PARIS — Team USA swimming star Caeleb Dressel added two gold medals and a silver from the Paris Olympics to his hardware haul, bringing his career total to 10 Olympic medals with nine golds. 

But the 27-year-old three-time Olympian acknowledges it wasn’t his best personal performance, finishing sixth in the 50-meter freestyle and, as the world record holder, not advancing to the 100-meter butterfly finals.

He also recognized that Team USA as a whole could have done better after winning just one men’s individual gold medal, thanks to Bobby Finke in the 1,500-meter freestyle, the last individual event of the meet. The American squad as a whole, however, still finished at the top of the swimming medal standings with eight golds and 28 total.

With swimming over, USA TODAY Sports sat down with Dressel on Tuesday to look back at his Games, discuss the future of American swimming, having his son, August, in attendance and what’s next for him, including looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Ten medals at this point: nine, gold, one silver. How would you rate your performance at these Olympics?

I think, as with everybody, there was ups and downs. I had some major disappointments. I don’t want to shy away from it, especially with my individual events. But proud of the past couple years. Coming off Tokyo, it’s been tough. So to be able to go from ‘22 to ‘23, take a very long break, and then not only make it back on the hardest team to qualify for, but win some hardware here, it was a special swim meet. Wish I would have been a little bit quicker in my individuals, but that’s what my body had that week, and I gotta be proud of that. Yeah, I really wouldn’t have changed much.

Along those lines on a bigger picture for Team USA and the men’s swimmers, was it difficult to see a lack of individual golds?

We know what the goal is when we go to worlds or Olympics: We want to be the best swim team here. And it’s not that we had the worst week we’ve ever had. There’s other countries that are also very good in the water, but yeah, we had opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on. It wasn’t our best week in the water, but I don’t think one Olympic cycle is going to define us. Bobby bailed us out there at the end with the gold, so we’re all good. 

You’ve mentioned before that other countries are getting more competitive and catching up to Team USA. Where does American swimming go from here?

I think it’s now and until the end of time, we’re going to be the ones with the target on our back. It’s exciting for the sport that it’s grown that much and it’s become that global. It’s always been global, but to make it that close — it’s not that we’re any less dominant. It’s just the wealth has been spread, which is exactly what you want. You want it to be competitive. 

All of my best swims have been in my closest races. So even looking forward to the next Olympic cycle with U.S. versus China in that [men’s] medley relay, that was the first time in the history [of the relay] that we’ve ever lost. That is going to happen at some point, and it’s unfortunate that we were the guys, but I wouldn’t want any other group. We have our heads held high. We all split great. We just got beat. So yeah, I think it’s good for not only motivation, but for the sport as a whole and for people watching. That was a very exciting race. That’s what you want. It sucks. I’m gonna be biased. I want USA to win every event, but I also like seeing close races. …

That wasn’t our best work, and we’re still walking away with the total medal count, the gold medal count, still number one. So I can only imagine what it looks like when we’re on our A game. 

It’s all about perspective, right? And the general American standard versus an individual’s?

I feel like it’s easy to lose track of what these Games actually are. There’s very few occasions where the whole world comes together, most of them bad. So this is one of the good ones, maybe the only good one. So to be a part of that, of racing the best people in the world from every single country, and if you can get your hand on the wall first, ideally, I think everyone would agree, [it’s special]. …

If you can walk away with five, six, seven, eight golds, awesome. But one bronze or a fourth place or making the final might mean just as much to someone, not only from a smaller country, from America. You don’t know what everyone’s story is. So I think that’s why the Games are so special, is you see all these stories. And you see the memes coming out, and you see the funny photos. The best one from this was the Turkish shooter. I’m sure you’ve seen that. We see it in the village. It’s so funny. It’s not always about who wins the gold medals.

What was it like being at your first Olympics as a dad? Do you think August is going to imprint any of this?

No, I don’t even think he was awake for my races. But I think the special part was for a sport that has meant so much for me for 22 years, to be able to bring him into those moments with me, to be able to hold him on deck and for the medals here — gold, silver, it doesn’t really matter what they represent — I know my son got to watch me win those. … And he can take it and ding it up, bring it to show-and-tell, if that’s still a thing nowadays. 

