The Sportsletter - Tracking Down Medals 👟

BY JEFF YODER & MARISSA KASCH

AUG. 8, 2024 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

It’s Day 13 at the Olympics and we’re nearing the finish line. Don’t blink. The U.S. track team seems to accelerate just before the tape. The women’s basketball team may never lose again. And plenty of team-sport medal rounds are on the way this weekend, so soak up the last few days of the Olympics before 2028.

The Underdog: Yesterday was Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's 25th birthday. Today, she hunts another gold medal in the women's 400-meter hurdles. She's a Sportsletter team favorite. Read more at the bottom of today's edition.

Letter Rip!

  MEDAL TRACKER   🏅

*Accurate Through Midnight, Aug. 8 / Click Image for Updated Medal Count 

6. 🇯🇵 Japan (31 medals), 7. 🇰🇷 South Korea (27 medals), 8. 🇮🇹 Italy (27 medals), 9. 🇳🇱 Netherlands (20 medals), 10. 🇨🇦 Canada (19 medals) | Full Medal Count

  OLYMPICS   🏅

Track Comebacks Keep Coming 🇺🇸 

Photo: Jewell Samad / Getty Images

🇺🇸 Quincy Hall (Gold: 400M) & 🇺🇸 Kenneth Rooks (Silver: 1500M Steeplechase) Steal the Show on Another Day of Team USA Track Upsets

The Team USA ‘Gold Rush’ continues! While the stars and stripes were expected to dominate the swimming events in the pool last week, many of this week’s medal-winning runs on the track were unexpected. We’ve seen at least three days worth of “surprise” medalists from Team USA on foot this week, but Quincy Hall and Kenneth Rooks just delivered the fourth — perhaps the best yet.

M-400M: 🇺🇸 Hall’s Miracle Gold Track-Down

Let’s set the stage. It was the “Spice Island Speedster” Kirani James (Grenada) who was the favorite once again in the men’s 400-meter. No athlete had ever won three gold medals in the 400-meter until James in 2021. He was eyeing a fourth, but he didn’t have his typical juice. Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith was out in front before getting clipped for silver, and Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga gets his flowers for bringing home the nation’s first 400-meter medal (bronze). But despite all of those stories, one man (another American) did the unthinkable. Quincy Hall was deep in 4th coming off the turn with 100 meters left. His face looked defeated, but something possessed this guy to find another gear. He edged Hudson-Smith by 0.04 seconds for what NBC dubbed “the most epic comeback you’ll see” to win gold. What a moment for Hall.

M-3000M: 🇺🇸 Rooks’s Steeplechase Silver Stunner

Who is this guy?! Less than 30 minutes after Hall’s comeback run, the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase featured a handful of favorites. Kenneth Rooks wasn’t one of them. He was the NCAA champion in the event with BYU last year, but Rooks was dead last in the field with four laps to go. He emerged from the pack in an other-worldly last-to-first surge that brought the stadium to its feet, and panic to the favorites. A crash-landing ended one of the leaders — Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma — as he attempted to catch Rooks. Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali had the long legs to pull away in the end. Rooks finished more than nine seconds better than his previous personal record for a shocking silver medal. No one saw this coming.

Other Track & Field Highlights

• Noah Lyles Coasts Into 200M Final With Strong Heat
• Australia’s Nina Kennedy Vaults to 1st Olympic Gold
• Jamaica’s Roje Stona Wins Gold With Stunning Olympic Record Discus Throw

  OLYMPICS   🏅

59 Wins & Counting 🇺🇸 

Photo: Damien Meyer / Getty Images

🇺🇸 U.S. Women’s Basketball Puts Nigeria Away Early (88-74) to Reach Semifinals

Next stop: 60. The U.S. women’s basketball team boosted their Olympic win streak to 59 on Wednesday with a cruise-control win over Nigeria (88-74). The final score was much closer than the margin throughout the game after Team USA stepped off the gas. Nigeria’s run to the quarterfinals was pretty magical in itself, but they ran into a buzzsaw with Team USA. A’ja Wilson (20 points), Jackie Young (15 points) and Breanna Stewart (13 points) led the scoring on a 70-percent clip from the field (2-pt) for the U.S. They’ll face Australia in Friday’s semifinals, but it’ll take a herculean effort for the Aussies to bring down Team USA.

