PARIS — The Indian wrestler who failed to make weight for her gold-medal bout at the 2024 Paris Olympics has abruptly retired.

Vinesh Phogat, who would have been India’s first Olympic medalist in wrestling, announced in an emotional post on social media that she is walking away from the sport. The news came less than 24 hours after she had taken dramatic steps to lose weight, including cutting her hair, but came in about 0.2 pounds over the maximum allowed in her class.

In a message written in Hindi and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Phogat said goodbye to her wrestling career and also asked for forgiveness.

‘Mother, wrestling won against me. I lost,’ she wrote in the post, according to a translation published by The Hindustan Times, an English-language newspaper based in Delhi.

‘Your dreams and my courage are shattered. I don’t have any more strength now.’

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Phogat, 29, is a three-time Olympian and one of India’s best-known wrestlers, particularly after her public involvement in protests against the former top official of the country’s wrestling federation, who had been accused of sexual harassment. She was one of several female wrestlers in India who had called for criminal charges to be levied against the official, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was ousted from his post last year.

Phogat won two bronze medals at world championships over the past five years plus an Asian Championship in 2021, all in the 53-kilogram weight class. In Paris, however, she dropped down to 50 kilograms − and her first day of competition could not have gone more smoothly.

Phogat started off Tuesday with a stunning upset of Yui Susaki, a Japanese wrestler who had never lost a match against an international opponent and won gold at the Tokyo Games without conceding a single point. She then squeaked by Oksana Livach of Ukraine and beat Yusneylys Guzmán of Cuba to qualify for the gold-medal match against American Sarah Hildebrandt.

At the end of that first day, however, Phogat’s weight had increased by almost 6 pounds, according to Indian news reports. The Indian Olympic Association said she spent all night sweating in a sauna and working out, with restricted food and water, in an effort to get back down to 50 kilograms by Wednesday morning.

As a last resort, she even cut her hair. But it was not enough, and the IOA said she was later hospitalized for possible dehydration.

Under international wrestling rules, Phogat was not just disqualified from the gold-medal bout but technically moved into last place in the 16-woman field. The situation prompted both widespread sympathy and furious outcry in India, with politicians publicly urging sports officials to challenge her disqualification.

United World Wrestling officials have told Indian news outlets that, essentially, there is nothing that can be done. Though several of those same outlets reported that Phogat had filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking a panel of arbitrators to award her a silver medal. A spokesperson for CAS did not immediately reply to an email seeking more information, but such an appeal appears unlikely to be successful.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

In more ways than one, Victor Montalvo credits his father, Victor Bermudez, for his journey within breaking – from their home in Kissimmee, Florida, to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where breaking will make its first (and perhaps only) appearance at the Games.

Not only did Bermudez’s breaking background from his native Mexico influence his son, but Bermudez pushed Montalvo into the international breaking scene as a teenager. He wanted Montalvo to go to “The Notorious IBE,” an international dance festival in the Netherlands that is one of breaking’s biggest events. 

Montalvo was 17 and hadn’t finished high school yet. Some family members bristled at the decision. 

“My dad is like, ‘No, I’m going to get you a passport. I don’t care what anyone says, you’re going,’ ” Montalvo told USA TODAY Sports. “Because he saw how much passion I had for it. And I just thank him for doing that.”  

Another world opened up to Montalvo. He started traveling more after that trip and receiving invites to places like France, which has a thriving breaking community, and other spots around the globe. 

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“It’s like, ‘All right, I’m going to pursue this.’ And I decided to leave (school),” Montalvo said.  

After the Olympics, Montalvo will receive his GED, he said, and wants to attend college.

But first, winning the first Olympic gold medal for breaking is on Montalvo’s wish list. But beyond that, showcasing hip-hop and breaking culture to the world is his priority – along with continuing to make his family proud. 

“Follow your dream,” Victor Sr. told his son, “and let’s see what happens.”  

