The U.S. women’s basketball team won its straight 8th Olympic gold medal, beating host France by the tightest of margins: 1 point. Team USA won 67 to 66 in a tightly contested final match.
No team had been able to push the Americans during this impressive streak of 61 consecutive wins. The win was the closest the U.S. has ever won an Olympic gold medal since the 1988 Games when they beat Yugoslavia by seven points. The only other team to keep the U.S. at single digits in a gold medal game was South Korea at the 1984 Games.
Michael Conroy / AP
With Sunday’s victory, the U.S. women’s legacy stretches to 61 consecutive wins in Olympic contests. It also breaks a tie with the U.S. men’s program that won seven in a row from 1936-68.
The women’s victory came fewer than 24 hours after the U.S. men’s team also beat France in the title game. This was the first time in Olympic history that both gold medal games featured the same two teams.
Unlike the men’s game this one came down to the final minute and one last shot by France that was just inside the 3-point line.
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