The United States was a heavy betting favorite to claim the most gold medals at the Olympics, a race that would come down to the final event and end in a tie.

The U.S. entered the Olympics with -600 odds to win more gold medals than any other country at ESPN BET. China had the second-best odds at +350.

The U.S. women’s basketball team held off France 67-66 in the gold medal game Sunday, giving the Americans their 40th gold medal and tying them with China for the most at the games. The U.S. garnered approximately 64% of the money wagered on the gold medal market at ESPN BET.

Sportsbooks took varying approaches to settling bets on the gold medal market. ESPN BET, DraftKings and FanDuel each settled gold medal bets with a “dead heat” rule, generally meaning half the amount of the bet is paid out at the odds offered.

BetMGM included a tiebreaker in its gold medal betting rules and deemed the U.S. the winner due to winning more silver medals than China. Sportsbooks Prime Sports and the South Point in Las Vegas elected to pay out bets on both the U.S. and China, although South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews acknowledged on social…

SAINT-DENIS, France — On the final night of competition at the Stade de France, the Americans torched the purple track in their relays, setting a pair of records and pulling off another gold medal sweep in the men’s and women’s events.

It’s the third straight Olympics both U.S. 4×400-meter teams have won gold medals. For the women, it has now been more than 30 years since they didn’t capture gold in the event.

“We got the real quarter horses,” women’s lead leg Shamier Little said. “We really do. And it’s amazing to be part of history, and to kind of add on to that. To see the dominance lay before you, and then fall in line with that.”

Such dominance was on full display Saturday in the middle of the women’s relay, when Little handed the baton off before any other team’s first leg. When she put the stick in Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s hands, the race was effectively over.

McLaughlin-Levrone, the 25-year-old now four-time gold medalist hurdler who seemingly gets faster every time she’s on the track, sprinted hard into the first turn. Almost instantly, she created a massive gap between Team USA and the…

PARIS — One day last winter, Crystal Dunn sent Emma Hayes a text.

The message was something along the lines of, “Ma’am, I hear rumors!” Dunn recalled recently, and it was rooted in the bubbling speculation at the time that Hayes was going to become the new coach of the United States women’s national team.

Dunn, a veteran defender who had played a season under Hayes at Chelsea before moving to the NWSL, said Hayes seemed excited but was understandably circumspect in their exchange, and Dunn concluded it by telling Hayes: “I hope it’s true. Because I think you’re going to be amazing.”

Nearly 10 months on, that interaction lives large in Dunn’s memory primarily because Hayes did in fact become the U.S. coach and, in a whirlwind start, has already delivered: The Americans won an Olympic gold medal on Saturday in Hayes’ first major tournament in charge.

It is, by any measure, an auspicious beginning for Hayes, who just came on the job in June after completing the club season. But it is also illustrative of what the future may hold for a program that is very clearly changing.

In a short time, Hayes has touched the team’s personnel, tactics and playing style in…

PARIS — Three German swimmers became ill after competing in the open water races at the Paris Games, though it was not immediately clear if the long-polluted Seine River was responsible for their sickness.

The swimmers were not identified in a statement released Saturday by the German Olympic Sports Confederation, though Leonie Beck went on social media to reveal her condition.

Beck, who finished ninth in the 10-kilometer event, posted a picture of herself on Instagram giving a thumbs up but looking ill.

“Vomited 9 times yesterday + diarrhea,” she posted, before adding sarcastically, “Water quality in the Seine is approved,” accompanied by a check mark.

The German committee said in its statement that three of its athletes became ill.

“Two female German open water swimmers were treated as outpatients (Friday) for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. They have been feeling much better since this morning,” the statement said. “Another swimmer with similar symptoms is currently being treated by the German team doctors.”

The other German swimmer in the women’s open water race was Leonie Maertens, who placed 22nd in the 24-woman field.

Germany also had two swimmers in the men’s event: silver medalist Oliver Klemet and eighth-place finisher Florian Wellbrock. It wasn’t…

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Anson Dorrance, whose 21 NCAA championships are the most by a head coach in any Division I sport in college history, is retiring after 45 seasons directing the women’s soccer program at North Carolina.

The Tar Heels said Dorrance informed athletic director Bubba Cunningham of his plans Friday and told the team Sunday, four days before its season opener at Denver.

Dorrance also overlapped as both the men’s and women’s coach early in his career, but his greatest success was with the women.

Associate head coach Damon Nahas will serve as interim women’s coach this season. Cunningham plans to conduct a search for a new coach.

“As many of you know I modeled our program after Dean Smith’s basketball program, and retiring at this time is a credit to his thinking, as well,” Dorrance said in a statement. “He would re-evaluate his tenure, not after the season, but after he had time to re-charge his batteries prior to the next season. When he didn’t, he retired.”