The Streak: The U.S. streak of 59 straight Olympic games dates back to 1992.

Watch: 🇺🇸 U.S. Women’s Squad Ousts 🇳🇬 Nigeria (88-74) En Route to Semifinals

Other Women’s Basketball (Quarterfinals)

🇦🇺 Australia def. 🇷🇸 Serbia (85-67)

🇫🇷 France def. 🇩🇪 Germany (84-71)

🇧🇪 Belgium def. 🇪🇸 Spain (79-66)

Semifinals: Friday / Finals: Sunday

Read More

ESPN: U.S. Women’s Hoops Crushes Nigeria to Reach Olympic Semis

Yahoo! Sports: USA Women’s Basketball Earns 59th Straight Olympic Win, Now 2 Victories From 8th Straight Gold

  OLYMPICS   🏅

Other Olympics Highlights

• Hampton Morris Snaps 40-Year Drought for American Men in Weightlifting
• France’s Celine Boutier Takes 3-Shot Lead in Round 1 of Women’s Golf
• U.S. Women Takes Artistic Swimming Team Silver in Olympic Return
• American Sarah Hildebrandt Wins 50kg Wrestling Gold
• Qatar Overpowers U.S. in Beach Volleyball Quarterfinals
• Dutch Sailor Marit Bouwmeester Becomes Most Decorated Female Olympic Sailor

  MLB HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

⚾️ MLB Quick-Hitters

Kyle Schwarber Cranks 3 HRs, 7 RBIs

Phillies Win 2 of 3 in Series With Dodgers

Bobby Witt Jr. Hits 2 HRs in Royals’ Win

Royals Beat Red Sox (8-4)

D-Backs Sweep Guardians in Doubleheader

Arizona Streaks to 7-1 in Last Week

Padres’ Rookie Jackson Merrill Blasts 2 HRs

San Diego Wins 6th Straight Series

Full MLB Scoreboard

  STORYLINES  

🏀 The ‘Dream Team’ Player Rankings

Team USA’s men’s basketball Olympic teams have had an unprecedented run since that famous ‘Dream Team’ in 1992. Let’s rank those 108 different roster spots — roughly 12 every four years. (Sporting News)

⚾️ Aaron Judge is Better Than He’s Ever Been

Aaron Judge has become too good for MLB. While New York rides the ups and downs of 2024, the Yankees slugger has virtually no weakness at the plate, and he appears to only be improving. (Sports Illustrated)

🏈 Bandwagon or Bust: NFL’s Most Hyped Teams

The NFL hype train loves August. Or August loves the NFL hype train. It’s easy to become fired up this time of year. Here’s a rundown of the league’s most hyped teams entering the 2024 season. (Bleacher Report)

  NEWS   📰 

🏈 Falcons WR Rondale Moore Carted Off From Practice With Leg Injury (ESPN)

🏈 Jim Harbaugh Dealt 4-Year Sow-Cause by NCAA for Recruiting Violations (CBS Sports)

🏀 Lauri Markkanen Signs Richest Contract in Jazz History: 5 Years, $238 Million (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 NFL Fines Giants & Lions $200K for NFL Training Camp Fights (B/R)

🏀 Jeremy Lamb Announces NBA Retirement After 10 Seasons (B/R)

🏋️ Female Wrestler From India Disqualified From Gold Medal After Weighing In 100 Grams Above Classification (USA Today)

🏈 Browns Unveil Plans for $2.4 Billion Dome as Team Considers Move From Downtown Cleveland (FOX Sports)

🏈 Texas’ Projected Starting RB C.J. Baxter Lost for Season With Knee Injury (CBS Sports)

🎾 Rafael Nadal Won’t Play in 2024 U.S. Open Due to Health (B/R)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

