Paris —The United States didn't just thrive over the weekend, they dominated The Summer Games.
Saturday, Team USA racked up an impressive 18 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was the highest single day total for the U.S. since Oct. 1st, 1998, at the Seoul Games. The United States won 18 on that day as well.
Sunday, the U.S. delivered another double-digit medal count performance. On Day 9 of The Paris Olympics, Team USA posted 10 total medals (five gold, two silver, three bronze). The United States have the most medals through the first nine days of competition, with 71. Team USA ended the weekend tied with China for the most gold medals, at 19.
One of the many highlights from Day 9 of The Olympics was American Sprinter, Noah Lyles, claiming the title of "World's Fastest Man" by the slimmest of margins.
Sunday's men's 100 meters lived up to the hype. Lyles stormed to the finish line, winning the gold medal in a photo finish. Lyles ran a personal best, 9.784 seconds. Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson finished in second place by only five-thousandths of a second. Fred Kerley of the U.S. collected the bronze medal. Sunday's epic finish gave Lyles his first ever Olympic gold medal.
Meanwhile Golfer Scottie Scheffler proved once again, he has The Midas Touch. This year alone, Scheffler has won The Player's Championship, The Masters and on Sunday he added a gold medal to his lofty list of accomplishments.
At the start of the day, Scheffler was four shots back of the lead and was six back at the turn. The world's top ranked golfer would then proceed to shoot one of the finest back-nine Sundays of the year, carding a 29 to get to 19-under and claim gold. Scheffler has won The Player's Championship and The Masters on multiple occasions - but Sunday was his first ever Olympic gold medal.
Team USA has wasted no time in adding to their medal count on Day 10. The women's gymnastics team concluded their competition on Monday. Simone Biles had already won three gold medals in Paris, heading into Aug. 5. Monday morning, she took the silver medal during the floor exercise. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil claimed the gold. While Biles’ teammate, Jordan Chiles won the bronze medal.
So, after dropping out of The 2020 Tokyo Summer Games due to mental health issues – Biles bounced back in a major way in 2024. She will leave Paris with three gold medals and one silver. For her career, Biles has 11 Olympic medals, making her the most decorated U.S. gymnast in Olympic history.
Desmond Purnell