Dorrance said he was excited heading into the season, but came to the conclusion he did not have the energy to give 100% to the job.

Dorrance, 73, is one of the most successful coaches in college athletics.

The Tar Heels’ first and only women’s soccer head coach, Dorrance led UNC to a…

PARIS — Olympic gold-medal-winning boxer Imane Khelif, who endured intense scrutiny about her gender throughout the Paris Games, has filed a formal legal complaint in which she says she was the victim of online abuse.

In a statement posted Sunday to Instagram, Khelif’s attorney, Nabil Boudi, said Khelif, who won the Olympic women’s 66-kilogram boxing title on Friday, asked his legal firm to file a complaint with the Paris prosecutor’s office on her behalf.

“Having just won a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, boxer Imane Khelif has decided to lead a new fight: that of justice, dignity and honor,” Boudi said.

“Ms. Khelif contacted the firm, which filed a complaint yesterday for acts of aggravated cyber harassment with the anti-online hatred center of the Paris public prosecutor’s office.”

The Paris prosecutor’s office told ESPN it had not yet received the complaint, although it could come as early as Monday.

Boudi added he asked for the criminal investigation to determine who initiated the “misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign” against Khelif.

“The unfair harassment suffered by the boxing champion will remain the biggest stain of these Olympic Games,” Boudi added.

Fans have embraced Khelif in Paris even as she faced an…

The stage was set for an epic upset: France led by as many as 10 points in the second half over the heavily favored United States women’s basketball team, with the Olympic gold medal on the line.

The home-country crowd was going wild, the play was brutally physical, the stakes were sky-high and history was on the line. The Americans rallied to take the lead, but the game’s outcome was going to come down to the final buzzer.

And by a single point, the Americans battled through one of the toughest games they have faced in the Olympics. They won their eighth consecutive gold medal — dating back to the 1996 Games — winning 67-66. It’s the most consecutive Olympic titles for any nation in basketball, women’s or men’s.

Just inches prevented…

PARIS — When the American flag rose to the ceiling and “The Star-Spangled Banner” started playing at Bercy Arena on Sunday, Brittney Griner‘s eyes filled with tears.

The 67-66 victory over France marked Griner’s third gold medal ceremony, as she was also a part of Team USA’s victories in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021. But this time hit her differently after she went through the ordeal of being imprisoned in Russia in 2022.

“My emotions are all over the place,” Griner said. “It means so much to me. My family didn’t think I would be here, like I’ve said before, and then to be here and win and gold for my country, representing when my country fought for me so hard to even be standing here. Yeah, this gold medal is going to hold a special place.”

Griner was freed via a prisoner exchange in December 2022 after 10 months of captivity. Her time this summer in England, where the U.S. played an exhibition game, and nearly three weeks in France marked her first trip overseas since her release.

“I had little moments here and there,” Griner said. “The first train ride was a little rough for me. Last time I…

PARIS — Diana Taurasi stands alone in Olympic basketball lore. She is the first player to win six gold medals.

The 42-year-old American was part of the U.S. women’s team that beat France 67-66 on Sunday for Taurasi’s sixth gold, breaking a tie with longtime American teammate Sue Bird for most in Olympic basketball history.

Unlike the previous five Olympics she has been a part of, Taurasi wasn’t a major factor on the court in this one as the U.S. won its eighth consecutive gold medal. She didn’t play in the title game.

Taurasi still provided valuable experience off the court for the Americans, who now have won 61 straight Olympic contests dating back to the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Breanna Stewart said Taurasi has meant everything to USA Basketball.

“We talk about that gold standard and she is that,” Stewart said. “How many wins has she had of the 60? I don’t know, off the top of my head. But she continues to kind of come in and show up and be the GOAT that she is, and whether it’s in different roles like when she first started or to now, she’s one of the best to ever play. And I think for all of us, we’re just happy to share the court with her and we’ll make sure that we go out and get this done for her.”

U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve said she had…

After winning an eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal Sunday, the U.S. women’s basketball team once again can say: “Mission accomplished.” The players and coaches aren’t thinking about the 2028 Olympics right now after escaping France 67-66. But it’s tempting to look four years into the future at which players might make the U.S. roster for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Will current WNBA rookie standouts Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky be on Team USA then? Clark’s Fever teammate Aliyah Boston? What about college standouts such as USC’s JuJu Watkins, UConn’s Paige Bueckers or Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, among others?

Much can happen in four years, both positive (player development) and negative (injuries). The makeup of the selection committee impacts Olympic roster choices, as do the head coaches, who don’t construct the roster but offer input on what they think the team needs from on-court play and chemistry.

Individual players’ commitment to and history with USA Basketball — which continues to…