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Victor Montalvo following in footsteps of dad, uncle 

One peso.

That’s how much Bermudez and his twin brother Hector paid to watch a tape inside of a friend’s kitchen in Puebla, Mexico, more than 40 years ago. What Bermudez saw altered the course of his family’s trajectory.   

It was a recording of an American show, Bermudez discovered years later, called “That’s Incredible.” The clip he saw featured the Floormasters battling the Dynamic Rockers, two New York City-based breaking crews from the 1980s. 

The Bermudez twins watched the video at least 10 times. They tried to copy the dance moves and started practicing on the sidewalk. Afterward, the movie “Beat Street,” which chronicled New York hip-hop culture in the early 1980s, came out. The Bermudez twins took it up a notch. 

“We kind of knew how to do windmills, backspins, things like that,” Victor Bermudez told USA TODAY Sports. “So when we started doing that, there were a lot of people … they went crazy.”

Victor Sr. and Hector were about 12 or 13 years old. Other kids in the neighborhood started breaking and a crew slowly formed. A local government worker found the group and asked if they wanted to participate in a traveling variety show that traversed the state of Puebla. Somebody played guitar, another performed comedy. The Bermudez boys and their friends breakdanced. Sometimes there were 20 people in the crowd. Other shows, they danced for 800 – one hundredth of Montalvo’s current 81,000 followers on Instagram.

“We practiced 10 hours (a day) in the concrete. All the bruises, scratches on our back,” Hector Bermudez, Montalvo’s uncle, told USA TODAY Sports.

They put down cardboard to help with that. Their crew swelled to about a dozen kids, but Victor Sr. was the best, Hector said. 

“He always was the one who would say, ‘I’m going to play the best in the world,’ ” Hector said. “But the things that we were doing back then, it wasn’t like where you can watch YouTube and try to do the stuff that they were doing.” 

Victor Sr. had to wait for his son to reach the summit on his behalf. 

“We fell in love with it big time,” Hector said. “For little kids traveling from this one town to another one, it was a big thing.” 

US teammate says Victor Montalvo ‘well-rounded as a breaker’

The traveling tour ended. Breaking leaked out of hip-hop culture and decreased in popularity. At the end of 1988 and beginning of 1989, the Bermudez twins immigrated from Mexico and joined the rest of their family in the United States; their parents and siblings were in the Orlando, Florida, area. 

The Bermudez boys found another art form, death metal, and started a band called “Sarcophilus” (the scientific name for a Tasmanian Devil). During a garage jam session one day, they realized their children were watching “Beat Street” in another room. 

“I went ‘Oh, I used to do that. And my nephew, Hector Jr. was like, ‘Ah, you are lying. I don’t believe you,’ ” said Victor Sr. “I say, ‘Ah, I was good at it. And they started going like, ‘Yeah, right.’

“And I went to my brother and I go, ‘They think I’m lying about being a B-boy.’ ” 

Victor Sr. dug out his old b-boy sweatshirt and a cap. They all went into the living room, moved the sofa and started doing windmills, backspins, headspins and more. 

“They were like, ‘What the hell?’ ” Victor Sr. said. 

Montalvo was about 6 years old when that happened, Victor Sr. said. A couple of years passed before Hector Jr. started taking breaking more with kids at school. Montalvo saw his older cousin trying to do windmills and became interested. 

“He didn’t stop. He was (doing it) every day, every day,” Victor Sr. said. “I was like, you’re going to break the TV.” 

Kids visited the Bermudez house routinely to practice in the driveway or garage. Maria Montalvo, Victor Jr.’s mother, said they were making too much noise. But Victor Sr. was happy they were dancing instead of finding trouble. 

From there, Montalvo progressed into local competitions. Everyone could see the talent. He would practice for hours on end. In 2011, Montalvo won a competition in Tampa. He took first in another Florida-based battle and that advanced him to the national championships in Chicago. His first time competing against the best breakers in the U.S., Montalvo took second, finishing behind Alex “El Nino” Diaz. 

