Team USA’s women’s basketball team has won its eighth straight gold medal, defeating France 67-66 in the final competition of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
A’ja Wilson led the United States with 21 points, and the United States won only when Gabby Williams’ foot was on the line for a potential game-tying 3-point shot.
Sunday’s victory brings to a close yet another remarkable run for the United States women’s team. Heading into the gold medal game, Team USA won every game by double digits, and the steep third-quarter deficit that the Americans overcame is a testament to the team’s resilience.
The United States women’s team has not lost a game since falling in the semifinals in Barcelona to a Unified Soviet Union Team on August 5, 1992. Only three members of the U.S. team — Taurasi, Alyssa Thomas and Brittney Griner — were even alive when that loss happened. No American under the age of 32 has ever seen the United States women’s team lose a game in the Olympics.
This latest gold medal also has an important symbolic impact on these Games. It’s the 40th gold medal earned by the United States, tying Team USA with China for the most golds earned by any country. Team USA holds a significant edge in total medals, leading China 125-91.
For the Team USA women’s team, there’s no reason to think this gold medal trend won’t continue well into the foreseeable future. Women’s basketball doesn’t quite have the international dispersal of talent that the men’s game does. So the United States will be prohibitive favorites to win another gold heading into Los Angeles 2028 … but games like this gold medal one will likely keep the Americans from assuming that the medal is theirs before the Olympics begin.