Are you going to take a break after this? Are you looking ahead to 2028?

We’re not looking ahead at ‘28, not yet. But I’m gonna take some time off for sure. I haven’t been to the beach in a while. That sounds really good. Actually, the main thing I want to do when I get home [to Florida] — I have not been barefoot in grass in like a month and a half. I know that sounds crazy, but we were at Day 6 of the swim meet, and I walked outside, looked over the balcony, I was like, “I have not touched grass in a very long time.” So I think that’ll be the first thing I do. And then the beach sounds really nice. 

You literally want to touch grass.

Yes, yes. I’m craving it. It’s weird. It’s not something I thought I would miss until my body’s like, “Well, we haven’t done this in a very long time.” Yeah, I’ve just been surrounded by concrete for the past month.

SAINT-DENIS, France — The last time Gabby Thomas was at the Olympics, she was mostly there to have a good time. Then 24 years old, Thomas was competing in her first Games and learning on the fly.

But in Paris, she came for gold. And Tuesday night, she got it. 

In a rocking Stade de France bursting with more than 77,000 screaming fans, Thomas won the women’s 200-meter final, sprinting to the finish in 21.83. 

Thomas, 27, beat Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia (22.08) and Team USA’s Brittany Brown (22.20) who got silver, and bronze, respectively. Alfred won the 100 on Sunday evening, earning her country’s first-ever medal.

Thomas was in the lead as runners came around the curve, and looked in control the whole race. Her joy was evident as soon as she crossed the line first, screaming in celebration and overcome with emotion.

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“I’ve envisioned this race in my head so many times over and over, as I do with every race,” said a beaming Thomas. “That’s how I win races. But I did not expect to feel how I felt when I crossed that line. You prepare for this moment and train so hard for this moment but when it actually comes, it’s indescribable. 

“I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would become an Olympic gold medalist and I am one. I’m still wrapping my head around that.”

Her secret to that strong, steady finish: pre-race burpees. Seriously. 

American McKenzie Long, who finished seventh (22.42), couldn’t believe it when Thomas started hopping up and down in the call room. 

Long wasn’t sure of Thomas’ reasoning but said “I’m gonna ask her.”

“I do it before every race in the call room, I do 10 because I need to keep my heart rate up,” Thomas said sheepishly. “It is really embarrassing but it clearly works.’

It is Thomas’ second individual Olympic medal. She has a bronze from the Tokyo Olympics 200 final, as well as a silver from the 4×100 relay. She is expected to run on the 4×100 relay team in Paris, too. She said Tuesday that she also wants to run in the 4×400. 

It is also her first gold medal at any major world championship. Last year, at the 2023 World Championships, she took silver in the 200. 

“This is my favorite win, obviously,” Thomas said. “This is six years in the making. All of it was for this moment … I was prepared and mature and I was ready. It’s incredible.” 

At the U.S. track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon, Thomas said she thought hard about running the 200 and 400, but decided to focus on the 200 because she was so intent on winning gold in Paris. After she won the 200 title, she said she had no doubt she’d made the right decision. 

The women’s 200 marked the second race of the day where Team USA won a gold and bronze after Cole Hocker’s shocking kick that led to a 1,500 men’s victory. American Yared Nuguse took bronze in that race. 

Thomas joked afterward that she was so in the zone at the line “I blacked out for the race.” 

“I knew what I wanted to do: take the lead and finish strong,” she said. “It’s kind of like tunnel vision at that point. I got out of the blocks and I couldn’t tell you where anyone was. But I knew I was ready, I knew I trained for this. It’s the most bizarre feeling when you get into a flow … I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting to the finish line. As far as I was concerned, I was the only one in that race.”

In a sport desperate for star power, particularly as the U.S. prepares to host the 2028 Olympics in LA, Thomas oozes charisma. She delivers in pressure-packed environments, too, ideal for someone who could be the poster child of not only her event, but one of the most popular Olympic sports. 