The Olympic Must-Watch List 🏅

🏀 Men’s Basketball (Semifinals)

🇫🇷 France vs. 🇩🇪 Germany (11:30 am)

🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇷🇸 Serbia (3:00 pm)

🏑 Men’s Field Hockey (Finals)
🇩🇪 Germany vs. 🇳🇱 Netherlands (1:00 pm)

👟 Track & Field Finals (1:00 pm - 4:00 pm)

Men’s 200M

Men’s 110M Hurdles

Women’s 400M Hurdles

Women’s Long Jump

Men’s Javelin

Other Events

🏊 Women’s 10K Open Water (Started: 1:30 am)

⛳️ Women’s Golf, Round 2 (3:00 am / 7:00 am)

🏐 WVB: 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇧🇷 Brazil (Semifinals, 10:00 am)

🏊 WWP: 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇦🇺 Australia (Semifinals, 1:35 pm)

Other Sports in Action: Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Canoeing, Cycling, Diving, Handball, Penthathlon, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Sailing, Sport Climbing, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Water Polo, Weightlifting, Wrestling

*All Times ET / Coverage on NBC & Peacock

  THE UNDERDOG  

Birthday Cakewalk 🎂

Photo: Michael Steele / Getty Images

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s 25th Birthday Could Light the Candles of Her Olympic Legacy

(By Marissa Kasch / Inserts by Jeff Yoder)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone got a priceless birthday gift in Paris this week. Her 25th birthday was yesterday, but today she’ll run for another gold medal, and possibly another world record, in the women's 400-meter hurdles.

The U.S. Olympic track star won her heat for Team USA on Tuesday by a comfortable 1.7-second margin over France’s Louise Maraval. Cakewalk! Despite being a competitive heat, she made it look easy. At this point, we shouldn’t be surprised.

Sydney’s Olympic Legacy 🏅

McLaughlin-Levrone has set the 400-meter hurdle world record five separate times before the age of 25. At the Olympic trials this year, she ran a world record of 50.65 seconds. In yesterday’s semifinal, she ran a cool 52.13 seconds and still dominated the field. No other woman has run times like these as consistently as she has, but then again, there aren’t many athletes like Sydney. Her PR with hurdles still beats her opponents’ PRs without hurdles. Her unmatched speed gives her the advantage between each jump, and it’s the reason why she can separate herself from the rest of the field so quickly. 

This year’s Paris Games mark her third Olympic appearance. Her first was in the 2016 Rio Games where she made it to the semifinals but did not medal. Nevertheless, her talent was obvious. At the time, she was only 16 years old, making her the youngest track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics since 1972. She qualified by setting a world junior record in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 54.15 seconds and taking third place in the Olympic Trials that year. In the 2020 Tokyo Games, she brought home her first gold in the women’s 4x400-meter relay with teammates Dalilah Muhammad, Athing Mu, and legend Alison Felix. She outkicked Muhammad by 0.12 seconds for solo gold in the 400-meter hurdles, too. Now, a third gold could be a cakewalk.

Her biggest challenger in today’s final is Netherlands’ Femke Bol. There are a pair of Americans and two speedy Jamaicans within striking distance, but McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol are considered the best female hurdlers in the world. Sydney is 2-0 head-to-head. Both athletes made it through the semifinals comfortably, and we should get an unforgettable Tokyo 2020 rematch.

Running From Fear to Faith 📘

Much like this week's earlier underdog feature on Simone Biles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has used her platform to help heal mental health challenges in recent years. She published a book shortly after the COVID-delayed Olympics brought her to a low point — Far Beyond Gold: Running From Fear to Faith. It describes how the track star managed her own mental hurdles like fear, perfectionism, anxiety, and imposter syndrome by running towards her faith.

Editor’s Note: If you’re struggling with any of these challenges, our team highly recommends Sydney’s book. It’s one of the stories that endeared her to Olympic fans everywhere.

Whether it’s gold, silver, or another world record for the birthday girl, she’s got our attention today on the track → Women’s 400M Hurdles Final (~3:25 pm ET).

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

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