During this time, Montalvo was under the mentorship of b-boy David “MexOne” Alvarado, who died in 2017 at the age of 35. Before his death, though, he watched his mentee reach the top of the sport. 

“He helped me out a ton,” Montalvo said. “He instilled a lot of positive mental ideas, and he just believed in me, and that made me believe in myself.” 

Bermudez also instilled confidence in his son. His advice: have fun and be yourself. Once he started breaking like he was in the garage again, he found success in the sport that is based on a judge’s decision, much like gymnastics or figure skating. 

After Montalvo started his international career, and put his education on hiatus, success quickly followed. Montalvo won his first Red Bull BC One, the biggest one-on-one b-boy/b-girl competition in the world, in 2015. His second victory came seven years later. He took gold at last year’s world championships. 

What makes Montalvo an effective breaker, his fellow Team USA b-boy Jeffrey Louis said, is his ability to move in any position. The traditional themes with a new-school twist are apparent in his style.

“You could just throw him, and he’d land on one hand and then figure his way out,” Louis said, with a laugh. “He has total body awareness. He’s just well-rounded as a breaker.”

Victor Montalvo’s love of breaking reignited before Paris

Winning, at first, was a way to honor his family legacy. 

Once Montalvo won his first belt, the version of a trophy Red Bull awards, he knew it wasn’t staying in his possession for long. On the phone with his son, Victor Sr. offered a reminder. 

“I said, ‘Make sure you bring my belt,’ ” Victor Sr. said. “But I was kind of joking. I know it’s my belt. But he came home and he was like, ‘Oh, that is for you.’ ” 

There were a lot of tears during that euphoric phone call, too. The belt still hangs in Victor Sr.’s bedroom. 

Montalvo does not only respect the path his father and uncle paved, but what all “OGs” – the generation of breakers from the ’70s, ’80s and even early ’90s – did for the culture. He feels fortunate that many are still alive. 

“They basically created the path that I’m on right now, that we are all on,” Montalvo said. “So it’s important to learn from your past, to understand it, and then to just level it up.” 

To Bermudez, his son’s Mexican heritage is one of the reasons why he is considerate of his elders. 

“Our people, we’re like that,” Bermudez said. 

When Montalvo first learned breaking, the passion wasn’t rooted in competing or the money. By 2020, the same year he bought a house for his parents, he felt he reached a plateau. 

“I just felt like I had already done it all in my breaking career,” Montalvo said. “I won the event I wanted to win, and I have won most of them numerous times.” 

The announcement that breaking would be at the 2024 Summer Olympics reignited the spark. Paris became the goal – and allowed him to reprioritize why he loved the art. 

“Just overall, becoming a better dancer in this sport, in this art, and creating my own fingerprint, creating my own moves, innovating new moves, and inspiring other younger breakers,” Montalvo said. “And now I understand that I have to bring back the ‘why’ and do it for the love.”

Montalvo gains inspiration from a variety of places – breakers he competes against, different forms of dance, other sports (he started Muay Thai training a few years ago). Even Mike Tyson. 

“I love Mike Tyson,” he said. “Just his energy and just his perseverance throughout his life.

“Creativity, for us, is the most important thing. You take the foundation, the basics, and then you add your own little flare, your own little flavor into the move to then distinguish yourself from everyone.” 

That personal style is paramount to being a b-boy or b-girl. There is an inherent vulnerability that comes with entering a battle.

“You have to be uncomfortable to then become comfortable,” Montalvo said. “You have to try new things.” 

The future of breaking at the Olympics is unknown. In the U.S., its birthplace, breaking won’t be part of the Los Angeles 2028 program. That’s disappointing, but Montalvo knows the attention the sport will receive in Paris becomes even more important. 

“It doesn’t matter what color you are, who you are, where you’re from. It’s inclusive. So anyone can do it,” Montalvo said. “That’s what I love about breaking and I want to show it to the world. 

