Gamecocks in the Olympics: Highlights from August 9 to August 11
The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics at 9 p.m. local time (3 p.m. Eastern Time) on Sunday, Aug. 11, formally ended the 17-day sporting event that has grabbed international headlines over the past two-and-a-half weeks.
It was a successful Olympic Games for former South Carolina student-athletes, with some winning medals and others advancing as far as they ever have in their respective sports. A’ja Wilson, Julia Vincent, and Nanna Koerstz Madsen were among the athletes competing over the final three days of the competition. Here’s what they did from Friday, Aug. 9, to Sunday.
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Wilson helps United States win 8th-straight gold medal in women’s basketball
The United States’ national women’s basketball team has experienced unprecedented success in Olympic play. Heading into this year, the team had won seven straight gold medals, dating back to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
That streak was extended on Sunday, as the Americans claimed a record eighth consecutive women’s basketball gold medal in a 67-66 win over France on Sunday. Wilson, a South Carolina alumnus, was key to the Americans’ success in this game and throughout the tournament.
Before the United States’ gold medal match, it had to take on Australia in the semifinals on Friday. The Americans won the game 85-64, with Wilson finishing among the team’s top scorers. She was one of four United States players to score in double digits, recording 10 points on 5-7 shooting. Wilson added a team-high eight rebounds, along with one assist, two steals and one block.
Wilson delivered an even more impressive performance in the gold medal game, where she recorded her fourth double-double of the Olympics. She led both teams in points (21) and rebounds (13), in addition to shooting 6-14 from the field (and 9-12 from the free-throw line), blocking four shots and recording one steal.
Over the course of the Olympics, Wilson averaged 18.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game on her way to earning tournament MVP honors.
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Vincent makes first-ever appearance in women’s 3-meter springboard final
Vincent made the most of her third, and final, trip to the Olympics, earning a place in the women’s 3-meter springboard final. Although her performance did not result in the medal, it put an exclamation point on what was Vincent’s last professional diving appearance.
Vincent made an early charge for a medal and was in third place after three of her five dives. But she would ultimately finish 11th overall, the best Olympic finish of her career, with a score of 271.25. She recorded her best individual score on her second dive, a back 2½ somersault dive that earned 67.50 points.
Koerstz Madsen records bottom-half finish in women’s golf competition
Koerstz Madsen earned two top-15 finishes in Olympic golf competition before this summer. She tied for ninth at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and followed that up with a tied-13th finish at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Japan.
She was unable to keep that streak alive at this summer’s Games, though, as she finished tied-36th. Across all four days of play, she finished with a 5-over-par 295.
Koerstz Madsen’s scores during the first two rounds of the competition were over par. But her performance improved over the final two rounds, where she finished at par (72 strokes) both times. She recorded four birdies and four bogeys in the third round on Friday; on Saturday, Aug. 10, she recorded five birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey.