As far as her competitors are concerned, she’s exactly what track needs. 

Said Long, who has gushed repeatedly about how much she admires Thomas: “She’s the female that needs to be in front of the track world.”

Tuesday night in Paris, she was. 

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Billy Bean, MLB’s senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion who also served as a special advisor to commissioner Rob Manfred, has died at the age of 60, the league announced Tuesday.

MLB said Bean, a longtime LGBTQ advocate, died after a year-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

‘Our hearts are broken today as we mourn our dear friend and colleague, Billy Bean, one of the kindest and most respected individuals I have ever known,’ Manfred said in a statement. ‘Billy was a friend to countless people across our game, and he made a difference through his constant dedication to others. He made Baseball a better institution, both on and off the field, by the power of his example, his empathy, his communication skills, his deep relationships inside and outside our sport, and his commitment to doing the right thing. We are forever grateful for the enduring impact that Billy made on the game he loved, and we will never forget him.’

Bean was selected in the fourth round of the 1986 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers and made his major league debut with the organization in 1987. He played in six MLB seasons with the Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

In 1999, he came out as gay in an interview with the Miami Herald. In 2014, he joined MLB to serve as the league’s first Ambassador for Inclusion. In his time working for the league, he was ‘focused on player education, LGBTQ inclusion, and social justice initiatives.’ He was instrumental in MLB’s bullying prevention education programming and the game’s support of Spirit Day, an anti-bullying effort.

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‘Bean worked with MLB’s 30 clubs to advance equality for all players, coaches, managers, umpires, employees, and stakeholders throughout baseball to ensure an equitable, inclusive, and supportive workplace for everyone,’ MLB said.

Several MLB teams paid tribute to Bean on social media on Tuesday.

“Billy has always been such a giver. He’s one of the best human beings I ever met,’ Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told USA TODAY Sports in December. ‘He’s just always been available to everyone, touching everyone. I want the world to know what a great human he is.’

SAINT-DENIS, France − In a stunning win, Team USA’s Cole Hocker not only took the gold medal Tuesday in the men’s 1,500-meter race at the Stade de France at the Paris Olympics, but broke the Olympic record in doing so with a time of 3:27.65.

World champion Josh Kerr of Britain won silver with a time of 3:27.79, and American Yared Nuguse took the bronze with a personal best 3:27.80. Hocker came from behind with a blistering pace over the final stretch to overtake Kerr and break the Olympic record of 3:28.32 previously set at the Tokyo Games in 2021 by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

‘With 100 meters to go, I knew I had enough,’ Hocker said. ‘I haven’t seen the race replay or anything, but I saw Jakob, I feel like he was thinking about Kerr and started drifting out, and I thought I’d take advantage of that and try to punch that inside, which I’ve been able to do a couple times in my career. He’s a smart enough racer where he closed that down immediately, so I had to reassess. It was special to be able to attack not only once, but twice.’

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Hocker is just the fourth American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 1,500.

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The race had been billed as a showdown between Kerr and the confidently outspoken Ingebrigtsen, who not only saw his Olympic record fall, but was overtaken late in the race by the American Nuguse for the bronze, and faded to fourth.

It was Hocker, however, who overtook them all.

‘I was staying relaxed, and with 150 (meters) to go, I’ve never heard a crowd like that. At that point I really didn’t feel anything and I just went,’ Hocker added. ‘It felt like another race in terms of kicking by people. I’ve done it, I feel like, countless times in my career so far. And this time it just happened to be against the Olympic champion (Ingebrigtsen) and the world champion (Kerr).’

Ingebrigtsen opened an early lead and held it through the first 1,200 meters. That’s when Hocker, who was in fourth place with just 300 meters left, made his big move for the upset and historic Olympic glory.

‘(Kerr and Ingebrigtsen) have had all the added pressure and all the added noise,’ Hocker added. ‘I think that’s part of this job is blocking out that noise, and it gets harder and harder the more you excel, and I’m sure that’ll change after today. … I’ve been able to fly under the radar for this meet, but I’m sure I won’t anymore.’