“It’s all about peace, love, unity and having fun.” 

These Olympics will be a family affair for Montalvo. His wife, Kate, is a fellow breaker and will represent Ukraine. The Bermudez twins will be watching from home watching their dreams reach the Olympic stage. 

“The American Dream” means something different to every person. Its meaning has been twisted in every direction from ironic to xenophobic. To Victor Sr., it’s not about the money – a $50,000 car takes you to the same place as one that costs $5,000, he always told his children. It’s being in America, which he’s called home since he was 18. Having a roof over his head. Having a steady job and not worrying about food. 

“That’s the thing,” Bermudez said, “The real American dream is seeing your kids, like my kids, doing good things, and that’s the American dream.” 

Follow Chris Bumbaca on social media @BOOMbaca

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PARIS — The world is coming for the U.S. women’s basketball team.

We’ve spent so much time focusing on the growth of the game in the United States — the blockbuster ratings, the skyrocketing attendance, the increased awareness from casual fans — that we’ve overlooked the rest of the world.

Which is a mistake. Because the game is growing at warp speed elsewhere, too, and those teams have the Americans and their global reign in their sights.

Nigeria was within single digits until the very end of the first quarter, then whittled the U.S. lead down to four with 6:28 to play in the half. After consecutive field goals by A’ja Wilson, Amy Okonkwo made a pair of free throws to cut the lead back to six.

The Americans closed the half with a 14-4 run, and the game was effectively over. They ended up winning 88-74 to advance to the semifinals Friday. But another U.S. win isn’t the point. The point is that the game is improving around the globe, and the days of the U.S. women cakewalking their way to another Olympic gold medal are numbered.

“You see just commitment from these (programs) to economically support (their teams), and I think Nigeria is the perfect example of that,” Diana Taurasi said.

When the Americans played Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup, Taurasi recalled, they won by 29. Of the eight teams that made the knockout rounds, Nigeria wound up last. That was only six years ago. Now look where Nigeria is.

“They just keep investing in them,” Taurasi said. “They come second in their group. They have a great showing tonight. And I just expect them to keep getting better.”

And it’s not only Nigeria. This was Germany’s first time in the Olympic tournament, and they, too, reached the quarterfinals. Had they not been playing France, with its raucous fans, or had they played Les Bleues on a neutral court, the Germans might be moving on.

Belgium nearly knocked off the U.S. women in February, needing a last-second bucket by Breanna Stewart to escape with the win. Serbia, which didn’t qualify for the Olympics until 2016, has now established a consistent foothold in the global game.  

“There’s so many countries that are really, really good. So the playing field is starting to get level,” said Nigeria coach Rena Wakama, who is also an assistant at Tulane.

“Before (the gap) used to be super, super big. But now we’re seeing that the playing field is starting to get leveled a little bit,” Wakama added. “These young ones that are coming up, they need more time to play at this level. And we need to continue to invest in the game. Continue to invest not only in America, not only in Europe but also in Africa, as well.”

If this sounds familiar, it should. It’s exactly what has happened in women’s soccer.

For years, the game was dominated by the Americans, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Brazil. But as countries began investing in their programs, the gap shrunk.

Spain didn’t even qualify for the World Cup until 2015. Now it’s the reigning World Cup champion and has a development system that is the envy of the world. England actually banned women from playing soccer for a half-century. Now you can argue that its professional league is the best in the world.

At last year’s World Cup, newcomer Morocco got to the knockout rounds. Fellow debutantes Zambia and the Philippines both won games.

And in the surest sign of parity, the U.S. women were knocked out in the round of 16, their earliest exit ever at a major international tournament. This after they’d lost in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics.

To think the same thing won’t happen in basketball is naïve.

“The development is there,” said Ezinne Kalu, Nigeria’s leading scorer. “You have coaches that are putting the time and effort in to improve the younger generation to get where we are now. And it just shows that the growth will continue.

