two Ethiopians (Tigst Assefa and Amane Beriso Shankule), Romania’s Delvine Relin Meringor, Japan’s Yuka Suzuki and Bahrain’s Eunice Chebichii Chumba. Lokedi clocked in with the top time through 30k at 1:43:59.
The women’s marathon is underway in Paris, and 29-year-old American Dakotah Lindwurm was right in the mix with the lead group through the halfway point of the race.
Lindwurm was in third place with a time of 1:13:25 at the 13.1-kilometer mark, with Australia’s Jessica Stenson just ahead in first place at 1:13:22. Lindwurm was among 20 runners that comprise the lead group.
The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, who also won bronze medals in the women’s 5,000- and 10,000-meter races at the 2024 Paris Olympics, also is among those runners in the lead group.
Fellow American Emily Sisson was 27 seconds off the lead. A third American in the race, Fiona O’Keeffe, dropped out of the race during the opening miles.
Here are some Olympic schedule highlights. 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)
(All times Eastern)
The U.S. women have won a medal at every Olympics since women’s basketball was added to the program in 1976. If they make the final, they could send 42-year-old Diana Taurasi home with an unprecedented sixth Olympic gold.
In Tokyo the U.S. women won their first Olympic gold in the sport of indoor volleyball, beating traditional power Brazil. Indoor volleyball has been on the Olympic program since 1964 and the U.S. has one gold, three silver and two bronze. Jordan Larson returns as captain of the team after being named MVP of the Tokyo Games.
It’s the women’s marathon day, which will take runners on a scenic route that includes Hotel de Ville de Paris, past the Eiffel Tower and Chateau de Versailles. For many years, the men’s marathon was held on the final day, bringing the Olympics to a close. In Paris, the women will be showcased on the final day of the Games, ending just a few hours before the closing ceremony.
Unlike the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony will be held at the national stadium with NBC and Peacock offering live coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Jimmy Fallon and Mike Tirico are slotted in as NBC’s hosts. The parade of athletes brings a party atmosphere with music and dancing. At the end, Paris will hand off to the organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Team USA has showed off its speed and strength at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Americans fared well in the pool, but dominated athletics.
The U.S. won by far the most medals in track and field with 34 overall, the most for the U.S. since winning 40 the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. — Jordan Mendoza
PARIS — If U.S. women were a nation unto themselves, their results at the 2024 Paris Olympics would make them one of the most dominant athletic countries on earth.
The exhilarating U.S. soccer victory over Brazil Saturday evening added an exclamation point to what already have been a fabulous Olympic Games for the American women. 
They are winning medals at such a terrific rate that if they jettisoned the guys, they would be third in the overall medal standings, behind only the full U.S. team and China. 
That means half of the U.S. team is performing better at the Paris Olympics than the full teams of about 200 other nations, including 85 countries that have won at least one medal. — Christine Brennan
PARIS — Victor Montalvo became the first Olympic bronze medalist in the history of men’s breaking Saturday night.
He knows he might also be the last.
Organizers for the next Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028 had the ability to propose new sports they wanted to include and opted for flag football, cricket and lacrosse over breaking − despite the dance’s deep history in the United States, including the fact its birthplace is the Bronx. — Tom Schad
PARIS − After the Paris Olympics conclude Sunday, the Paralympics will run Aug. 28 to Sept. 8, then the squash racket, lacrosse stick and cricket ball − all sporting additions to the 2028 Games − will be in Los Angeles’ court.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and and LA28 Olympic Games chair Casey Wasserman, who are in Paris as part of a U.S. presidential delegation to the Olympics that was led by First Lady Jill Biden, provided a few details Saturday to reporters about what sports fans − and Angelenos − can expect to see four years from now. — Kim Hjelmgaard
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