Team USA’s Hobbs Kessler finished fifth with a personal best 3:29.45.

Reach Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X @chasegoodbread.

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PARIS — As the ball fell to the sand for the final point in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower Tuesday night, U.S. beach volleyball world champions Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng went down to their knees, not in joy, but in sadness. 

The other U.S. team, Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, lost in the round of 16 to Canada Monday.

“All the emotions,” Hughes said afterward, when asked about the loss, their first at these Games after a 4-0 start. “Grateful to be here, let down that we didn’t come out with a win, but also proud of the fight that we gave, but I feel like we also have so much left in the tank and so much more to give, so, you know, sometimes in sports it just doesn’t go your way.”

The Americans went ahead early in the first set but the Swiss soon built their lead to four, 14-10, never letting the U.S. gain momentum.

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“We fought back so hard in the first,” Cheng said. “I think I made a few too many errors early on in the first but gosh we came back and just one or two aces and the game’s over.

“And I think similarly to the second, I whiffed two balls out and an ace down the middle again and the game’s gone. So it’s tough. They had their foot on the gas the whole time, and maybe we let up a bit too much, not intentionally but you know it happens. Wish we could have got a few more aces too.”

The United States briefly held the lead in a tight second set before the Swiss went on to victory.

“They’re an amazing team and they showed it,” Hughes said, “they were going after everything, a lot of things were going their way, but that’s just how it goes sometimes but we fought as hard as we could.”

Hughes and Cheng, who defeated Italy in a tense match Sunday, helped lead Southern California to the inaugural NCAA beach volleyball championship in 2016 and again in 2017, including an undefeated 36-0 season in 2016. 

They first played together as pros in 2017, but split to play with different partners ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, where Cheng was eliminated in the round of 16 playing with Sarah Sponcil. The American team of April Ross and Alix Klineman won the gold medal in Tokyo.

Hughes and Cheng got together again in 2022 and went on to win the 2023 world championship in Mexico, defeating Brazil. 

This was the first Olympics that both American teams came up through NCAA beach volleyball. 

“It’s been so meaningful,” Hughes said. “To see how much it’s growing and to see all the young girls loving to play beach volleyball is really special. And we try to be those people, those mentors, those idols for them so that they can grow up wanting to pursue beach volleyball like we are, so it is really special and we’ll just keep fighting to keep showing them they can pursue their dreams.”

Despite the loss, Hughes said their Olympic experience was unforgettable.

‘It’s been surreal, to play in this iconic stadium for the first time, it’s like this is something we’ll never forget. We really tried to take in those moments.”

And next time, they get to play at home, in Los Angeles in 2028.

Said Hughes: “I can’t wait for that.”

PARIS — Four U.S. men’s basketball games at the 2024 Paris Olympics, four different leading scorers.

Against Brazil in the quarterfinals Tuesday, it was Devin Booker’s team-high 18 points that propelled the U.S. to a dominant 109-78 victory and into the semifinals against Serbia on Thursday.

“Just trying to knock down the open shot,” said Booker, who was 6-for-9 shooting, including 5-for-7 on 3s. “When you have shooters like Steph (Curry), and playmakers like LeBron (James), you’re going to find yourself open.”

Booker was one of five U.S. players in double figures, and the Phoenix Suns All-Star guard continues to have a strong Olympics in the shadow of bigger stars.

Booker recorded his third game with at least 10 points, had an Olympics-high against Brazil and is shooting 56.7% from the field and 62.5% on 3-pointers.

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Kevin Durant led the U.S. scoring in their Olympics opener. Bam Adebayo topped the scoreboard in the second game and Anthony Edwards led the way in the third game.

“That’s what our team is built on, depth, and any night we can have anybody get it going as far as the scoring load and Book had it from the start all the way to the finish,” James said.

U.S. coach Steve Kerr has emphasized defense and rebounding, and with so much offense on the team, Kerr figures it will come from somewhere even if he doesn’t know exactly where.

In the NBA, that would be a problem. It would be a problem for some other Olympic teams, such as Serbia or Germany. There needs to be a hierarchy of where points originate. But not on this team.