“If we just put our resources where they need to go, use the money to fund these young organizations and the girls that are working hard, I’m pretty sure basketball will continue to grow in Africa.”

And beyond. The Americans should consider themselves warned.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

SAINT-DENIS, France – That Quincy Hall considers himself “a dog” doesn’t make him unique among athletes in the 21st century, especially millennials. 

What separates Hall, who won gold in the 400-meter dash at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday, from the rest of the so-called “dogs” is that he means it quite literally. 

“Can’t outrun a dog,” Hall said after his thrilling comeback victory, which he finished in 43.40 seconds, a personal best and fifth-fastest time in the event. “The dog will chase you forever.” 

Chase he did. Hall found himself in fourth entering the final turn of the race. He looked labored. The top-ranked 400 runner in the world looked destined to finish off the podium. 

“If you don’t get far away enough I’m going to catch you,” the Raytown, Missouri native said. “Every time.” 

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Planning to leave that much ground to make up over the final 100 meters is bold. But that’s what Hall has become known for in track circles. 

Call it courage. Call it naiveté. 

“Call it whatever you want,” said Grenada’s Kirani James, who won his country’s first medal at the 2012 London Games in the 400-meter dash and finished fifth Wednesday. 

“He has a strong finish,” James added. 

The game plan paid off. Hall surged past those ahead of him and crossed the finish line .04 seconds ahead of Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith. Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga took bronze. 

Hall’s confidence in chasing down his competition never wavered. 

“Soon as they shot that gun I knew I had it,” Hall said. “You can’t get far enough.” 

Now he has a gold medal to match the gold grills he wore for the semifinals and finals. 

Hall executed similarly at the U.S. Track and Field Trials last month. Wait, plod, kill. At the time, his 43.80 seconds was the fastest time in the world this year.

“He’s a special human being,” said Christopher Bailey, Hall’s American teammate who finished sixth (44.58). “He’s a good person. And he really deserved this.”

All Hall could think while racing the final straightaway was “get home, son.” He thought about the practices in the heat, doing it by himself with his coach, Curtis Allen, instructing him over the phone. 

“I don’t give up, man. I just grit, I grind. I got determination,” Hall said. “Anything I could think of that’s going to get me to that line I think of – all the hurt, all the pain.” 

Two of Hall’s brothers died young, he said. That alone is his reason to run hard. He also has two daughters, ages 7 and 2, and they are even more of a motivation.

Allen and Hall met when the runner attended College of the Sequoias Community College in 2017.  

“That’s where I feel like I found myself being the dog I say I am,” he said. 

There was no cafeteria, no free housing. He had two jobs and paid for school on his own dime. 

“Everything you do,” Hall said, “you have to do it yourself.” 

Then he ran – sometimes three events in one meet. Allen was the one who taught Hall about the biomechanics of the sport and put Hall’s training program on the Olympic path.

“I don’t think I’d be where I’m at right now if I didn’t have junior college,” Hall said. 

It was during those “JUCO” days Hall would run the 400 and jog across the field to do the 400-meter hurdles 20 minutes later.

“When I have to come down and do one event, it’s not that bad,” he said.

Hall transferred to the University of South Carolina and won the 2019 NCAA championships in 400-meter hurdles. Until last year, Hall juggled hurdles events. Switching to the straight-up 400 was the “best decision of my life,” he said. 

“He works for it,” Bailey said. “It’s just him and his coach. Nobody else.” 

When Hall finally caught Hudson-Smith, in the final steps of the race, the Brit let out a frustrated roar. 

“If you’re going to win, you got to take it from me,” Hudson-Smith said. “That’s exactly what he did.” 

Hudson-Smith’s coaches had been harping on him that the gold medal would come down to the final 50 meters. They were right. 

“I thought I had it,” he said. 

Hall took third in the 400 at last year’s world championships in Budapest, Hungary. He was also part of the mixed 4×400-meter relay team that won gold at that meet.