“There’s no real challenge with it other than just reminding the team that that’s the beauty and the strength of our team is that it can be any one of these guys there,” Booker said. “They all have to carry their franchises individually when they go back to the NBA. We know they’re capable of carrying our team on any given day, but we don’t know who it’s going to be. And that’s the strength of the team. As long as we play the right way and move the ball and somebody’s going to get hot. That’s how we feel.”

Even Curry acknowledged it’s a little strange playing that way, but that’s just part of basketball at the Olympics. If Curry doesn’t make his first couple of shots, he might not get another chance to get hot.

“Everybody has to be ready for your moment whenever it is,” Curry said, “and I think that’s a challenge because again, you don’t know from quarter to quarter from game to game who it’s going to be. It’s a fun way to play if you’re bought into it. Let’s just win the basketball game and who cares what it looks like. It’s easier said than done because we’re all not used to that. But it’s a fun way to play, especially for six game(s) that we’re trying to win.”

Booker has quietly become one of the most important players for the U.S. – a guard who can defend, get his points with his jump shot, especially at the 3-point line, and post up smaller guards.

He won a gold medal with the U.S. at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and arrived at training camp in Las Vegas in July willing to do whatever is necessary to win a second gold.

“I was not always a star of a team,” Booker said. “I was a sixth man in college, so I’ve always approached the game with whatever I have to do to get on the court and be effective and just understanding the talent that’s around and how the game is different over there and having that experience last Olympics. That has put me in the right mindset from day one.”

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt

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Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez came within one out of his second career no-hitter in a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday night.

Valdez was just over one year removed from his first no-hitter, which came on Aug. 1, 2023, against the Cleveland Guardians. He kept the Rangers out of the hit column through eight innings on Tuesday, then ran into trouble in the ninth.

After walking Robbie Grossman to open the frame, Valdez got Ezequiel Duran to ground into a double play to inch closer to the 18th no-hitter in Astros franchise history.

But Josh Smith then drew a walk before Corey Seager spoiled the no-hitter — and shutout — with a two-run blast to right-center.

That marked the end of the night for Valdez, who surrendered the two runs on one hit in his 8⅔ innings. He walked three and struck out five while throwing 107 pitches.

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Valdez (11-5) came away with the win when Josh Hader got Josh Jung to fly out after issuing a walk to Marcus Semien. Hader picked up his 23rd save of the year.

Right-hander Ronel Blanco fired the Astros’ most recent no-hitter, which came in a 10-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1.

PARIS — Amit Elor looked exasperated as she walked to the edge of the mat Tuesday night, her mouth agape, her shoulders shrugged.

The moment she’d been dreaming about for her entire life was here, and she didn’t really know what to do. Wave at the crowd? Collapse on the ground? Before long, her coach handed her an American flag and she started skipping in circles around the mat.

‘I’m still in disbelief,’ Elor said shortly thereafter.

The 20-year-old might have been the only one at Champs-de-Mar Arena who was surprised that she won. She crushed her latest opponent in the 68-kilogram weight class at the 2024 Paris Olympics − Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan − just like she has crushed almost everyone else who has stepped onto the mat with her over the past four-plus years.

With a 3-0 victory in the gold-medal match, Elor has now amassed 41 consecutive wins at the international level, across age divisions, dating back to 2019. The win also made her the youngest Olympic gold medalist in the history of U.S. wrestling and just the third American woman to take gold, joining two of her idols: Helen Maroulis and Tamyra Mensah-Stock.

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‘She’s going to break all the records,’ her coach Sara McMann said afterward. ‘I knew that before she even won her first senior championship.’

It will be hard for another Team USA athlete, in any sport, to dominate their event in the same way that Elor did over the past two days. Over four matches, the Walnut Creek, California native outscored her opponents 31-2. And in her first two bouts, against reigning world champion Buse Tosun of Turkey and Wiktoria Choluj of Poland, she scored as many points (18) as opponents have scored against her, in total, since her most recent loss in 2019.

Altogether, Elor has now won an Olympic gold medal and eight world championships in three different age divisions − including senior, under-23 and under-20 titles in each of the past two years.

“She feels almost unreal to us, you know?’ Elor’s mother, Elana, said earlier this summer. ‘She’s amazing.’

Elana Elor immigrated to the United States from Israel in the 1980s with Amit’s late father, Yair, who died unexpectedly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elana remembers trying to talk her youngest daughter out of wrestling, a violent sport where she would have to compete against boys, and direct her to something else − dancing, cheerleading, tennis, swimming, anything. It didn’t work. Amit took up the sport when she was 4½ years old and never looked back.

“It doesn’t feel almost real, because you just go from one thing to another,’ Elana Elor said earlier this summer. ‘And yesterday she was 4 years old, like ‘I want to wrestle’ and I’m doing everything I can to convince her not to because it’s a boys’ sport.’

Simone Biles, Suni Lee on silent Olympic beam final: ‘It was really weird and awkward’

Amit said she wrestled exclusively against boys until she was 10 years old. She often felt isolated or unwanted in the gym alongside boys because, quite frankly, she beat up on them − prompting some to avoid wrestling her.

She’s said this week that she also had to deal with ‘very tough’ coaches who prompted her to question her ability on the mat.

‘I’ve always believed that I was not good at wrestling, over the years,’ Elor said. ‘Even after my accomplishments, I was always very negative with myself. So it’s taken a lot of healing and a lot of support for me to start to believe in myself and my abilities and to think of myself as a good wrestler.’

And these days, ‘good wrestler’ doesn’t even come close to describing her.

Clarissa Chun, who won Olympic bronze in 2008 and is now the head coach of Iowa’s women’s wrestling program, has described her as a ‘young GOAT’ who, barring injury, seems destined for the Hall of Fame. McMann, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, agreed.

‘You see her in action, and you watch what she does to other people who are, on every measure, her equals − how mercilessly she just demolishes every game plan,’ McMann said. ‘It’s no secret what she does. The fact that she’s able to go out there and do that to everybody, and virtually never get scored on − it’s untouchable.’

Elor’s performance in Paris was all the more impressive given the dietary changes she had to make in order to compete. She usually competes at 72 kilograms but had to drop down to a lower weight class at the Olympics, where women’s wrestling has six weight classes instead of the normal 10. The switch forced her to lose about 10 pounds, which she described as ‘a difficult process’ over the past few months.

Yet at any weight, and any age group, Elor just keeps winning. Since suffering a close loss in the under-17 world championships in 2019, she has scored nearly 20 points − which would be two victories by technical fall − for every point she’s conceded.

And yet, through it all, Elor seems unaware of her own dominance. On Tuesday, she found herself looking out at the crowd, including several Israel flags in honor of her heritage, and wondering if all of this was real. How did this happen?

‘I think I have a little bit of imposter syndrome,’ Elor said. ‘I still feel like that little kid who just started wrestling. But currently, I just became an Olympic champion.’

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PARIS – Imane Khelif will be fighting for gold.

The Algerian boxer advanced to the finals of the women’s welterweight division Tuesday night with a victory over Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng at Roland-Garros Stadium.

It was Khelif’s third victory in as many fights at the Paris Olympics, earning her a spot in the gold medal match Friday despite being dragged into a controversy over gender eligibility.

The story has been almost inescapable with reporters peppering the IOC with questions daily.

Khelif, 25, previously beat Thailand’s Suwannapheng, in the semifinals of the 2023 world championships. Soon after that bout, Khelif was disqualified for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests, according to the International Boxing Association (IBA), a discredited group that has no role in the Olympics.

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The IOC said Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, another female boxer disqualified at the 2023 world championships, both met all criteria to participate in the women’s competition. They also competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Like Khelif, Lin has excelled here inside the ring. She won each of her two fights by unanimous decision and has advanced to the semifinals in the women’s featherweight division.

On Wednesday night, Lin will face Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman with a chance to fight in the gold medal match.

In Olympic competition, bronze medals are awarded to the losing semifinalists in the tournament’s single-elimination format.