But the story for Hall, 26, entering these Games was his online war of words with countryman Noah Lyles, the 100-meter gold-medalist. 

Last month, Lyles said during a podcast appearance that Hall – who he referred to as the “current U.S. champion” – would not make his ideal 4×400 team. Lyles instead installed himself because “I don’t think he (Hall) would be a starter.”

Hall did not take kindly to that and responded in a social media post. 

“I don’t do the little slick comments and remarks,” Hall wrote, tagging Lyles, on July 19. “I line up.” 

Lyles had been vocal about being part of the 4×400 squad at the Paris Games but was not included in the final pool to be selected. 

“I feel like using him on the first leg would just be almost like a waste to his talent,” Lyles added.

Hall mostly went the diplomatic route when the interaction was brought up Wednesday. He called Lyles a great athlete. 

“That was just to stir the pot a little bit before the Olympic Games,” said Hall, adding: “Maybe he can see me in the 400.” 

The Americans can continue trash talking – but with both having individual Olympic gold medals to their names now.

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SAINT-DENIS, France — Noah Lyles has a chance at history when he steps on the track Thursday.

He could become the first American to win the Olympic sprint double in 40 years if he wins gold in the men’s 200. Lyles already won gold in the 100 in a dramatic photo finish. Can he pull off the sprint double in Paris?

Lyles ran a 20.08 to place second behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, who finished at 19.96 to win the semifinal. Lyles has the third best time entering Thursday’s final behind Tebogo and fellow American Kenny Bednarek (20.00).

USA TODAY Sports has everything you need to know ahead of Thursday’s 200 final at Stade de France. Follow along below for live updates throughout the day.

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2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

How to watch Olympic track and field today

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.

What time is the 200 final?

The 200 final is at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Who are the top sprinters in the 200 final?

Noah Lyles has the best 200 time in the world this year at 19.53. Kenny Bednarek’s time of 19.59 is the second best time in the world this year. While Letsile Tebogo’s season-best of 19.71 is tied for the third fastest time this year. Erriyon Knighton, who won a silver medal at the 2023 world championships, is also a medal contender.

What’s Noah Lyles’ personal-best time in the 200?

Noah Lyles’ personal-best time in the 200 is 19.31, which is also currently the American record. He set the record in 2022.

U.S. men’s 4×100 relay makes statement

The U.S. men’s 4×100-relay team made a statement in the opening round of the relay. A team of Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Kyree King and Courtney Lindsey got the baton around clean and it was over from there. The men led from start to finish as they crossed the line in 37.47 for the easy victory. Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek will likely run in the final for Team USA.

Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas lead Team USA to easy opening-round win in 4×100

The U.S. 4×100-relay team had a shaky exchange on the second and third leg between Twanisha Terry and Gabby Thomas that slowed them down a little. However, Sha’Carri Richardson received the baton on the anchor leg and sprinted past Germany to secure the first-round victory for Team USA in 41.94.

Germany took second, running a 42.15 and Switzerland got the last qualifying spot with a time of 42.38. The U.S. women will have to clean up their handoffs, but they are the gold-medal favorite in the relay, especially with Jamaica’s stars not competing in the event. 

Two-time shot put world champ Chase Jackson out

Chase Jackson failed to get out of the opening round of the women’s shot put. Jackson scratched on her first two attempts and needed a third and final throw to advance to the final. But her third throw didn’t come off her hand clean and landed at 57 feet, 9 inches – just short of a qualifying spot.

Jackson was visibly upset after her disappointing opening round. She came into Paris as a gold-medal contender in the shot put. She’s won two straight world championships in the event. Americans Jaida Ross and Raven Saunders both advanced. 

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PARIS — Jade Carey’s not done just yet.

After winning two medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Carey announced Wednesday that she is returning to collegiate gymnastics and will compete for Oregon State during the 2025 season. It will be her fourth and final year of eligibility.

‘OSU has been more than a university. It’s been my home, my family and my source of strength,’ she said in a speech on campus. ‘I look forward to continuing to compete, pushing my limits and striving for excellence with the best team by my side.’

Carey, 24, initially committed to Oregon State in 2017 but deferred her enrollment until after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she won a gold medal on floor exercise. She went on to become a two-time Pac 12 gymnast of the year in her first two years on campus and kept on competing even earlier this year, while simultaneously preparing for the U.S. Olympic trials and the Paris Games.

The Phoenix, Arizona, native was ultimately was one of three former college gymnasts selected to compete for Team USA in Paris, alongside Jordan Chiles (who competed collegiately at UCLA) and Suni Lee (who competed at Auburn).

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Carey said she came down with an illness after arriving in Paris, but she nevertheless managed to put up scores on vault that helped the Americans both coast into the team final and cruise to an Olympic gold medal. She then came back a few days later and won a bronze medal in the vault final, finishing behind only Simone Biles and Brazilian star Rebeca Andrade.

‘This medal means everything to me,’ Carey said afterwards. ‘It was one of my biggest motivators to get back here and be in the vault final. To be able to prove myself, and prove to myself that I can do two vaults in a final, and to walk away with a medal is really special for me.’

Carey said Wednesday that winning two medals in Paris was like her wildest dreams coming true. She paraded through Oregon State’s campus in Corvalis, Oregon, in the back of a pickup truck, as fans and classmates cheered.

‘I’m incredibly grateful for the love and support that you all have showed me,’ Carey said. ‘I’ve been able to accomplish more than I’ve ever dreamed of in my past three years of being a Beaver.’

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

PARIS — What started in disgrace exactly two and a half years ago in the cold and darkness of a dismal Beijing COVID winter ended Wednesday in delight at the foot of the Eiffel Tower under a sparkling Parisian summer sky.

The right team received the Olympic gold medal. The team that cheated wasn’t there. The wait, the excruciatingly long wait, actually turned out to be worth it. 

As the Eiffel Tower rose over the shoulders of the nine American gold medalists — the entire 2022 U.S. Olympic figure skating team — families, friends and spectators gathered around a runway inside Champions Park, roaring with joy. 

“Absolutely, it was definitely worth the wait,” U.S. team co-captain and ice dancer Madison Chock said, her 2022 gold medal around her neck. “I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined that we would get our Winter Olympic medal at the Summer Olympics in Paris let alone underneath the Eiffel Tower. Paris is one of my favorite cities ever since I was a little girl so this is a dream come true in many ways.”

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This was of course the glorious end of the Kamila Valieva doping saga, the Russian scandal that forced the original medal ceremony to be canceled and triggered an infuriating series of international delays and appeals, finally ending with a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling less than two weeks ago that paved the way for Wednesday’s unique celebration.

In marched the Japanese, who had finished third in Beijing but moved up to second after the then-15-year-old Valieva was suspended for four years and her results disqualified. Then came the Americans, rising from second to first, in their USA blue. The Russians, who dropped from first place to third, were not there. They were not allowed to be here since no Russian athletes are allowed to be at the Paris Olympics due to the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately Canada, which had a strong argument that it deserved to be third, lost a CAS appeal last week and was the odd team out.

How different this moment was from what would have happened had a medal ceremony been allowed to go on in Beijing. The Americans would have received those medals in eerie isolation, wearing masks, their families and friends forbidden from traveling to China for those Games due to the stringent COVID restrictions of the time. 

But now, here they were, the U.S. delegation of skaters and coaches and families and friends 100 strong, U.S. Figure Skating CEO Tracy Marek said. 

“Paris is what the athletes asked for in this situation,” she said, “and we’re so proud of their dignity, their grace and how they’ve handled themselves through the last two and a half years, so to be able to celebrate in Paris with them is just so special.”

Two and a half years is a long time in the lives of young athletes, so much so that all but two of the U.S. skaters have retired from competition since the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

“Beijing does seem like a long time ago especially because a lot of our lives have changed since,” said men’s skater Vincent Zhou. “Many people retired. People got married.”

Zhou is one of three still in school. He has another year and a half left at Brown. Men’s singles gold medalist Nathan Chen graduated from Yale this spring and is heading into a post-grad program this fall. And women’s skater Karen Chen has another year to go at Cornell. 

Most of the rest are now coaching, including ice dancer Madison Hubbell, who got married and had a baby since the 2022 Olympics.

The only two still competing are Chock and her partner, co-captain and new husband Evan Bates. They have won two ice dancing world titles since Beijing, and are planning to go to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Bates has competed in four Olympics and Chock in three, but until Wednesday, neither had ever won an Olympic medal.

‘I’ve grown up watching Olympians get on the top of the podium and sing the national anthem and get the gold medal and then it just all hit me,” Bates said. “It was just so emotional.”

“We were both tearing up,” Chock added.

Time and again over the past two and a half years, Chock and Bates were called upon to keep the team informed about the latest delay or setback and speak to the media on their behalf.

Now there were no more delays, no more setbacks. They were Olympic gold medalists.

“The first time we’ve been all in the same place in over two years was this morning when we all got picked up from the hotel and driven (to Champions Park),” Bates said. “The day has just been an absolute dream.”

Follow Christine Brennan on social media @cbrennansports

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SAINT-DENIS, France — Canadian sprinter and defending Olympic champion in the 200, Andre De Grasse, attempted to defend his title Wednesday while his coach Rana Reider is embroiled in controversy.

De Grasse finished third in the first heat of the men’s 200 semifinal and failed to qualify for the final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Following the race, De Grasse said he ran with a painful and inflamed hamstring after an ultrasound earlier this week showed he aggravated an old injury. When asked directly if the allegations of abuse levied against his coach also were a distraction, he said, ‘Yea, of course.’

“I try to keep my head and stay mentally strong. It’s always tough not having your coach out there with you,” De Grasse told reporters. “He kind of leads you through these Games, and been with him all year. It’s definitely a tough one.”

The Canadian Olympic Committee revoked the accreditation of Reider, De Grasse’s personal coach, for the Olympic team amid recent allegations of sexual and emotional abuse. Reider also coaches Italian Olympian Marcell Jacobs and American Trayvon Bromell.

Three lawsuits have been filed in Broward County, Florida against Reider and the track club he runs, which are among a list of other defendants.

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

The first complaint, filed in December 2023, lists the plaintiff as Jane Doe and includes an allegation of rape. The other two cases were filed in June by a 35-year-old retired long jumper from Great Britain and a 28-year-old American sprinter, who allege Reider sexually harassed them by grabbing their buttocks or making suggestive comments about their appearances, among other claims.

USA TODAY Sports does not identify individuals who allege sexual abuse without their permission. Court documents list AXS Law Group as attorneys of record for Reider in one of the three Florida lawsuits, and the attorneys did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The attorney representing Reider on his accreditation revocation, Ryan Stevens, published a statement decrying a lack of due process and the absence of formal investigatory findings to support the Canadian Olympic Committee’s action.

‘It’s a bad day for the Olympics when a governing body’s fear of bad publicity is prioritized over the athletes,’ Stevens said.

De Grasse said he knew nothing about the allegations until he was informed this week.

“I knew nothing about it. It kind of just sprung on me the same time you guys knew,” De Grasse said to reporters. “It’s kind of a tough one to swallow. To know about that right before you’re about to run. It’s pretty tough.”

De Grasse said while he’s had success on the track with Reider, he’s going to “reevaluate” his personal coaching situation after the Olympics.

“I won the Olympics with him. He’s been my coach for the past three years. I won a lot of world championship medals and Olympic medals,” De Grasse said. “Of course, everything that happened is kind of crazy. I don’t know what to think of it. I don’t know. I kind of just have to reevaluate after the games.”